| Hegira
(Islamic Calendar) The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) left Mekka for Yathrib (later known as Medina or the City of the Prophet) in 622 AD. This event marked the birth of the Islamic era, and 622 AD is the first year of the Islamic calendar.
The Islamic calendar is based upon the cycles of the moon -- as are most Semitic calendars. (Other calendars, like the Julian and Gregorian, had been based upon the sun.)
With the Islamic calendar, the actual beginning of a month depends upon the physical sighting of the moon and not merely on astronomical calculations. This insistence upon the actual physical sighting reflects the sense in Islam that immediate surrounding conditions, rather than theoretical ones, reflect the Divine Will in relation to humankind. If the sky is overcast, and the new moon is not visible within a territory, the previous month is allowed to run to 30 days instead of the usual 29 days.
The Hegira year consists of 12 lunar months, some with 29 days and some with 30 days. Because of the inconsistencies in the number of days to a month, annual holidays fall on different dates in different years. For example, over the years, the month of fasting known as Ramadhan, moves from winter to summer.
The Islamic day runs from dawn to sunset. When the sun sets on Thursday evening, Friday, the most holy day of the Islamic week, begins. This is a popular time for religious gatherings.
Although the Islamic calendar is lunar-based, the names of the months on the Islamic calendar reflect an ancient division according to the seasons of the solar year.
In actual practice, the western Gregorian calendar is used today in Islamic countries as the working calendar for all purposes -- except for determination of days of religious observance.
Click here to learn the names of the months in the Islamic calendar.
Five days of the week are named by the ordinal numbers beginning with the first day, Yaum al-Ahad, which is Sunday. Thereafter, Friday is named "the Day of Congregation" and Saturday is "the Day of Rest". |
