Islamic holidays
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There are two official holidays in Islam: Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting during daylight hours), and Muslims usually give zakat (charity) on the occasion. Eid Al-Adha is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah and lasts for four days, during which Muslims usually sacrifice a sheep and distribute its meat in 3 parts: among family, friends, and the poor.
Both of the holidays occur on dates in the Arabic (Islamic) calendar, which is lunar, and thus their dates in the Gregorian calendar, which is solar, change each year. The Gregorian calendar is based on the orbital period of the Earth's revolution around the Sun, approximately 3651⁄4 days, while the Islamic calendar is based on the synodic period of the Moon's revolution around the Earth, approximately 291⁄2 days. The Islamic calendar alternates months of 29 and 30 days (which begin with the new moon). Twelve of these months constitute an Islamic year.
Islamic Eid holidays
Religious practices
Fasting
Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar when the Quran was revealed to Muhammad.[1] Fasting is a purifying experience so that Muslims can gain compassion and deepen their faith in Allah.[2]
Although the idea of fasting is done so people feel what the poor and the hungry go through, the needy must also fast for Ramadan. Muslims fast by denying themselves food, water and all related sexual activity with their spouses, but also many things religiously forbidden but socially forgotten can void the person's fast, such as Ghibah (backbiting others) and deceiving others. However, people with chronic diseases or unhealthy conditions such as diabetes for example, and those who have not reached the age of puberty are exempt from fasting. Travelers, and women who are menstruating or nursing a baby, are exempt from fasting as well during their special situation but are required to fast later.[citation needed]
Pilgrimage
Hajj
Umrah
Dates of holidays and other days of note
| Hijri date | 1438 AH | 1439 AH | 1440 AH | 1441 AH | 1442 AH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islamic New Year | 1 Muḥarram | 2 Oct. 2016 | 21 Sep. 2017 | 11 Sep. 2018 | 31 Aug. 2019 | 20 Aug. 2020 |
| Ashura | 10 Muḥarram | 11 Oct. 2016 | 30 Sep. 2017 | 20 Sep. 2018 | 9 Sep. 2019 | 29 Aug. 2020 |
| Arba'een[a] | 20 or 21 Ṣafar[b] | 20 Nov. 2016 | 9 Nov. 2017 | 30 Oct. 2018 | 19 Oct. 2019 | 8 Oct. 2020 |
| Mawlid an-Nabī[c] | 12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal (Sunni) | 11 Dec. 2016 | 30 Nov. 2017 | 20 Nov. 2018 | 9 Nov. 2019 | 29 Oct. 2020 |
| 17 Rabī‘ al-Awwal (Shia) | 16 Dec. 2016 | 5 Dec. 2017 | 25 Nov. 2018 | 14 Nov. 2019 | 3 Nov. 2020 | |
| Birthday of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib[a] | 13 Rajab | 10 Apr. 2017 | 30 Mar. 2018 | 20 Mar. 2019 | 8 Mar. 2020 | 25 Feb. 2021 |
| Laylat al-Mi'raj | 27 Rajab[d] | 24 Apr. 2017 | 13 Apr. 2018 | 3 Apr. 2019 | 22 Mar. 2020 | 11 Mar. 2021 |
| Laylat al-Bara'at | 15 Sha‘bān | 11 May 2017 | 1 May 2018 | 20 Apr. 2019 | 8 Apr. 2020 | 28 Mar. 2021 |
| Birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdī[e] | 15 Sha‘bān | 11 May 2017 | 1 May 2018 | 20 Apr. 2019 | 8 Apr. 2020 | 28 Mar. 2021 |
| First day of Ramaḍān | 1 Ramaḍān | 27 May 2017 | 16 May 2018 | 6 May 2019 | 24 Apr. 2020 | 13 Apr. 2021 |
| Laylat al-Qadr | 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29 Ramaḍān[f] | between 14 & 24 June 2017 |
between 3 & 13 June 2018 |
between 24 May & 3 June 2019 |
between 12 & 22 May 2020 |
between 1 & 11 May 2021 |
| Chaand Raat[g] | 29 or 30 Ramaḍān[h] | 24 June 2017 | 14 June 2018 | 3 June 2019 | 23 May 2020 | 12 May 2021 |
| Eid al-Fitr | 1 Shawwāl | 25 June 2017 | 15 June 2018 | 4 June 2019 | 24 May 2020 | 13 May 2021 |
| Hajj | 8–13 Dhū al-Ḥijja | 30 Aug. – 4 Sep. 2017 | 19–24 Aug. 2018 | 9–14 Aug. 2019 | 29 July – 3 Aug. 2020 | 18–23 July 2021 |
| Day of Arafah | 9 Dhū al-Ḥijja | 31 Aug. 2017 | 20 Aug. 2018 | 10 Aug. 2019 | 30 July 2020 | 19 July 2021 |
| Eid al-Adha | 10 Dhū al-Ḥijja | 1 Sep. 2017 | 21 Aug. 2018 | 11 Aug. 2019 | 31 July 2020 | 20 July 2021 |
| Eid al-Ghadeer[a] | 18 Dhū al-Ḥijja | 9 Sep. 2017 | 29 Aug. 2018 | 19 Aug. 2019 | 8 Aug. 2020 | 28 July 2021 |
| Eid al-Mubahalah[a] | 24 Dhū al-Ḥijja | 15 Sep. 2017 | 4 Sep. 2018 | 25 Aug. 2019 | 14 Aug. 2020 | 3 Aug. 2021 |
- ^ a b c d Primarily observed by Shias.
- ^ Observed 40 days after Ashura.
- ^ Not observed by some Sunnis.
- ^ There is some disagreement about this date; see Isra and Mi'raj.
- ^ Primarily observed by Twelver Shias.
- ^ Most often observed on 23 Ramaḍān by Shias and 27 Ramaḍān by Sunnis; see Laylat al-Qadr.
- ^ Primarily observed in South Asia.
- ^ Observed on the last evening of Ramaḍān; see Chaand Raat.
Some Gregorian dates may vary slightly from those given, and may also vary by country. See Islamic calendar.
References
- ^ 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.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Molly., Aloian, (2009). Ramadan. New York: Crabtree. ISBN 0778742857. OCLC 227911610.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Special Islamic Days". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Islamic Calendar". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
Further reading
- Leaman, Oliver, "Festivals of Love", in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol I, pp. 197–199.
External links
- The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia (with date converter valid from 1937 to 2077)
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