Knowledge Library: Hijri Calendar, Prayer and Qibla
A documented knowledge library covering what you need to know about the Hijri calendar, prayer times and the qibla: the origin and structure of the Hijri calendar, the months of the year and their names, the official Umm al-Qura calendar and how it is computed, the astronomical basis of prayer times and how calculation methods differ between countries, Islamic occasions and their dates, and how to determine qibla direction accurately. Dates in these articles are updated automatically from the Umm al-Qura tables used across this site.
- What Is the Hijri Calendar? Its Origin, Structure, and Difference from the Gregorian Calendar
The Hijri calendar: a purely lunar calendar starting from the Prophet’s migration in 622 CE with a year of 354 or 355 days. Its adoption under Caliph Umar, its structure, and how it relates to the Gregorian calendar.
- The Months of the Hijri Year: Names, Meanings, and the Sacred Months
The twelve Hijri month names with their lexical meanings, the four sacred months, and why the months no longer keep fixed seasons after the abolition of intercalation.
- Umm al-Qura Calendar: Rules and Sighting Differences
Saudi Arabia’s official Umm al-Qura calendar: who issues it, its astronomical rules, the civil vs religious distinction, and why it can differ from sighting.
- How Prayer Times Are Calculated: The Sun, Twilight Angles, and the Global Methods
The astronomical basis of the five daily prayer times from the sun’s position, the twilight angles on which the global methods differ (MWL, Umm al-Qura, ISNA, Egyptian, Karachi), and the high-latitude problem and its solutions.
- Islamic Occasions in the Hijri Year: Their Dates and Virtues
Dates of the Islamic occasions for Hijri year 1448 in the Gregorian calendar per Umm al-Qura: Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, the two Eids, Arafah and Ashura, with their virtues from the Quran and Sunnah.
- Qibla Direction: How to Find the Direction of the Kaaba Accurately
What the qibla is and why prayer faces it, the great-circle equation for the qibla angle in degrees, the difference between true and magnetic north, and the ruling for one who strove but erred the direction.