I was born on the 2nd of Dhu al-Qi'dah 1398 Hijriyah or you can say 4th of October 1978 as per the Gregorian calendar. As a matter of fact, I never knew the Islamic date of my birth. Thanks to a sudden burst of enthusiasm that I stumbled to fetch for it. As I sit down today writing about the Islamic calendar and how much does a Muslim household use it, well, I am actually finding it interesting and thinking why & how did we drift away from the culture we belong to. Not that, I dislike the Gregorian calendar or I have distaste for the western culture. I believe the two are just different…and as you can see the Islamic calendar is nearly 580 years behind the western calendar. The difference is insignificant, but certainly makes me 2 year older. As per Hijri I am 32 years old already. And even you too can add two! Why don’t you click below and find out for yourself and you don’t need to be a Muslim to do it:
Western- Islamic Calendar Converter
There is a lot of information regarding Islamic calendar available on the internet. But then, the source is always not reliable, and so is mine. To dig deep into its history I can suggest you some really good websites, where I found the answer to all my questions and even more (mentioned at the bottom).
Probably if you ask a Muslim in this part of the world to name the Islamic months, only a handful will pass the test. On the other hand there are two months which we (as in the Muslims) will certainly know. The first being the 1st Month of our holy calendar, Muharram, supposedly our new year begins on 1st of Muharram but due to a sad & tragic incident during the early days of Islam it has become a month of mourning. In different parts of the world, the mourning is of different level - I feel the right way, which also has been taught to me, is observing fast, reading your prayers (salaat/namaaz) and keeping a low profile without disturbing a non-believer. Remember, this is not a festival. You can certainly wish “A happy new year” to a Muslim on the 1st of this month but avoid saying “Happy Muharram” on the 10th day (Ashura). As again the situation is slightly complex, the New Year sets in with a month of mourning! Please refer to an Islamic scholar or search for the history of Muharram to find more. As for me, I do not like the chest beating with blood flowing out profusely and loud cries of mourning remembering the tragedy. I even hate the processions taken out by many ‘so-called’ Muslims who carry models of Karbala (Tazia), ride a horse (Duldul), stage up a girl/boy as a warrior, with high flags (Alam) in green, black, white, yellow, etc. Holding up the traffic and enacting the war with sticks (lathis) & swords (talwar) in something called “akhaada”, beating along huge drums (nakkaara) - a perfect free show for the people living in the nearby buildings. This custom proves that none of them know the relevance of Muharram. I condemn it. At the same time I would like to apologise to my non-Muslim friends for such errant behaviour on this day by such Muslims, who unfortunately are poor, unemployed & uneducated.
The other month which I am sure each Muslim in this planet is aware of is Ramadan or Ramzaan. It is regarded as the holiest month for the Muslims, where all the eligible believers should observe a month long fast (Roza). For the last 10 years I have been a faithful follower of this month – a lot of interesting terms surface during this period and a couple of them you must have heard of. We start the fasting month with a special prayer (namaaz) on the eve of 1st of Ramadan, where the whole Quran is completed over 4-27 days, which is called namaaz-e-taraweeh. Following to that, at the dawn, before the sun rises, we eat in a custom called Sehri. The breaking of the fast just at the sunset is called aftaar/iftar; traditionally the first thing that we eat is Dates (Khajoor). During this month we donate to the needy and give charity to the underprivileged through Zakaat & Fitrah. The last Friday of Ramadan is called Alvida Jummah, the turn-out of the faithful in the masjids at the Friday prayers is as good as Eid day. Not to forget the Chand raat (Eve of Eid-Ul-Fitr), when the final shopping for the big day is done. I have almost always bought a white Kurta Pyjama for Eid from Zakaria Street. A Muslim dominated area encircling the biggest masjid of Calcutta ‘Nakhoda Mosque”. Many a times I have taken my non-Muslim friends to this area as they believe, “Heart is where the food is”. The Islamic month of Ramadan is a gift to all the believers- I really cherish this period, even as I completely avoid movies, music, dancing and other kinds of such worldly joys. Probably that is where the irony lies. Again, I would suggest, if you are finding this interesting please ask an Islamic Scholar or you may even Google it. No, by this I don’t mean Islamic Google! The takers can name it anything.
Let’s have a look at the names of the 12 months that comprise the Islamic year:
| 1. Muharram | 7. Rajab |
| 2. Safar | 8. Sha'ban |
| 3. Rabi’ al-awwal (Rabi’ I) | 9. Ramadan |
| 4. Rabi’ al-thani (Rabi’ II) | 10. Shawwal |
| 5. Jumada al-awwal (Jumada I) | 11. Dhu al-Qi'dah |
| 6. Jumada al-thani (Jumada II) | 12. Dhu al-Hijjah |
(Due to different transliterations of the Arabic alphabet, other spellings of the months are possible.)
Each month starts when the lunar crescent is first seen (by a human observer’s eye) after a new moon. Although new moons may be calculated quite precisely, the actual visibility of the crescent is much more difficult to predict. It depends on factors such as weather, the optical properties of the atmosphere, and the location of the observer. 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. Looking at India itself – The Muslims here have celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr, which comes after Ramadan on the 1st day of Shawwal (10th month), on different days in the same year. I have always found myself at the terrace in the evening during last few days of Ramadan trying to sight the Moon, a voluntary practice which has been coming down from generations – mostly unsuccessful. That doesn’t mean I do not celebrate Eid…hahaha. There are official Moon-sighting committees who do the final announcement. Once we sight the beautiful crescent shaped moon, which marks the end of the 8th month of Islamic Calendar Sha’baan and wish the faithful “Chand Mubarak”, and I head for the namaaz-e-taraweeh (read above). Last time I read my taraweeh namaaz in Mumbai at Diwan centre in Jogeshwari area. We completed in 10 days and thanks to my friend Capt. Ataullah Khan for giving me company. Each day after the namaaz we used to go restaurants like Bismillah, Bostaan, etc. A sumptuous dinner followed by juice near the Jogeshwari Station or otherwise tea. Well, this is the time & place I started to have tea again after around 15 years.
Well for me the other months in the Islamic calendar come & go, and I completely lose track, until the cycle is repeated.
All the celebrations, the festivities, the important days for Muslims are completely based on the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar (or Hijri calendar) is a purely lunar calendar. It contains 12 months that are based on the motion of the moon, and because 12 synodic months is only 12 x 29.53=354.36 days, the Islamic calendar is consistently shorter than a tropical year, and therefore it shifts with respect to the Christian calendar.
The above, is purely, my experience of the Islamic calendar and how I have lived with/without it. I might have missed many things from the religious/scientific point of view, which means I am not aware of it. Though I am studying the subject now, as in voluntarily researching on it, hence I would love to have your views, suggestions & criticism. Thank you for reading, and giving your time.
Peace.
For more info on Islamic Calendar refer to:
2. http://www.islamicfinder.org/Hcal/index.php
3. http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/islamic.html
4. http://www.rabiah.com/convert/convert.php3
5. http://www.islam.com/IslamCalen.htm
