INTRODUCTION

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters.

Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel! Not many new converts to Islam realize that Islam has a different calendar until they fast for the first time. They realize that Ramadan is a month in the Islamic calendar. They also realize that how months go by in Islam is kinda weird and different from what they’re used to with the standard Gregorian calendar in the West.

December happens sometime during the winter and it stays the same. Yet when it comes to Islamic months like Ramadan, it changes every year. One year Ramadan will be in the summer, and a couples of years later it will be in the winter.

In this lesson, we’re going to go into some of the details of the calendar, how it works and what the months are as well as some of its special dates.

BODY OF TEXT

Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him]. (Chapter 9, verse 36 of the Holy Qur’an)

The Muslim or Islamic calendar is officially known as the Hijri calendar. The word hijri comes from the word Hijrah, which means migration. More specifically, it refers to the Prophet Muhammad’s (s) migration from Mecca to Medina when he was fleeing his assassins.

The migration therefore marks year one in the Muslim calendar. The Muslim calendar has 12 months just like the Gregorian calendar, and it has around 354 or 355 days.

The Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar. The difference between the solar and lunar calendar is that the solar calendar is a measure of the earth’s rotation around the sun which is around 365 days. The lunar calendar is a measure of the moon’s rotation around the earth which is about 354 days. For this reason, the lunar calendar is shorter so you will see a drastic change in a month’s season as the years ago by.

The current year in the Islamic calendar is 1437 and there is usually an “A.H” that follows it, meaning “After Hijrah.”

The names of the Islamic months are as follows:

1. Muharram: Muharram means forbidden or sacred and it is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is called so because battles are forbidden in this month. It is also the month where Imam al-Husayn (as) was martyred. This day is called Ashura which is on the 10th of Muharram.
2. Safar: Safar the second month of the Islamic calendar. It means “void” as Safar was usually the month of battles and things were looted until nothing was left. This month is important as mourning for Imam al-Husayn (as) still continues.
3. Rabi al-Awwal: Rabi al-Awwal means “the first spring” and is the third month of the Islamic calendar. The month is important as it is the month when the Messenger of Allah was born in.
4. Rabi al-Thani: Rabi al-Thani means “the second spring” and is the fourth month of the Islamic calendar. This month is important as it is when the birth of the 11th Imam, Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) was born.
5. Jumada al-Awwal: Jumada al-Awwal is the fifth month. The word Jumada comes from a word meaning “parched land” as this was a month of no rain and dryness. This month is important as it marks the birthday of Zainab, daughter of Imam Ali (as) and sister of Imam al-Husayn (as).
6. Jumada al-Thani: Jumada al-Thani is the sixth month. It is important as it marks the birth and death of the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, Fatimah al-Zahra. These days were the 3rd and 20th days of the month respectively.
7. Rajab: Rajab is the 7th month of the Islamic calendar. The word means respect as it was a month where fighting was prohibited in pre-Islamic times. This month is important on many grounds, above all, Imam Ali (as) was born on the 13th of this month.
8. Sha'ban: The month of Sha'ban is the 8th month. It means to separate as it is a time when Arabs split up to search for water. The month is one of the most important ones as the 15th of the month marks the birth day of our 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (aj).
9. Ramadan: The month of Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed, and it also marks the month where Muslims fast for 30 days. The 21st of the month of Ramadan is when Imam Ali (as) died.
10. Shawwal: The month of Shawwal is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Shawwal means to “carry” as it is the month where female camels carried their fetus in their wombs. On the first of the month, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan. The 15th of Shawwal also marks the death of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as).
11. Dhu al-Qa'dah or al-Qi'dah: This is the 11th month. It means “possessor of truce” as it is a month where battle used to be forbidden. This month is important as it marks the birthday of our 8th Imam, Ali al-Rida (as). It also marks the death of our 9th Imam, Muhammad al-Jawad (as).
12. Dhu al-Hijjah: Dhu al-Hijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Dhu al-Hijjah means “possessor of the pilgrimage” as it marks the month of pilgrimage or hajj in Islam. The Hajj is performed on the 8th, 9th and 10th of this month. The day of Arafah takes place on the 9th. Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice for the Pilgrimage), the second most important festival of the Islamic calendar, takes place on the 10th of this month. This month also marks the death of our fifth Imam, Muhammad al-Baqir (as) on the 7th of the month. For more information on the Hajj, please see our previous lessons.

Until Next Time, Thank you for watching. As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh