As we already know the Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar
is derived from the phases of the moon, the Fasting month of
Ramadan falls a little earlier each year. The effect of this is to
balance out the discrepancy between Fasting in the northern
and the southern hemispheres.
It is often thought that in certain parts of the globe the fast will
be easier than in others, for the length of the day, as well as its
temperature, varies from season to season and from land to land.
But Ramadan, creeping forward at a rate of about eleven days in
each solar year, ensures that wherever one may be on the planet,
the fast will fall sometimes in winter and sometimes in summer.
Similarly although in high latitudes the days can be long, there is
no heat. A balance is thus obtained, so that Fasting is similarly
efficacious all over the world.
Although new moons may be calculated quite precisely, the
actual visibility (by a human observer's eye) of the crescent
is much more difficult to predict.
It depends on many factors such as weather, the optical
properties of the atmosphere or atmospheric pollution,
the altitude of the moon at sunset and its closeness,the
quality of the eyesight of the observer, the location of
the observer and etc. It is therefore very difficult to
give accurate information in advance about when a
new month will start.
Furthermore, some Muslims depend on a local sighting of
the moon, whereas others depend on a sighting by authorities
somewhere in the Muslim world. Both are valid Islamic practices,
but they may lead to different starting days for the months.
Islamic years are called as Hijra (Hijrah) years, these Hijra
(Hijrah) years are counted since the Hijra (Hijrah), which
is when the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) migrated from
Makkah to Madina (formerly known as Yathrib) approximately
July 622 CE. Thus each numbered year is designated either H
or AH, the latter being the initials of the Latin Anno Hegirae
(in the year of the Hijra).
Hijra (Hijrah) of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is an important
turning point for the Muslim community. After the emigration,
the Muslims were able to organize and establish the first real
Muslim "community," with social, political, and economic
independence. Life in Madina allowed the Muslim community
to mature and strengthen, and the people developed
an entire society based on Islamic principles.
It is indeed, a unique occasion to ponder that the Islamic Era did not
start with the victories of Islamic wars, nor with the birth or death of
the prophet (pbuh), nor with the Revelation itself. It starts with Hijra,
or the sacrifice for the cause of Truth and for the preservation of the
Revelation. It was a divinely inspired selection. Allah wanted to teach
man that struggle between Truth and Evil is eternal.
The Islamic year reminds Muslims every year not of the pomp and
glory of Islam but of its sacrifice and prepares them to do the same.
Hence, Muslims do not traditionally "celebrate" the beginning
of a new year, but we do acknowledge the passing of time,
and take time to reflect on our own mortality.
The Islamic year begins on the first day of Muharram
with the remembrance of great sacrifice of Imam Hussain (pbuh),
the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on the land of Karbala
for the sake of Truth.
The Islamic (Hijri) year consists of twelve (purely lunar) months:
- First Month of Islamic calendar: Muharram al-Haram
- Second Month of Islamic calendar: Safar al-Muzaffar
- Third Month of Islamic calendar: Rabi al-Awwal
- Fourth Month of Islamic calendar: Rabi al-Thani
- Fifth Month of Islamic calendar: Jumada al-Awwal
- Sixth Month of Islamic calendar: Jumada al-Thani
- Seventh Month of Islamic calendar: Rajab al-Murajab
- Eighth Month of Islamic calendar: Sha'ban al-Moazzam
- Ninth Month of Islamic calendar: Ramadan al-Mubarak
- Tenth Month of Islamic calendar: Shawwal al-Mukarram
- Eleventh Month of Islamic calendar: Dhu al-Qa'dah
- Twelfth Month of Islamic calendar: Dhu al-Hijjah
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