Islamic Occasions in the Hijri Year: Their Dates and Virtues

The occasions of the Hijri year

Islamic occasions follow the lunar months, advancing about 11 days in the Gregorian calendar each year. The table below lists the occasions of Hijri year 1448 with their Gregorian dates per the official Umm al-Qura calendar, together with each occasion’s virtue and its source:

Muharram: the new year and Ashura

The Hijri year opens with Muharram, commemorating the migration on which Hijri dating was built (detailed in What Is the Hijri Calendar?). Its tenth day is Ashura: the Prophet ﷺ found the Jews of Madinah fasting it and said, “We have more claim over Moses than you,” then fasted it and ordered it fasted (Sahih al-Bukhari 2004) — for on it Allah rescued Moses and his people from Pharaoh. Its fast expiates the previous year, as authentically narrated from Abu Qatadah: “Fasting the day of Arafah, I count on Allah to expiate the year before it and the year after it; and fasting the day of Ashura, I count on Allah to expiate the year before it” (Sahih Muslim 1162). He ﷺ also ordered differing from the People of the Book by fasting the ninth with it: “If I remain alive till next year, I shall fast the ninth” (Sahih Muslim 1134). And Muharram is the best fasting month after Ramadan: “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah, Muharram” (Sahih Muslim 1163).

Rajab, Shaban and Ramadan

Rajab is one of the sacred months; many mark the Night Journey and Ascension (Isra and Miʿraj) in it, commonly on its 27th night — a dating on which scholars have differed, with no explicit authentic text fixing it. In Shaban fasting multiplies in imitation of the Prophet ﷺ, and many mark its mid-month night. Then comes Ramadan: “The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was sent down” (2:185), containing Laylat al-Qadr, “better than a thousand months” (97:3), to be sought in the odd nights of the last ten. Its start is announced by sighting, as explained in The Umm al-Qura Calendar.

Shawwal and Dhul-Hijjah: the Eids and the seasons of obedience

Shawwal opens with Eid al-Fitr — the day of reward for the Ramadan fast and the Zakat al-Fitr — and fasting its six days alongside Ramadan is recommended. Then comes Dhul-Hijjah, the month of the greater pilgrimage, whose first ten days are supremely virtuous: “No deeds are better than deeds in these days” (Sahih al-Bukhari 969). Its ninth day is the day of Arafah, whose fast expiates two years as above, and where the standing pilgrims’ supplication is answered. Its tenth is Eid al-Adha, the day of sacrifice, followed by the three days of Tashriq, days of eating, drinking and remembrance. This site ties all these dates to the Umm al-Qura calendar on the Hijri year page.

An important note: dates vary with sighting

These dates follow the standard Umm al-Qura computation; the official announcement of the acts of worship (the start of Ramadan, the Eids, Arafah) follows crescent sighting and your country’s authorities, and may differ from the computed date by a day or two. Use the ±1/±2 day adjustment available across this site’s tools to match your local announcement; details are on the methodology page.

Sources and references

• Sahih al-Bukhari 2004: the Prophet’s fasting of Ashura for the rescue of Moses.
• Sahih Muslim 1162: the virtues of fasting Arafah and Ashura.
• Sahih Muslim 1134: the command to fast the ninth of Muharram with Ashura.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 969: the virtue of deeds in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.
• Umm al-Qura University, Makkah: the official reference for occasion dates per the Umm al-Qura calendar.