Question 1

What is the Hijri calendar?

Accepted Answer

The Hijri calendar (التقويم الهجري) is the Islamic lunar calendar, dating from the Prophet Muḥammad's ﷺ emigration (hijrah) from Mecca to Madinah in 622 CE. It has 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days, totaling roughly 354 days — 11 days shorter than the Gregorian solar year.

Question 2

What are the 12 Islamic months?

Accepted Answer

Muḥarram, Ṣafar, Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Rabīʿ ath-Thānī, Jumādā al-Ūlā, Jumādā ath-Thāniyah, Rajab, Shaʿbān, Ramaḍān, Shawwāl, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, and Dhū al-Ḥijjah. Four are considered sacred (ashhur al-ḥurum): Muḥarram, Rajab, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, and Dhū al-Ḥijjah.

Question 3

Which Hijri calculation does Quran Daily use?

Accepted Answer

The calendar uses Umm al-Qura (the official Saudi Arabian calendar tables) with visibility calibration at the Kaaba's coordinates. Umm al-Qura is a calculated calendar, not a moonsighting-only method — traditional communities that follow local moonsighting may see dates shift by one day.

Question 4

What are the major Islamic dates?

Accepted Answer

1 Muḥarram (Islamic New Year), 10 Muḥarram (ʿĀshūrāʾ), 12 Rabīʿ al-Awwal (Mawlid), 27 Rajab (Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj by tradition), 15 Shaʿbān (Laylat al-Barāʾah in some traditions), all of Ramaḍān, 1 Shawwāl (ʿĪd al-Fiṭr), 8–13 Dhū al-Ḥijjah (Ḥajj), 10 Dhū al-Ḥijjah (ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā).

Question 5

Why does Ramadan start on a different date each year?

Accepted Answer

Because the lunar year is ~11 days shorter than the solar (Gregorian) year, every Hijri date shifts backward ~11 days per Gregorian year. Ramaḍān thus cycles through all four seasons over roughly 33 years. The month always begins with the actual (or calculated) sighting of the new moon.

Question 6

Can I convert dates between Hijri and Gregorian?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the /calendar page lets you input any Gregorian date and see its Hijri equivalent, and vice versa. Conversions use the Umm al-Qura table for post-1425 AH dates and Tabular Islamic calendar arithmetic for pre-1425 AH historical dates.

Islamic calendar

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