Hijri calendar

Glossaries

Term	Definition
Hijri calendar	The Hijri calendar is the Islamic lunar calendar, starting from the Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra. The Hijri calendar, also called the Islamic lunar calendar, consists of 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days, amounting to a year of approximately 354 days. It is primarily used to determine Muslim religious observances, such as Ramadan, Hajj, and Mawlid. The calendar begins in 622 CE, marking the Hijra—the migration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina—which is considered the starting point of the Islamic era (Anno Hegirae, or AH). Because it is a purely lunar system, the Hijri calendar does not align with the solar year, causing Islamic holidays to shift about 11 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. Its months include Muharram, Ramadan, Shawwal, and Dhu al-Hijjah, each with religious significance. The Hijri calendar has had a profound cultural and historical impact in the Islamic world, shaping ritual life, social structure, and religious architecture through date inscriptions, moon symbolism, and ritual timing.

Term

Definition

The Hijri calendar is the Islamic lunar calendar, starting from the Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra.

The Hijri calendar, also called the Islamic lunar calendar, consists of 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days, amounting to a year of approximately 354 days. It is primarily used to determine Muslim religious observances, such as Ramadan, Hajj, and Mawlid.

The calendar begins in 622 CE, marking the Hijra—the migration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina—which is considered the starting point of the Islamic era (Anno Hegirae, or AH).

Because it is a purely lunar system, the Hijri calendar does not align with the solar year, causing Islamic holidays to shift about 11 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. Its months include Muharram, Ramadan, Shawwal, and Dhu al-Hijjah, each with religious significance.

The Hijri calendar has had a profound cultural and historical impact in the Islamic world, shaping ritual life, social structure, and religious architecture through date inscriptions, moon symbolism, and ritual timing.