Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society: 

An Abridgement in One Volume. Edited by Jacob Lass-

ner (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999); 

Andre Raymond, Cairo. Translated by Willard Wood 

(Harvard, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000); Max 

Rodenbeck,  Cairo: The City Victorious (London: Pica-

dor, 1998); Caroline Williams, Islamic Monuments in 

Cairo: The Practical Guide (Cairo: American University 

in Cairo Press, 2002).

calendar

The Islamic calendar is comprised of 12 lunar 

months, based on the cycles of the moon rather 

than upon those of the Sun, which forms the basis 

of the Western Gregorian calendar. Each month in 

the Islamic calendar lasts from one first sighting of 

the crescent moon to the next. The 12 months of 

the Islamic calendar in order are Muharram, Safar, 

Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Ula, 

Jumada al-Thaniyya, Rajab, Shaban, r

amadan

,

Shawwal, Dhu al-Qada, and Dhu al-Hijja.

The Islamic calendar, comprised of 354 days, 

shifts with respect to the solar calendar, with 

each month in the former beginning 10 or 11 

days earlier every year. Since the sighting of the 

moon sometimes varies with respect to longitude 

and latitude, the Islamic calendar may vary from 

one part of the world to another. Because the 

Islamic calendar shifts, solar calendars are often 

used in addition to Islamic calendars. In i

ran

, for 

instance, three calendars are in common use: the 

Persian solar, the Islamic, and the Gregorian.

Muslims mark the first year of their calendar 

(sometimes called the h

iJra

 calendar) with the 

establishment of the first Islamic community and 

governmental structure in the city of m

edina

 (in 

modern-day s

aUdi

 a

rabia

), following m

Uhammad

’s 

and the early Muslims’ emigration from m

ecca

in 622 

c

.

e

. Muslims designate this year as 1 

a

.

h

.

(i.e., anno Hegirae, or “hijra year”). Two of Islam’s 

most significant months are Ramadan and Dhu 

al-Hijja. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from 

food, drink, and sexual relations from sunup to 

sundown. They mark the end of this month by 

i

d

 

al

-F

itr

, which celebrates the final breaking of 

this fast. Dhu al-Hijjah is the month of the 

haJJ

,

or pilgrimage to Mecca, and at the end of the hajj, 

Muslims commemorate i

d

 

al

-a

dha

, which cel-

ebrates Abraham’s readiness to offer his son Ismail 

as a sacrifice.

While the above rituals are celebrated by 

Sunnis and Twelve-Imam Shiis, there are oth-

ers that are celebrated exclusively by the Shia, 

or that they emphasize more than the Sunnis. 

These holidays include the birth and 

death

 anni-

versaries of Muhammad, his daughter F

atima

, 

and the Twelve Imams (or sacred leaders) of 

s

hiism

. The Shia also celebrate other significant 

occurrences, such as Muhammad’s public decla-

ration of Ali as successor at g

hadir

 k

hUmm

 near 

Mecca during the Prophet’s final pilgrimage; the 

meeting between Muhammad, his family, and 

the Christians from Najaran at Mubahila; and 

most significant for Shia, a

shUra

, or the 10th of 

Muharram, which is the day Husayn, one of the 

Prophet’s grandson’s, was martyred at k

arbala

in modern-day Iraq. The annual rituals in which 

Shia engage on this day and their related mean-

ings form a cornerstone of their collective iden-

tity and worldview.

The Islamic calendar is also punctuated by the 

weekly Friday congregational prayers that involve 

K  124  

calendar

---

Muslims going in large numbers for noon 

prayer

at a 

mosqUe

. This prayer service is typically longer 

than others during the week because it includes a 

sermon based on the q

Uran

. Finally, astronomy 

and the Muslim calendar are significant for Mus-

lims because they help them calculate precisely 

when during each day they must perform the five 

obligatory prayers.

See also F

ive

 p

illars

; 

holidays

; s

Unnism

.

Jon Armajani