Understanding Islamic Calendar

Islamic Calendar has a different with the Gregorian calendar in a way that, Islamic calendar counted the day from lunar cycle while the Gregorian based the day from the solar evolution. I had compiled a data from the Internet  for my references  and additional  knowledge about  Islamic Calendar though I’m a Muslim but  I had a limited  information in terms of Islamic Calendar; and I would like to keep this information available  in my blog.

I had learned that the ERA of Islamic Calendar begun  from the journey of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD according to  Gregorian calendar and they called that Journey Hijrah.  The second caliph “Umair I” established Hijrah as the beginning of Islamic Era, the initial A.H in Islamic date means “anno Hijra or “after Hijrah”.  The Islamic calendar is consist of 12 lunar months, this 12 months composition in a year is  taken  from the Holy Qur-an (Sura IX, verses 36-37) it has set that per calendar year composed of 12 months. The Islamic lunar calendar is shorter than a Gregorian solar year, it is because the months drifted with the seasons in a cycle of 32 ½ years long.

The day in Islamic calendar will begins at dawn and ends at sunset and it has 7 days in a week. The name of the day of the week is in  accordance  with  numbers, the fifth day (Friday will begins on the sunset Thursday in a Gregorian calendar) and known as Juma’a, Juma’s it  is a day  for congregational prayer but it’s not considered as a rest day.

The name of the month in Islamic calendar are:  1. Muharram has 30 number of days, 2. Safar-29 days, 3. Rabiul ‘Al-Awwal or Rabi I-30 days, 4. Rabiul’ Ath-Thani or Rabi II has 29 days, 5. Jumada Ula or Jumada I- 30 days, 6. Jumada Thani or Jumada II-29 days, 7.Rajab has 30 days, 8. Sha’ban-29 days, 9. Ramadan has 30 days, 10. Shawwal -29 days, 11. Dhu’l-Qa’dah has 30 days, 12. Dhu’l-Hijra -29 days but there are certain years that the days will be 30 like in the years 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, and 29.     

Understanding the Islamic calendar has an important in Islam because; there is an event that has Religious significant aside from Ramadan. Inshallah I’ll share those events in my next blog.