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Introduction to Islam
IslamMadeEasyforNew
Muslim
Five Pillars of Islam
What is Shahada
What is Salaah (Prayer)
What is (Sawm) Fasting
What is Zakat (Charity)
What is Hajj (Pilgrimage)
Six Pillars of Faith
Belief
in one God
Belief in Angels
Belief in all Prophets
Belief in Holy Books
Belief
in Life After Death
Belief in Qadar (Destiny)
Halal and Haram in Islam
The Islamic Calendar
Islam Calendar
Unlike the Gregorian calendar used in the majority of countries in the west which is based on the movement of the sun, the Islamic calendar follows a lunar structure, basing the length of is months on the movement of the moon.
The Islamic calendar dates back not to the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, a mistakenly believed by many, but to the year of the Hijrah, or migration to the city of Madinah from Makkah by the Prophet Muhammad and his followers in 622 CE. Thus the year of the Islamic Calendar is the current Gregorian year minus 622.
As the Islamic calendar runs by the moon, it is consequently around 10 days shorter that the Gregorian calendar meaning that the months of the two calendars does not directly correspond.
Similar to the Christian calendar, the Islamic calendar has 9 months, which are as follows:
- Muharram
- Safar
- Rabbi Al-Awal
- Rabbi Uth-Thani
- Jumad Al-Ula
- Jumad Al-Ukhra
- Rajab
- Shaban
- Ramadhan
- Shawwal
- Dhul Qa'dah
- Dhul Hijjah
Many of these months have special religious significance. Ramadhan, for example, perhaps the most famous month of the calendar, is the month during which Muslims all over the world fast from sunrise to sunset.
Dhul Hijjah is also important as this is the month in which Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, known as Hajj.
