The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar (Arabic: التقويم الهجري; at-taqwīm al-hijrī; Persian: تقویم هجری قمری ‎ taqwīm-e hejri-ye qamari; Turkish: Hicri Takvim; also called the Hijri calendar) is a lunar calendar used to date events in many predominantly Muslim countries, and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days. This article is about the Vietnamese holiday For the 1968 military operation that began on that holiday see Tết Offensive. By the traditional Xhosa calendar, the year began in June and ended in May when Canopus, a large star visible in the Southern Hemisphere, signalled the The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious Calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith and it is an approximation of the (tropical Solar calendar. The Runic calendar is a Perpetual calendar based on the 19 year long Metonic cycle of the Moon Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the Pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In the Mesoamerican calendars, Calendar Round dates are composed by interlacing the dates of a 260-day period ( Tzolk'in in the Maya Calendar, Tonalpohualli The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when The Darian Calendar is a proposed system of time-keeping designed to serve the needs of any possible future human settlers on the planet Mars. The Discordian or Erisian calendar is an alternative Calendar used by some adherents of Discordianism. A perpetual calendar is a Calendar which is good for a span of many years such as the Runic calendar. A wall calendar is a Calendar intended for placement on a wall Economic calendar is a type of Calendar that is intended to inform financiers and traders about the scheduled major economic numbers (like CPI, For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Aqidah (sometimes spelled Aqeeda, Aqidah or Aqida) (عقيدة is an Islamic term meaning Creed. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' In Islam, God is believed to be the only real supreme being all-powerful and all knowing Creator Sustainer Ordainer and Judge of the universe Islam puts a heavy emphasis IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic أركان الإسلام is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim. The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed. Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and Sawm ( Arabic: صوم is an Arabic word for Fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Muslim history began in Arabia with the Muhammad 's first recitations of the Qur'an in the 7th century Caliph Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam There is much more to Muslim history than its military and political aspects this particular chronology is almost entirely of military and political nature See also Muhammad's wives Ahl al-Bayt ( Arabic:ar أهل البيت is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family In Islam, the Ṣaḥābah (الصحابة "Companions" were the companions of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad. The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs ( ar الخلفاء الراشدون) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first Imāmah (إمامة is the Shī‘ah doctrine of religious spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. Qur'an Text Surahs ** Ayah Commentary/Exegesis Tafsir Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sunnah ar (سنة plural سنن Sunan literally means “trodden path” and therefore the sunnah of the prophet means “the way and the manners of the prophet” Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Fiqh ( Arabic: فقه, fɪqəh is Islamic Jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. Kalām (علم الكلام is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theological principles through Dialectic. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Muslim Culture is a term primarily used in Secular Academia to describe all cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings This is a sub-article to Religious education, Academic discipline, and Islam. This article is about Animals in Islamic thought The Qur'an assigns an inferior status to animals in comparison with humans and has a tendency towards Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally The topic of Islam and children includes the rights of children in Islam children's duties towards their parents and parent's rights over their children both males and females Listing of Muslims by country Important note Population counts by religious affiliation like most demographic characteristics of a Population Muslim holidays are mostly based around the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, especially the events surrounding the first hearing of the Qur'an. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between Philosophy ( Reason) and the religious teachings See also Modern Islamic philosophy, Islamism, Islamic terrorism Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, the Sunna Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam, in the field of Comparative religion, connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam Hinduism and Islam, from the of arrival of the Arabs as far back as the eighth century AD has had a checkered history Islam and Jainism came in close contact with each other following the Islamic conquest from Central Asia and Persia in the seventh The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. In Islam, Muhammad is the last and final Prophet of God Islam views Jews Christians and Muslims as " People of the Book Arguments critical to religion in general or specific to monotheism such as the Existence of God, are not dealt with here Islamophobia is a Neologism that refers to Prejudice or Discrimination against Islam or Muslims The term itself dates back to the The following list consists of Concepts that are derived from both Islamic and Arab tradition which are expressed as words in the Arabic language. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. The word Calendar consist of two words 1 Cal ( in Pashto means Year in Hindi and Persian is Sal- also means Year A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion It is a lunar calendar having 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days. A lunar calendar is a Calendar that is based on cycles of the Moon phase. Because this lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days, although celebrated on fixed dates in their own calendar, usually shift 11 days earlier each successive solar year, such as a year of the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today Islamic years are also called Hijra years because the first year was the year during which the Hijra occurred—Islamic prophet Muhammad's emigration from Mecca to Medina. In the fields of Chronology and Periodization, an epoch means an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular Era. The Hijra (هِجْرَة or withdrawal is the migration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 ( Common Era) Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored Medina mɛˈdiːnə (المدينة المنورة ælmæˈdiːnæl muˈnɑwːɑrɑ or المدينة ælmæˈdiːnæ also transliterated into English as Thus each numbered year is designated either H or AH, the latter being the initials of the Latin anno Hegirae (in the year of the Hijra). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[1]

The current Islamic Year is 1429 AH.

History

Pre-Islamic calendar

The Arabian predecessor to the Islamic calendar was a lunisolar calendar which used lunar months, but was also synchronized with the seasons by the insertion of an additional, intercalary month, when required. A lunisolar calendar is a Calendar in many Cultures whose date indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar Year. Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases Whether the intercalary month (nasi) was added in the spring like that of the Hebrew calendar or in autumn is debated. The Hebrew calendar (הלוח העברי ha'luach ha'ivri) or Jewish calendar is a Lunisolar calendar used by Jews for predominantly religious It is assumed that the intercalary month was added between the twelfth month (the month of the pre-Islamic Hajj) and the first month (Muharram) of this pre-Islamic year. The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Muharram ( Arabic: ar محرم is the first month of the Islamic calendar. The two Rabi' months denote grazing and the modern Meccan rainy season (only slightly less arid than normal), which would promote the growth of grasses for grazing, occurs during autumn. These imply a pre-Islamic year beginning near the autumnal equinox. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle However, the rainy season after which these months are named may have been different when the names originated (before Muhammad's time) or the calendar may have been imported from another region which did have such a rainy season. Moreover, Arabs had months in which fighting in them was forbidden. So they used the intercalary month to manipulate the time in which these months occur. This is the reason why the Qur'an forbids such manipulation. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran And the intercalary month was no longer allowed (releasing the calendar from the seasons) by Sura 9, verse 36 (believed to have been revealed about the end of Muhammad's lifetime), which implies a pre-Islamic year beginning near the vernal equinox because that is when the modern lunar year began during his last year. Sura At-Tawba ( Arabic: سورة التوبة, Sūratu at-Tawbah, "The Repentance" also known as al-Bara'ah "the Ultimatum" An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle

Annulling intercalation

In the ninth year after the Hijra, as documented in the Qur'an (9:36-37), Muslims believe Allah revealed the prohibition of the intercalary month. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sura At-Tawba ( Arabic: سورة التوبة, Sūratu at-Tawbah, "The Repentance" also known as al-Bara'ah "the Ultimatum" Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases

The number of months with Allah has been twelve months by Allah's ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are known as forbidden [to fight in]; That is the straight usage, so do not wrong yourselves therein, and fight those who go astray. But know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.

Verily the transposing (of a prohibited month) is an addition to Unbelief: The Unbelievers are led to wrong thereby: for they make it lawful one year, and forbidden another year, of months forbidden by Allah and make such forbidden ones lawful. The evil of their course seems pleasing to them. But Allah guideth not those who reject Faith.

This prohibition was repeated by Muhammad during the last sermon on Mount Arafat which was delivered during the Farewell Pilgrimage to Mecca on 9 Dhu al-Hijja 10 AH:

O People, intercalation is an addition to unbelief, through it [God, Allah] leads the unbelievers astray: they make it permissible one year and forbid it [at their mere convenience] the next one to elude the timing of what God forbade, so that they make permissible that which Allah forbade [fighting in the forbidden months], and forbid that which Allah has made permissible [fighting in other months]. The The Farewell Sermon ( خطبة الوداع, Khuṭbatu l-Wadā') also known as the Prophet's final sermon or The Last Sermon is a famous Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah ( Arabic: جبل عرفات transliterated Jabal 'Arafat) is a Granite Hill east of This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca and the Succession to Muhammad. And [now, this year] time has turned the way it was the day God created Heavens and Earth [The intercalary months since the creation of Heavens and Earth have all canceled out (summed up to whole years)]. The year is twelve months, four of them are forbidden, three successive: Dhu al-Qi'dah and Dhu al-Hijjah and Muharram; and the Rajab of Mudar which is between Jumada and Shaban. ^[2]

Muhammad prohibiting intercalation, illustration of Al-Bīrūnī's The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (17th century copy of an early 14th century Ilkhanid manuscript). The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries ( کتاب الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية ar-Latn Kitāb al-āthār al-bāqiyyah `an al-qurūn al-khāliyyah The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate (Ил Хан улс Il Khan uls;) was a Mongol Khanate established in

The three successive forbidden months mentioned by Muhammad (months in which battles are forbidden) are Dhu al-Qi'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram, thus excluding an intercalary month before Muharram. Dhu al-Qi'dah (ar ذو القعدة is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. Dhu al-Hijja (ar ذو الحجة is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic Calendar. Muharram ( Arabic: ar محرم is the first month of the Islamic calendar. The single forbidden month is Rajab. Rajab ( Arabic: ar رجب is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. These months were considered forbidden both within the new Islamic calendar and within the old pagan Meccan calendar, although whether they maintained their "forbidden" status after the conquest of Mecca has been disputed among Islamic scholars. Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored

As the number and the position of the intercalary months between 1 AH and 10 AH are uncertain, western calendar dates commonly cited for key events in early Islam such as the Hijra, the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Trench, should be viewed with caution as they can be in error by one, two or even three lunar months. Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases The Hijra (هِجْرَة or withdrawal is the migration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 ( Common Era) The Battle of Badr (غزوة بدر fought March 17, 624 AD (17 Ramadan 2 AH in the Islamic calendar) in the Hejaz The Battle of Uhud (غزوة أحد) was fought on 23 March 625 (3 Shawwal 3 AH in the Islamic calendar) at Mount Uhud, in what The Battle of the Trench (غزوة الخندق|Ghazwah al-Khandaq also known as Battle of the Confederates (غزوة الاحزاب|Ghazwah al-Ahzab was a fortnight-long

Months

The Islamic months are named as follows:^[3]

1. Muharram محرّم (long form: Muḥarram ul Ḥaram)
2. Safar صفر (long form: Ṣafar ul Muzaffar)
3. Rabi' al-awwal (Rabī' I) ربيع الأول
4. Rabi' al-thani (or Rabī' al Thānī, or Rabī' al-Akhir) (Rabī' II) ربيع الآخر أو ربيع الثاني
5. Jumada al-awwal (Jumādā I) جمادى الاولى
6. Jumada al-thani (or Jumādā al-akhir) (Jumādā II) جمادى الآخر أو جمادى الثاني
7. Rajab رجب (long form: Rajab al Murajab)
8. Sha'aban شعبان (long form: Sha'abān ul Moazam)
9. Ramadan رمضان (or Ramzān, long form: Ramaḍān ul Mubarak)
10. Shawwal شوّال (long form: Shawwal ul Mukarram)
11. Dhu al-Qi'dah ذو القعدة
12. Dhu al-Hijjah ذو الحجة

Of all the months in the Islamic calendar, Ramaḍān is the most venerated. Muharram ( Arabic: ar محرم is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Safar (ar صفر is the second month in the Islamic calendar. Rabi' al-awwal (ar ربيع الأول is the third month in the Islamic calendar. Rabi’ al-Thani (ar ربيع الثاني the second of spring) is the fourth month in the Islamic Calendar. Jumada al-awwal (ar جمادى الأول is the fifth month in the Islamic calendar. Jumada al-thani (ar جمادى الآخر أو جمادى الثاني is the sixth month in the Islamic Calendar. Rajab ( Arabic: ar رجب is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. Sha'aban ( Arabic: ar شعبان is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan or Ramadhan or Ramazan ( Arabic: ar رمضان is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Shawwal (ar شوّال is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Dhu al-Qi'dah (ar ذو القعدة is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. Dhu al-Hijja (ar ذو الحجة is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic Calendar. Ramadan or Ramadhan or Ramazan ( Arabic: ar رمضان is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims are supposed to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse during the daylight hours of this month. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion

Days of the week

The Islamic week is similar to the Jewish week, as was the medieval Christian week, all of which have numbered weekdays in common. The "first day" of the Islamic week corresponds with Sunday of the planetary week. The Islamic and Jewish weekdays begin at sunset, whereas the medieval Christian and planetary weekdays begin at the following midnight. ^[4] Muslims gather for worship at a mosque at noon on "gathering day", which corresponds to the sixth day of the Jewish and medieval Christian weeks, and to Friday of the planetary week. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger ("yaum يوم" means day)

1. yaum al-ahad يوم الأحد (first day - Sunday) (Urdu, Itwaar اتوار) (Persian: Yek-Shanbeh یکشنبه)
2. yaum al-ithnayn يوم الإثنين (second day - Monday) (Urdu, Pîr پير) (Persian: Do-Shanbeh, دوشنبه)
3. yaum ath-thulaathaa' يوم الثُّلَاثاء (third day - Tuesday) (Urdu, Mangl منگل) (Persian: Seh-Shanbeh, سه شنبه)
4. yaum al-arbia`aa' يوم الأَرْبِعاء (fourth day - Wednesday) (Urdu, Budh بدھ) (Persian: Chahar-Shanbeh, چهارشنبه)
5. yaum al-khamis يوم الخَمِيس (fifth day - Thursday) (Urdu, Jumahraat جمعرات) (Persian: Panj-Shanbeh, پنجشنبه)
6. yaum al-jumu`a يوم الجُمُعَة (gathering day - Friday) (Urdu, Jumah جمعہ) (Persian: Jom'eh, جمعه or Adineh آدينه)
7. yaum as-sabt يوم السَّبْت (sabbath day - Saturday) (Urdu, Hafta ہفتہ) (Persian: Shanbeh, شنبه)

Numbering the years

According to Islamic tradition, Abraha, governor of Yemen, then a province of the Christian Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia), attempted to destroy the Kaaba with an army which included several elephants. Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Abraha (also spelled Abreha) (died after AD 553; r 525 &mdashat least 553) also known as ' Abraha al-Ashram (in Arabic Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Aksumite Empire or Axumite Empire (sometimes called the Kingdom of Aksum or Axum ( Ge'ez: አክሱም was an important trading NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Kaaba ( Arabic: ar الكعبة; 'kɑʕbɑ or 'kæʕbæ "Cube" is a Cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. Although the raid was unsuccessful, because it was customary to name a year after a major event which occurred during it, that year became known as the Year of the Elephant, which was also the year that Muhammad was born. The Year of the Elephant (in Arabic, عام الفيل, `Âm al-Fîl is the name in Islamic history for the year approximately equating to 570 (See surat al-Fil. Sura (sometimes spelt "Surah" ar سورة, plural "Suwar" ar سور is an Arabic term literally meaning "something enclosed or surrounded This article is about the chapter of the Qur'an translated to English as "The Elephant ) Although most Muslims equate it with the Western year 570, a minority equate it with 571. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Later years were numbered from the Year of the Elephant, whether for the years of the pre-Islamic lunisolar calendar, the lunisolar calendar used by Muhammad before he forbade the intercalary month, or the first few years of the lunar calendar thus created. In 638 (AH 17), the second Caliph Umar began numbering the years of the Islamic calendar from the year of the Hijra, which was postdated AH 1. Umar (a=عمر بن الخطاب|t=`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c 581-83 CE &ndash 7 November, 644) also known as Umar the Great or Omar the Great The Hijra (هِجْرَة or withdrawal is the migration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 ( Common Era) The first day of the first month (1 Muharram) of that proleptic Islamic year, that is, after the removal of all intercalary months between the Hijra and Muhammad's prohibition of them nine years later, corresponded to July 16, 622 (the actual emigration took place in September). Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Events Religion July 16 — Year one of the Islamic calendar begins during which the Hijra occurs — Prophet Muhammad ^[1] The first surviving attested use of the Hijri calendar is on a papyrus from Egypt in 22 AH, PERF 558. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. PERF 558 is the oldest surviving Arabic Papyrus, and the oldest dated Arabic text from the Islamic era dating from 22 AH ( AD 642)

Upon Muhammad’s arrival at the city of Medina after his Hijra from Mecca, his companions named that year as their first year. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Medina mɛˈdiːnə (المدينة المنورة ælmæˈdiːnæl muˈnɑwːɑrɑ or المدينة ælmæˈdiːnæ also transliterated into English as The Hijra (هِجْرَة or withdrawal is the migration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 ( Common Era) Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored It was one of the practices of the people of that time to start their calendar with a certain event. For example, when the army of the ruler Abraha marched to Mecca with elephants to destroy the Kaabah, and then the army was destroyed by Allah according to Islamic tradition, the Arabs named that year as the year of the elephant. Abraha (also spelled Abreha) (died after AD 553; r 525 &mdashat least 553) also known as ' Abraha al-Ashram (in Arabic The Kaaba ( Arabic: ar الكعبة; 'kɑʕbɑ or 'kæʕbæ "Cube" is a Cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for '

The arrival of Muhammad at the city of Medina was the first victory for Muslims. For the first time Muslims gained the right to run a country based on Islamic teachings led by Muhammad himself. It came naturally to the Muslims at that time to name the year of Muhammad’s arrival at Medina as the first year. This act was not forbidden by Muhammad, and they continued to count their years from the Hijra year onwards.

In the year 17 AH, Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari, one of the officials of the second Caliph Umar in Basrah, reported that a letter from Umar arrived without any date records. Abu-Musa Abd-Allah Ibn Qays al-Ash'ari, better known as Abu Musa al-Ashari (أبو موسى الأشعري (d The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah Umar (a=عمر بن الخطاب|t=`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c 581-83 CE &ndash 7 November, 644) also known as Umar the Great or Omar the Great Basra ( BGN: AlBasrah also called Basorah Abillah and Uruk or IRAQ The name that British colony has adopted for Basra This report triggered Umar to introduce a calendar system for Muslims. Umar called the renowned companions such as Ali for a meeting to seek their views on a suitable calendar for Muslims. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH Some of them suggested to use the Messiah calendar which was already followed by many people at that time. There were also some who suggested to start the calendar from the birth of Muhammad. These suggestions were rejected, because the starting dates of those two calendar systems were rather vague.

It was thought that the Islamic calendar should start on an unambiguous date, and a date that was known by many people. There was a suggestion to start on the date of the death of Muhammad, and there were some who suggested to begin with the date of the arrival of Muhammad at Medina. Umar chose to start the calendar with the date of Muhammad’s arrival at Medina, not only because it was a very significant event and was known by almost all Muslims at that time, but more importantly, the companions of Muhammad were already starting their calendar from that date, out of habit.

The second issue to be decided was what would be the first month of the calendar. Some suggested Ramadan, and some suggested the month of Rajab because it was a month much glorified by the Arabs before Islam came. Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic Rajab ( Arabic: ar رجب is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Uthman Ibn Affan suggested to start the calendar with the month of Muharram, because it was already the customs of the Arabs at that time to start their year with the month of Muharram, after the return of the pilgrims from their Hajj. Early life Uthman was born in Ta’if, which is situated on a hill and the presumption is that Uthman was born during the summer months since wealthy Meccans Muharram ( Arabic: ar محرم is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Muharram ( Arabic: ar محرم is the first month of the Islamic calendar. The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world This suggestion was agreed by all who were present.

Thus the Islamic calendar started from the month of Muharram in the year of Muhammad’s arrival at the city of Medina, and because of the Hijra event the calendar was named the Hijra calendar. ^[5]

Observation of Hilal, date calculations, and nonuniform dates among regions

There is at least one recorded incident in the first Islamic century^[6] where Muslims in Medina and al-Sham fasted independently upon their respective observations of the lunar crescent (Hilal). Medina mɛˈdiːnə (المدينة المنورة ælmæˈdiːnæl muˈnɑwːɑrɑ or المدينة ælmæˈdiːnæ also transliterated into English as The traditional Arabic term Bilad al-Sham ( Arabic: بلاد الشام, also transliterated bilad-ush-sham etc

Each month has either 29 or 30 days, but usually in no discernible order. The month is a unit of Time, used with Calendars which is approximately as long as some natural period related to the motion of the Moon; Traditionally, the first day of each month was the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the lunar crescent (the hilāl) shortly after sunset. For the God, see Hilal Hilāl (هلال is an Arabic word that means " Crescent " or " New If the hilāl was not observed immediately after the 29th day of a month, either because clouds blocked its view or because the western sky was still too bright when the moon set, then the day that began at that sunset was the 30th. Such a sighting had to be made by one or more trustworthy men testifying before a committee of Muslim leaders. Determining the most likely day that the hilāl could be observed was a motivation for Muslim interest in astronomy, which put Islam in the forefront of that science for many centuries. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study

This traditional practice is still followed in a few parts of the world, like India, Pakistan and Jordan. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern However, in most Muslim countries astronomical rules are followed which allow the calendar to be determined in advance, which is not the case using the traditional method. Malaysia, Indonesia, and a few others begin each month at sunset on the first day that the moon sets after the sun (moonset after sunset). For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. In Egypt, the month begins at sunset on the first day that the moon sets at least five minutes after the sun. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

The moon sets progressively later than the sun for locations further west, thus western Muslim countries are more likely to celebrate some holy days one day earlier than eastern Muslim countries.

Umm al-Qura calendar

The official Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia used a substantially different astronomical method until recent years. Umm al-Qura may also refer to a calendar of Saudi Arabia See Islamic calendar. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi ^[7] Before AH 1420 (before April 18, 1999), if the moon's age at sunset in Riyad was at least 12 hours, then the day ending at that sunset was the first day of the month. Events 1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) This often caused the Saudis to celebrate holy days one or even two days before other predominantly Muslim countries, including the dates for the Hajj, which can only be dated using Saudi dates because it is performed in Mecca. The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world During one memorable year during the AH 1380s (the 1970s), different Muslim countries ended the fast of Ramadan on each of four successive days. The celebrations became more uniform beginning in AH 1420. For AH 1420-22, if moonset occurred after sunset at Mecca, then the day beginning at that sunset was the first day of a Saudi month, essentially the same rule used by Malaysia, Indonesia, and others (except for the location from which the hilal was observed). Since the beginning of AH 1423 (March 16, 2002), the rule has been clarified a little by requiring the geocentric conjunction of the sun and moon to occur before sunset, in addition to requiring moonset to occur after sunset at Mecca. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. This ensures that the moon has moved past the sun by sunset, even though the sky may still be too bright immediately before moonset to actually see the crescent. Strictly speaking, the Umm al-Qura calendar is intended for civil purposes only. Their makers are well aware of the fact that the first visual sighting of the lunar crescent (hilāl) can occur up to two days after the date calculated in the Umm al-Qura calendar. Since AH 1419 (1998/99) several official hilāl sighting committees have been set up by the government of Saudi Arabia to determine the first visual sighting of the lunar crescent at the begin of each lunar month. Nevertheless, the religious authorities of Saudi Arabia also allow the testimony of less experienced observers and thus often announce the sighting of the lunar crescent on a date when none of the official committees could see the lunar crescent.

This is particularly the case for the most important dates on the Islamic calendar - the beginning and end of Ramadan (the month of the fast) and the beginning of Dhu al-Hijja (the month of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca). If a Muslim male resident (two in the case of the end of Ramadan) sees the new moon on the 29th day of the preceding month, and if this sighting is accepted by the religious authorities, then the new month is judged to have arrived, even though the official Umm al-Qura calendar calls for a 30th day before the new month begins. This can change the actual beginning and/or end of the fast (in the case of Ramadan) or the timing of the pilgrimage to Mecca (in the case of Dhu al-Hijja). This happens occasionally, with the most recent occurrences being in AH 1428 (2007-2008), when the beginning of the months of both Shawwal and Dhu al-Hijja occurred a day earlier than called for in the official Umm al-Qura calendar.

Recently, the Islamic Society of North America, the Fiqh Council of North America and the European Council for Fatwa and Research have announced that they too in future will follow the Umm al-Qura calendar for regulating the Islamic days of observance. The Islamic Society of North America ( ISNA) based in Plainfield Indiana, USA, is an immigrant Muslim umbrella group that describes itself as the The Fiqh Council of North America is an association of Muslims who interpret Islamic law within the continent of North America. The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFRis a Dublin -based private foundation founded in London on 29 March - 30 March 1997 on the ^[8]

Tabular Islamic calendar

Main article: Tabular Islamic calendar

There exists a variation of the Islamic calendar known as the tabular Islamic calendar in which months are worked out by arithmetic rules rather than by observation or astronomical calculation. The Tabular Islamic Calendar (also called the Fatimid Calendar is a rule-based variation of the Islamic calendar. It has a 30-year cycle with 11 leap years of 355 days and 19 years of 354 days. In the long term, it is accurate to one day in about 2500 years. It also deviates up to about 1 or 2 days in the short term.

Kuwaiti algorithm

Main article: Kuwaiti algorithm

Microsoft uses the "Kuwaiti algorithm" to convert Gregorian dates to the Islamic ones. Microsoft uses the Kuwaiti algorithm to convert between dates in the Western standard Gregorian calendar and dates in the Hijri or Islamic calendar. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Microsoft claims that it is based on a statistical analysis of historical data from Kuwait^[9] but it is in fact a variant of the tabular Islamic calendar. ^[10]

Notable dates

Main article: Muslim holidays

Important dates in the Islamic (Hijri) year are:

• 1 Muharram (Islamic New Year)
• 10 Muharram (Day of Ashurah) The date of the anniversary of Moses and the Children of Israel crossing the red sea. Muslim holidays are mostly based around the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, especially the events surrounding the first hearing of the Qur'an. The Islamic New Year is a cultural event which Muslims observe on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. The Day of Ashura ( ar عاشوراء, Ashura Ashoura and other spellings is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax and The Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali and his followers. Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar حسين بن علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب)‎ (third of Shaban 4 AH / 8th January 626 AD at Medina
• 12 Rabiul Awal (Milad un Nabi for Sunni Muslims)
• 17 Rabiul Awal (Milad un Nabi for Isna Ashari Shia Muslims Twelvers)
• 13 Rajab (Birthday of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Mawlid ( Eid Milad an Nabi ( Turkish:Mevlid ( Qur'anic مَوْلِدُ آلنَبِيِّ mawlidu n-nabiyyi, “Birth of the Prophet” See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH )
• 27 Rajab (Isra and Miraj)
• 1 Ramadan (first day of fasting)
• 21 Ramadan (Ali ibn Abi Talib's death date. In Islamic tradition the Isra and Mi'raj (الإسراء والمعراج) are the two parts of a journey that Muhammad took in one night around the year 620 ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH He was Muhammad's cousin and son in law and the father of Husayn ibn Ali)
• 27 Ramadan (Nuzul Al-Qur'an) (17 Ramadan in Malaysia)
• Last third of Ramadan which includes Laylat al-Qadr
• 1 Shawwal (Eid ul-Fitr)
• 8-10 Dhu al-Hijjah (the Hajj to Mecca)
• 10 Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid ul-Adha)
• 18 Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid al-Ghadeer)

Current correlations

For a very rough conversion, multiply the Islamic year number by 0. Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar حسين بن علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب)‎ (third of Shaban 4 AH / 8th January 626 AD at Medina For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Laylat al-Qadr ( لیلة القدر) (also known as Shab-e-Qadr) basically the Night of Decree or Night of Measures, is the anniversary of Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr) often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim Holiday that marks the end of The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored Eid al-Adha ( Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated Eid al-Ghadeer is the anniversary commemorating Muhammad 's last sermon at Ghadir Khumm, which occurred on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic 97, and then add 622 to get the Gregorian year number. An Islamic year will be entirely within a Gregorian year of the same number in the year 20874. The Islamic calendar year of 1429 occurs entirely within the Gregorian calendar year of 2008. Such years occur once every 33 or 34 Islamic years (32 or 33 Gregorian years). More are listed here:

Uses

Many middle eastern coins show the Islamic calendar date, such as this 1993 Egyptian coin which shows both Islamic and Gregorian (1993/1413 - written in Eastern Arabic numerals as ١٤١٣-١٩٩٣). The Eastern Arabic numerals (also called Arabic-Indic numerals and Arabic Eastern Numerals) are the symbols used to represent the Hindu-Arabic numeral system

The Islamic calendar has been used primarily for religious purposes, and has sometimes been used for official purposes as well. Because of its nature as a purely lunar calendar, however, it cannot be used for agricultural purposes and historically Islamic communities have used other calendars for this purpose: the Egyptian calendar was formerly widespread in Islamic countries, and the Iranian calendar and the 1789 Ottoman calendar (a modified Julian calendar) were also used for agriculture in their countries. A lunar calendar is a Calendar that is based on cycles of the Moon phase. The ancient civil Egyptian calendar had a year that was 365 days long and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each plus 5 extra days (epagomenes Greek ἐπαγόμεναι The Iranian calendar or Solar Hejri (تقویم هجری شمسی؛ سالنمای هجری خورشیدی Taqwim Hejri Shamsi Salanmay Hejri Khurshidi) is an astronomical These local solar calendars have receded in importance with the near-universal adoption of the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes. Saudi Arabia is currently the only Muslim country to use the Islamic calendar as the calendar of daily government business. ^[11]

See also

• Javanese calendar
• Iranian calendar

References

External links

• Papers about Crescents, Prayer Times, Qiblah, Hijric Calendar, ...etc.
• The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia
• Mahdavia Calendar for North America
• Correspondence between Hebrew and Islamic calendars, months and holidays (pdf)
• Khalid Chraibi : Towards a global Islamic calendar
• Remotely hosted Gregorian-Hijri calendar
• Islamic Months - Significance and Blessed Months
• Predicting the First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent
• Moon sighting
• Hijri Calendar

Date converters

• Gregorian-Hijri Dates Converter (and vice-versa)
• Islamic-Western Calendar Converter (Based on the Arithmetical or Tabular Calendar)
• al-Islam.com date converter