The Muslim Calendar // Everything You Need To Know About The Islamic Calendar

This is the calendar used in the Mulsaman countries coexisting with the Gregorian calendar, as a fact they are in the year 1442. It begins in the year 622 of the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar, the year in which Mohammed, prophet of Islam, had to flee from the city of Mecca to Medina, due to the persecution of his adversaries.

The Muslim calendar is based on 30-year lunar cycles (360 lunations, of Sumerian tradition). The 30 years of the cycle are divided into 19 years of 354 days and 11 years of 355 days. The 354-day years are called simple years and are divided into six months of 30 days and six months of 29 days.

The 355-day years are called intercalary years and are divided into seven 30-day months and five 29-day months. Years and months alternate. That is to say, every 33 Muslim years are equivalent to 32 Gregorian years.

The intercalations are made by adding a day at the end of the month of du l-hiyya in the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 26th and 29th years of each 30-year cycle.

Organization of the Muslim calendar

The days of the week

The days of the week are seven:

al-áhad (الأحد “the first”), Sunday.
al-ithnáyn (الاثنين “the second”), Monday
al-thalatha (الثلاثاء “the third”), Tuesday
al-arba’a (الأربعاء “the fourth”), Wednesday
al-jamís (الخميس “the fifth”), Thursday
al-yuma’a (الجمعة “the gathering”),
as-sabt (السبت “the sabbath”), Saturday.

Friday is so called because it is the holiday, when the collective prayer is performed in the mosques.

The months of the year

The months are twelve:

“muharram” or “mohorrem”, new year.
“sáfar” or “záfar”, month of departure of war.
“rabi’ al-awwal” or “rabi I”, spring.
“rabi’ al-thani” or “rabi II”, continuation of the spring.
“yumada al-wula” or “yumada I”, month of drought.
“yumada al-thania” or “yamada II”, continuation of the drought.
“rajab” or “reyeb”, month of respect.
sha’aban” or “chaban”, month of germination 9.
Ramadan”, month of great heat.
“shawwal” or “chual”, month of mating of animals.
“du al-qa’da” or “dulkada”, month of rest.
“du al-hiyya” or “duljiya”, month of pilgrimage.

In the original sense of the name of the months does not coincide in many cases with reality, because there is no intercalary or embolismal system, year having 13 lunations, to keep the months in the same season with respect to the sun, and the months go backwards in cycles of 32 and a half years.