🕌 Islamic education

Hijri months

📖 In short

Muslims have their own calendar called the “Hijri calendar”, which starts from the Prophet's ﷺ migration from Makkah to Madinah. Its months are lunar: each month begins when the new crescent appears, and it tells us when Ramadan, the two Eids and Hajj are.

إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِندَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ
Surat at-Tawbah (Repentance), verse 36

🤩 Did you know?

  • The Hijri year is about 354 days, about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year.
  • The Hijrah took place in the year 622.
  • There are 4 sacred months: Dhul-Qi'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab.
  • About every 33 years, Ramadan passes through all the seasons of the year.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 The twelve months

Muharram, Safar, Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Akhir, Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Akhirah, Rajab, Sha'ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qi'dah, Dhul-Hijjah.

🔍 Months that follow the moon

A Hijri month begins when the thin crescent moon is seen after sunset, and lasts 29 or 30 days. That's why the date of Ramadan changes every year in the Gregorian calendar.

💡 Why the Hijrah?

Under the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, the companions chose the Hijrah as the start of the calendar, because it was a new beginning for the Muslims in Madinah. After a Hijri year we write “AH”.

🎯 Important days

New Year is on 1 Muharram, Ashura on the 10th of it, Ramadan is the ninth month, Eid al-Fitr is on 1 Shawwal, the Day of Arafah on 9 Dhul-Hijjah, and Eid al-Adha on the 10th of it.

📚 Key words

Crescent moon
The thin moon at the start of the month
Lunar
Counted by the cycle of the moon
AH
The short form of “Hijri” after the year number

🌱 Put it into practice today

Watch the moon every night for a month and draw its shape in a notebook: the crescent, then the half moon, then the full moon, then it shrinks again. That's how the Hijri month is counted!

🧩 Test yourself

1 What does the Hijri calendar start with?

2 How do we know a Hijri month has begun?

3 What is the ninth month of the Hijri calendar?

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🎮 Try it yourself