Islamic holidays

There are t wo official holidays in Islam, Eid al-Fit r and Eid al-Adha. Bot h holidays occur on dat es in
t he lunar Islamic calendar, which is different from t he solar based Gregorian calendar, so t hey are
observed on different Gregorian dat es every year. There are a number of ot her days of not e and
fest ivals, some common t o all Muslims, ot her specific t o Shia Islam as a whole or branches
t hereof.

Bot h Eid al-Fit r and Eid al-Adha follow a period of 10 holy days or night s: t he last 10 night s of
Ramadan (Eid al-Fit r), and t he first 10 days of Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid al-Adha). The Night of Power, one
of t he last 10 night s of Ramadan, is t he holiest night of t he year. Conversely, t he Day of Arafah,
t he day before Eid al-Adha, is t he holiest day of t he Islamic year.

Addit ionally, Friday is considered t he holiest day of t he week, and in Islamic t radit ion, is
considered a celebrat ion in it self. Friday Prayers (Juma) are congregat ional prayers held in
mosques, and Muslims are encouraged t o wear clean clot hes, perfume, and bat he. It 's cust omary
t o eat special meals wit h family on t his day.

Holidays

Eid al-Fit r is celebrat ed at t he end of Ramadan (a mont h of fast ing during daylight hours), and
Muslims may perform act s of zakat (charit y) on t he occasion, which begins aft er t he new moon
is sight ed for t he beginning of t he mont h of Shawwal. Celebrat ion begins wit h prayers on t he
morning of 1 Shawwal, followed by breakfast , and oft en celebrat ory meals t hroughout t he day.

Eid al-Adha is celebrat ed on t he t ent h day of Dhu al-Hijjah, when t he Hajj pilgrimage t akes place,
and last s for four days. Muslims may perform an act of zakat and friendship by slaught ering a
sheep and dist ribut ing t he meat t o family, t o friends, and t o t he poor. Muslims are also
encouraged t o be especially friendly and reach out t o one anot her during t his period.[1]

Religious practices

Fasting
…

The Fanoos, or Fanoos Ramadan, is a lantern used to light up homes, mosques, and streets, during the holy month of
Ramadan

Muslims celebrat e when t he Quran was revealed t o Muhammad by fast ing from dawn t o sunset
during Ramadan, t he nint h mont h of t he Islamic calendar.[2] Fast ing is a purifying experience so
t hat Muslims can gain compassion and deepen t heir fait h in Allah.[3]

The act of fast ing represent s t he condit ion experienced by t he needy, who alt hough already
hungry must also fast for Ramadan. Muslims fast by denying t hemselves food, wat er and all
relat ed sexual act ivit y wit h t heir spouses, but people wit h chronic diseases or unhealt hy
condit ions such as diabet es, and children are exempt from fast ing. Travelers, and women who are
menst ruat ing or nursing a baby, are exempt from fast ing but are required t o fast lat er. A person's
observance of fast ing can be for naught if religiously forbidden act s are made, such as Ghibah
(backbit ing ot hers) and deceiving ot hers.

Pilgrimage
…
Hajj
…
Umrah
…
 Dates of holidays and other days of note

The Islamic calendar is based on t he synodic period of t he Moon's revolut ion around t he Eart h,
approximat ely 291⁄2 days. The Islamic calendar alt ernat es mont hs of 29 and 30 days (which
begin wit h t he new moon). Twelve of t hese mont hs make up an Islamic year, which is 11 days
short er t han t he Gregorian year. Some Gregorian dat es may vary slight ly from t hose given, and
may also vary by count ry. See Islamic calendar.[4][5]
 Holiday name Hijri date 1443 AH 1444 AH 1445 AH

9 Aug.
Islamic New Year 1 Muḥarram 30 July 2022 19 July 2023
2021

18 Aug.
Ashura 10 Muḥarram 8 Aug. 2022 28 July 2023
2021

27 Sep.
Arbaʽeen[a] 20 or 21 Ṣafar[b] 17 Sep. 2022 6 Sep. 2023
2021

15 Oct .
Eid-e-Shuja' (Eid-e-Zahra)[c] 9 Rabī‘ al-Awwal 5 Oct . 2022 24 Sep. 2023
2021

Mawlid an-Nabī
18 Oct .
('Birt hday of t he Prophet ' 12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal 8 Oct . 2022 27 Sep. 2023
2021
[Muhammad])[d]

Birt hday of ‘Alī ibn Abī 14 Feb.

13 Rajab 4 Feb. 2023 25 Jan. 2024
Ṭālib[a] 2022

28 Feb.
Laylat al-Mi'raj 27 Rajab[e] 18 Feb. 2023 8 Feb. 2024
2022

18 Mar.
Laylat al-Bara'at 15 Sha‘bān 7 Mar. 2023 25 Feb. 2024
2022

Birt hday of Hujjat -Allah al- 18 Mar.

15 Sha‘bān 7 Mar. 2023 25 Feb. 2024
Mahdī[c] 2022

First day of Ramaḍān 1 Ramaḍān 2 Apr. 2022 23 Mar. 2023 11 Mar. 2024

bet ween bet ween bet ween

19, 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29
Laylat al-Qadr 20 & 30 10 & 20 Apr. 29 Mar. & 8
Ramaḍān[f]
Apr. 2022 2023 Apr. 2024

1 May
Chaand Raat [g] 29 or 30 Ramaḍān[h] 20 Apr. 2023 9 Apr. 2024
2022

2 May
Eid al-Fitr 1 Shawwāl 21 Apr. 2023 10 Apr. 2024
2022

7–12 July 26 June – 1 14–19 June

Hajj 8–13 Dhū al-Ḥijja
2022 July 2023 2024

Day of Arafah 9 Dhū al-Ḥijja 8 July 2022 27 June 2023 15 June 2024

Eid al-Adha 10 Dhū al-Ḥijja 9 July 28 June 2023 16 June 2024

 2022

17 July
Eid al-Ghadeer[a] 18 Dhū al-Ḥijja 6 July 2023 24 June 2024
2022

23 July
Eid al-Mubahalah[a] 24 Dhū al-Ḥijja 12 July 2023 30 June 2024
2022

Notes to table
…
a. Primarily observed by Shias.

b. Observed 40 days after Ashura.

c. Primarily observed by Twelver Shias.

d. Not observed by Wahhabis, Deobandis and Ahl-i-Hadith

e. There is some disagreement about this date; see Isra and Mi'raj.

f. Most often observed on 23 Ramaḍān by Shias and 27 Ramaḍān by Sunnis; see Laylat al-Qadr.

g. Primarily observed in South Asia.

h. Observed on the last evening of Ramaḍān; see Chaand Raat.

References

1. ‫ داﺋﺮة اﻟﺸﺆون اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ واﻟﻌﻤﻞ اﻟﺨﻴﺮي‬:‫ اﻻﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة‬،‫ دﺑﻲ‬.‫ اﻟﻌﻴﺪ ﻓﺮﺣﺔ وآداب‬.(2014) ‫ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ‬,‫اﻟﺸﺤﻴﻤﻲ‬.
ISBN 978-9948-499-99-2.

2. Reza, Aslan (2011). No god but God : the origins and evolution of Islam (1st ed.). New York: Delacorte
Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780385739757. OCLC 614990718 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61499
0718) .

3. Molly., Aloian (2009). Ramadan (https://archive.org/details/ramadan0000aloi) . New York: Crabtree.

ISBN 978-0778742852. OCLC 227911610 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227911610) .

4. "Islamic Calendar" (http://islamicfinder.org/islamic-calendar/) . IslamicFinder. Retrieved 12 September

2020.

5. "Special Islamic Days" (http://islamicfinder.org/special-islamic-days/) . IslamicFinder. Retrieved

12 September 2020.

Further reading
 Leaman, Oliver, "Fest ivals of Love", in Muhammad in Hist ory, Thought , and Cult ure: An
Encyclopedia of t he Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edit ed by C. Fit zpat rick and A. Walker, Sant a
Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol I, pp. 197–199.

External links

The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia (ht t p://www.st aff.science.uu.nl/~gent 0113/islam/u
mmalqura.ht m) (wit h dat e convert er valid from 1937 t o 2077)

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title=Islamic_holidays&oldid=1060545654"

Last edited 1 month ago by BobKilcoyne