Months
Four of the twelve Hijri months are considered sacred, although there is disagreement over the designated months, such as between proponents for the sequences {7,11,12,1} vs. {12,1,2,3}. The twelve Hijri months are named as follows in Arabic:
- Muḥarram — المحرّم, "forbidden" — so called because it was unlawful (haram) to fight during this month. Muharram is the second most sacred Muslim month and includes the Day of Ashura.
- Ṣafar — صفر, "void" — supposedly named because pagan Arabs looted during this month and left the houses empty.
- Rabīʿ I (Rabīʿ al-Awwal) — ربيع الأوّل, "the first spring".
- Rabīʿ II (Rabīʿ ath-Thānī or Rabīʿ al-Ākhir) — ربيع الثاني or ربيع الآخر, "the second (or last) spring".
- Jumādā I (Jumādā al-Ūlā) — جمادى الأولى, "the first month of parched land". Often considered the pre-Islamic "summer".
- Jumādā II (Jumādā ath-Thāniya or Jumādā al-Ākhira) — جمادى الثانية or جمادى الآخرة, "the second (or last) month of parched land".
- Rajab — رجب, "respect" or "honor". This is another sacred month in which fighting was traditionally forbidden.
- Shaʿbān — شعبان, "scattered", marking the time of year when Arab tribes dispersed to find water.
- Ramaḍān — رمضان, "scorched". Ramadan is the most venerated month of the Hijri calendar during which Muslims must fast between dawn and sunset.
- Shawwāl — شوّال, "raised", as she-camels begin to raise their tails during this time of the year, after giving birth.
- Dhū al-Qaʿda — ذو القعدة, "the one of truce". Dhu al-Qa'da was another month during which war was banned.
- Dhū al-Ḥijja — ذو الحجّة, "the one of pilgrimage", referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj.
Read more about this topic: Islamic Calendar
Famous quotes containing the word months:
“The reason American cars dont sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. Thats why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)
“Can no man tell me of my unthrifty son?
Tis full three months since I did see him last.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)
“My time has been passed viciously and agreeably; at thirty-one so few years months days hours or minutes remain that Carpe Diem is not enough. I have been obliged to crop even the secondsfor who can trust to tomorrow?”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (17881824)