Islamic holidays

There are two official holidays in Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Both holidays occur on dates in the lunar Islamic calendar, which is different from the solar based Gregorian calendar, so they are observed on different Gregorian dates every year. There are a number of other days of note and festivals, some common to all Muslims, other specific to Shia Islam as a whole or branches thereof.

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Both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow a period of 10 holy days or nights: the last 10 nights of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr), and the first 10 days of Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid al-Adha). The Night of Power, one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, is the holiest night of the year. Conversely, the Day of Arafah, the day before Eid al-Adha, is the holiest day of the Islamic year.

Additionally, Friday is considered the holiest day of the week, and in Islamic tradition, is considered a celebration in itself. Friday Prayers (Juma) are congregational prayers held in mosques, and Muslims are encouraged to wear clean clothes, perfume, and bathe. It's customary to eat special meals with family on this day.

Holidays
Main articles: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha

Eid al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting during daylight hours), and Muslims may perform acts of zakat (charity) on the occasion, which begins after the new moon is sighted for the beginning of the month of Shawal. Celebration begins with prayers on the morning of 1 Shawal, followed by breakfast, and often celebratory meals throughout the day.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, when the Hajj pilgrimage takes place, and lasts for four days. Muslims may perform an act of zakat and friendship by slaughtering a sheep and distributing the meat to family, to friends, and to the poor. Muslims are also encouraged to be especially friendly and reach out to one another during this period.

Religious practices

Fasting
Main article: Ramadan

Muslims celebrate when the Quran was revealed to Muhammad by fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.[1] Fasting is a purifying experience so that Muslims can gain compassion and deepen their faith in Allah.[2]

The act of fasting represents the condition experienced by the needy, who although already hungry must also fast for Ramadan. Muslims fast by denying themselves food, water and all related sexual activity with their spouses, but people with chronic diseases or unhealthy conditions such as diabetes, and children are exempt from fasting. Travelers, and women who are menstruating or nursing a baby, are exempt from fasting but are required to fast later. A person's observance of fasting can be for naught if religiously forbidden acts are made, such as Ghibah (backbiting others) and deceiving others.

Hajj
Main article: Hajj

Umrah
Main article: Umrah

Dates of holidays and other days of note

The Islamic calendar is based on the synodic period of the Moon's revolution around the Earth, approximately 29​1⁄2 days. The Islamic calendar alternates months of 29 and 30 days (which begin with the new moon). Twelve of these months make up an Islamic year, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year.

Hijri date1442 AH1443 AH1444 AH1445 AH
Islamic New Year1 Muḥarram20 Aug. 20209 Aug. 202130 July 202219 July 2023
Ashura10 Muḥarram29 Aug. 202018 Aug. 20218 Aug. 202228 July 2023
Arbaʽeen[lower-alpha 1]20 or 21 Ṣafar[lower-alpha 2]8 Oct. 202027 Sep. 202117 Sep. 20226 Sep. 2023
Eid-e-Shuja' (Eid-e-Zahra)[lower-alpha 3]9 Rabī‘ al-Awwal26 Oct. 202015 Oct. 20215 Oct. 202224 Sep. 2023
Mawlid an-Nabī
('Birthday of the Prophet' [Muhammad])[lower-alpha 4]		12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal (Sunni)29 Oct. 202018 Oct. 20218 Oct. 202227 Sep. 2023
17 Rabī‘ al-Awwal (Shia)3 Nov. 202023 Oct. 202113 Oct. 20222 Oct. 2023
Birthday of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib[lower-alpha 1]13 Rajab25 Feb. 202114 Feb. 20224 Feb. 202325 Jan. 2024
Laylat al-Mi'raj27 Rajab[lower-alpha 5]11 Mar. 202128 Feb. 202218 Feb. 20238 Feb. 2024
Laylat al-Bara'at15 Sha‘bān28 Mar. 202118 Mar. 20227 Mar. 202325 Feb. 2024
Birthday of Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdī[lower-alpha 3]15 Sha‘bān28 Mar. 202118 Mar. 20227 Mar. 202325 Feb. 2024
First day of Ramaḍān1 Ramaḍān13 Apr. 20212 Apr. 202223 Mar. 202311 Mar. 2024
Laylat al-Qadr19, 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29 Ramaḍān[lower-alpha 6]between
1 & 11 May 2021		between
20 & 30 Apr. 2022		between
10 & 20 Apr. 2023		between
29 Mar. & 8 Apr. 2024
Chaand Raat[lower-alpha 7]29 or 30 Ramaḍān[lower-alpha 8]12 May 20211 May 202220 Apr. 20239 Apr. 2024
Eid al-Fitr1 Shawwāl13 May 20212 May 202221 Apr. 202310 Apr. 2024
Hajj8–13 Dhū al-Ḥijja18–23 July 20217–12 July 202226 June – 1 July 202314–19 June 2024
Day of Arafah9 Dhū al-Ḥijja19 July 20218 July 202227 June 202315 June 2024
Eid al-Adha10 Dhū al-Ḥijja20 July 20219 July 202228 June 202316 June 2024
Eid al-Ghadeer[lower-alpha 1]18 Dhū al-Ḥijja28 July 202117 July 20226 July 202324 June 2024
Eid al-Mubahalah[lower-alpha 1]24 Dhū al-Ḥijja3 Aug. 202123 July 202212 July 202330 June 2024

[3][4]

  1. Primarily observed by Shias.
  2. Observed 40 days after Ashura.
  3. Primarily observed by Twelver Shias.
  4. Not observed by some Sunnis.
  5. There is some disagreement about this date; see Isra and Mi'raj.
  6. Most often observed on 23 Ramaḍān by Shias and 27 Ramaḍān by Sunnis; see Laylat al-Qadr.
  7. Primarily observed in South Asia.
  8. Observed on the last evening of Ramaḍān; see Chaand Raat.

Some Gregorian dates may vary slightly from those given, and may also vary by country. See Islamic calendar.

References
  1. Reza, Aslan (2011). No god but God : the origins and evolution of Islam (1st ed.). New York: Delacorte Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780385739757. OCLC 614990718.
  2. Molly., Aloian (2009). Ramadan. New York: Crabtree. ISBN 978-0778742852. OCLC 227911610.
  3. "Islamic Calendar". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. "Special Islamic Days". IslamicFinder. Retrieved 12 September 2020.

Further reading
  • Leaman, Oliver, "Festivals of Love", in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol I, pp. 197–199.
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