The twelve months of the Islamic calendar (Muharram, Safar, the two Rabis and the rest through to Dhu al-Hijjah), form a purely lunar year of about 354 days with no intercalation. Because that is shorter than the solar year, the months move backward through the seasons by roughly eleven days a year, so Ramadan falls at every time of year over a cycle of about thirty-three years. The calendar counts from the Hijra, the migration to Medina in 622 CE.
Facts
Structure
StructurePurely lunar: twelve months of 29 or 30 days making a year of about 354 days, with no intercalation, so the months move backwards through the solar seasons by about eleven days a year. 1 Comparison
Cultural Origin Era of Origin Overview
Size of the Traditional Set Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Learn More
The Months of the Islamic Calendar
The twelve months of the Islamic calendar (Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-awwal, Rabi al-thani, and so on through to Dhu al-Hijjah), form a purely lunar year of about three hundred and fifty-four days, with no intercalation. Because that is some eleven days shorter than the solar year, the months move steadily backward through the seasons, completing a cycle against the solar year in about thirty-three years.
Each month has its significance: Ramadan is the month of fasting, Dhu al-Hijjah holds the Hajj pilgrimage and the feast of Eid al-Adha, Muharram opens the year and includes the day of Ashura, and Rabi al-awwal is associated with the Prophet's birth.
A moving lunar year
The absence of a leap month is deliberate and rooted in the Quranic prohibition of intercalation, and it means that Islamic festivals are not tied to the seasons: Ramadan may fall in summer or winter as the years pass. The calendar is counted from the Hijra, the emigration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina, and is used across the Muslim world for religious purposes.
The atlas gives each month its place, its observances, and its significance. The Islamic months belong with the calendars under Calendars & Time, and their observances connect to the holiday category.
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Islamic Months
Sources
1. Calendrical Calculations: The Ultimate Edition
Edward M. Reingold and Nachum Dershowitz, Cambridge University Press, 2018on the Islamic calendar
2. Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
atlas entity-description, origin statement
The twelve months of the Islamic calendar (Muharram, Safar, the two Rabis and the rest through to Dhu al-Hijjah), form a purely lunar year of about 354 days with no intercalation.
atlas entity-description, era statement
The calendar counts from the Hijra, the migration to Medina in 622 CE.
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