| The Muslim calendar, or Hijri,
is a purely lunar calendar, and in that, it differs from the Arabic
pre-Muslim calendar, of Aramaic origin, in which a month was regularly
introduced to stay in phase with the solar year.
It’s with the Quran that the calendar becomes solely lunar.
[Moon crescents] These are signs marking fixed periods of time
for mankind and for the pilgrimage “ (2-189) Each month
begins at the sight of the new moon. With 12 months of 29 or 30
days, the calendar loses 10 or 11 days a year against the Western
(Gregorian) calendar, and makes a complete revolution every 36
years.
|
| N° |
|
Lunar Months |
Meaning |
| 1 |
|
Muharram |
Holy Month |
| 2 |
|
Safar |
Empty Month |
| 3 |
|
Rabi' al awwal (Rabi I) |
First month in Spring |
| 4 |
|
Rabi' al thani (Rabi II) |
Second Month in Spring |
| 5 |
|
Jumada al awwal (Jumada I) |
First month of Drought |
| 6 |
|
Jumada al thani (Jumada II) |
Second Month of Drought |
| 7 |
|
Rajab |
Revered Month |
| 8 |
|
Sha'ban |
Month of the division |
| 9 |
|
Ramadan |
Month of the big heath |
| 10 |
|
Shawwal |
Month of the Hunt |
| 11 |
|
Dhu al-Qi'dah |
Month of the Rest |
| 12 |
|
Dhu al-Hijjah |
Month of the Pilgrimage |
|
Four months are holy ones: Muharram, Radjab, Dhu al-Qi'dah
et Dhu al-Hijjah.
It was the Caliph Omar (634-644) who instituted this Muslim calendar,
taking as a starting point the departure of Mohammed into exile,
when he fled from Mecca to Medina on 16th July 622. It is the
first year of the Hegira, and the 1st Muharram I.
Why choose this date? The exile in Medina is a turning point in
Islam’s history, virtually its foundation. It would not
have been a good idea to choose the death of Mohammed, a sad day
that could not be used to start a new era, and his birthday is
not known with certainty.
Here is the rule used to convert a Gregorian year (G) into a Muslim
year (H).
G=H+622-(H/33)
H=G-622+[(G-622)/32]
For example, to convert 2005 in Muslim year :
H=2005-622+[(2005-622)/32]=1426th year since Hegira.
And a link to a calendar
converter that we used to calculate correspondences.
LMuslims use a 7-day week, but it starts on Sunday.
|
| Day |
Arabic
Name |
Meaning |
Sunday |
Youm al Ahad |
First Day |
| Monday |
Youm al Thani |
Second Day |
| Tuesday |
Youm al Thaleth |
Third Day |
| Wednesday |
Youm al Arbaa |
Fourth Day |
| Thrusday |
Youm al Thamis |
Fifth Day |
| Friday |
Youm al Joumoua |
Assembly Day |
| Saturday |
Youm as Sabt |
Seventh Day |
|
Only Friday is given a special name. The day (hence, month and
year…) begins in the evening, and is divided into five unequal
parts, which vary during the year, depending on the sunset (defined
as the moment when a black and a white string can no longer be told
apart).
1. el_meghreb, the sunset ;
2. el_isha, the second hour in the night ;
3. es_sobh, dawn;
4. ed_dhohr, mid-day;
5. al_asr, mid-afternoon ;
These five parts correspond to the five Muslim prayers. Friday
was chosen as the prayer’s day by Mohammed, perhaps to differentiate
Muslims from Jews and Christians, but also because the Hegira
took place on a Friday. Also, Friday was the traditional day of
assembly – and the Arabic word for “mosque”,
jûmi, has the same root as the word for “assembly”
: jûmu’a.
The beginning of the day and month are decided by visual observation,
unless "an astronomical calculation prooves this observation
to be impossible".
|
In Morocco, daily life follows the western calendar, with a week
starting on Mondays, and non-working days on Saturdays and Sundays
(and special schedules on Fridays). Official acts, laws, contracts
often have both dates, western and Muslim, and Moroccans are used
to handle both calendars.
|
