#The islamic calendar how to#

This is determined by observing the moon if the new crescent moon is spotted on the twenty-ninth day, then the new month begins on the next day. The Hijri calendar is made up of 12 months: Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-awwal, Rabi al-thani, Jumada al-awwal, Jumada al-thani, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qidah, Dhul Hijjah.Įvery month in the Hijri calendar is either 29 or 30 days. God did not create all these without a true purpose He explains His signs to those who understand.” The Islamic Months

#The islamic calendar how to#

“It is He who made the sun a shining radiance and the moon a light, determining phases for it so that you might know the number of years and how to calculate time. These cycles are described by Allah in the Qur’an: This is because each lunar cycle usually lasts 29 days as opposed to 30 or 31 days in the solar cycle (movement of the sun) which is the cycle the Gregorian calendar follows. It has 12 months but unlike the Gregorian calendar, has only 354-355 days. That means that the placement of each month will differ from year to year. The Islamic calendar follows the movements of the moon, making it a lunar calendar. In Latin, AH denotes ‘Anno Hegirae’ which means ‘the year of the Hijra’. The year 2021 corresponds to the Islamic year 1443AH and AH stands for ‘After Hijra’. It was in Medina that the Prophet ﷺ and his companions established the first Islamic community or ‘ummah’ and so the Islamic calendar began from this occasion to mark the beginning of the foundations of Islam. The Islamic calendar is more commonly known as the ‘Hijri’ calendar because it began with Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ Hijra or ‘migration’ from Mecca to Medina in 622AD due to persecution by Quraysh.