Most Islamic nations have national moon-sighting committees that decide when the key dates are for the whole country to follow. Dates can vary by a day or two on either side, depending on which reports of moon sightings are followed. The Islamic year of 1444 runs from July 30, 2022, to July 19, 2023. Years older than that date are denoted as BH (Before Hijra). The calendar was established in 622AD when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina - after being warned of an assassination plot - and established the first Muslim community (ummah), an event commemorated as the Hijra. All other dates within that month can then be determined. READ MORE: Tributes paid to 'kind and dedicated' ex Birmingham Lord Mayor Mohammed Azimĭates in the calendar can be predicted in advance but in practice, a sighting of the first crescent of the new moon is confirmed before the start of each month is known.

It means that Islamic dates fall 10 or 11 days earlier in each regular western year. This lunar calendar is shorter than the 365 (and sometimes 366) days in the solar-based year of the Gregorian calendar followed by much of the western world. The Islamic calendar - also called the Hijri calendar - is based on the cycle of the moon and consists of 12 months in a year of 354 days. So when are they? And how are they worked out? Thus, the beginning of the month may depend on the observer's location, weather, visibility, etc.We are now in the year 1444 of the Islamic calendar and that means events such as Ramadan, Eid, and the Hajj pilgrimage will be coming round once again. Traditionally, it is believed that the new month begins with the moment when for the first time after sunset, the crescent of the new moon becomes visible, and the Islamic clerics can confirm it. The calculator calendar is the most common in the Islamic world the secular (civil) calendar, the beginning of the month, is determined astronomically. The Julian calendar (the Gregorian did not yet exist) was July 16, 622 A.D. The days of the Muslim calendar are counted from the sunset, so the sunset of the previous day started 1 day 1 month 1 year of exile (Anno Hegiræ, A.H.) The beginning of chronology or the era(see Old Russian (Byzantine) system of chronology) in the Muslim calendar is the date of the expulsion of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina, or Hidzhry ( Hegiræ). Therefore, for example, the month of Ramadan, whose name in Arabic means 'to burn', may happen in the winter. However, in 631 AD, the Prophet Muhammad has forbidden to add these days and the Muslim year became strictly lunar. Generally speaking, earlier, in pre-Islamic times, the Arabs used a solar-lunar calendar, and there was a 13 month, who introduced an amendment to the solar year so that the month remained tied to the seasons. Since the calendar is based on the moon and the lunar year is shorter than the solar year, the month is not tied to the seasons, and each year they are shifting for about 11 days relative to the solar calendar. Thus, the average length of the year will be approximately equal to 354.366(6) days, and the month will be equal to 29.5305(5) days, which is much closer to the length of the synodic month. Thus, every 30 years contains 19 normal years of 354 days and 11 leap years of 355 days. Leap years follow a 30-year cycle and fall on the 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, and 29 years of the cycle. Without the introduction of leap years, the average duration of the year's months would be strictly 29.5 days, which would give us a big error. The last month consists of 29 days, and during a leap year is extended to 30 days. The well-known Gregorian calendar is solar, but the Muslim calendar is lunar.Ī year in the Muslim calendar consists of 12 months, which alternate between 30 and 29 days. Synodic month - the period of the Moon revolution around the Earth between the two new moons.ĭuration of the synodical month - 29.53059 daysĭuring the synodical month, there is a complete change of phases of the moon. Lunar calendar - calendar, which is based on the synodic month. Tropical year - the time interval between two successive passages of the Sun through the vernal equinox.ĭuration of the tropical year - 365,242196 daysĭuring the tropical year, there is a complete change of seasons. Solar calendar - calendar, which is based on the tropical year. Traditionally, here is some information(I've actually discovered all this just now).

Islamic calendar months