الاشهر الهجريّة

The Hijri Months

(used in the Islamic calendar - Arabian Peninsula)

The Islamic months are named as follows in Arabic:

1. MuHarram — المحرّم, "forbidden" — so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month. Muharram is the second most sacred Muslim month and includes the Day of Ashura.
2. Safar — صفر, "void" — supposedly named because pagan Arabs looted during this month and left the houses empty.
3. Rabī3 I (Rabī3 al-Awwal) — ربيع الأوّل, "the first Spring".
4. Rabī3 II (Rabī3 ath-Thānī) or (Rabīʿ al-Ākhir) — ربيع الثاني or ربيع الآخر, "the second (or last) Spring".
5. Jumādā I (Jumādā al-Ūlā) — جمادى الأولى, "the first month of parched land".
6. Jumādā II (Jumādā ath-Thāniya or Jumādā al-Ākhira) — جمادى الآخرة, جمادى الثانية, "the second (or last) month of parched land".
7. Rajab — رجب, "respect" or "honor". Rajab is another of the sacred months in which fighting was traditionally forbidden.
8. Sha3bān — شعبان, "scattered", marking the time of year when Arab tribes dispersed to find water.
9. Ramadhān — رمضان, "scorched". Ramadan is the most venerated month of the Hijri calendar, during which Muslims fast between dawn and sunset.
10. Shawwāl — شوّال, "raised", as she-camels begin to raise their tails during this time of the year, after giving birth.
11. Dhū al-Qi3da — ذو القعدة, "the one of truce". Dhu al-Qa'da was another month during which war was banned.
12. Dhū al-Hijja — ذو الحجّة, "the one of pilgrimage", referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj.