Islamic Calendar
ISLAMIC CALENDAR
Based on a cycle of twelve lunar months, the Islamic calendar alternates months of twenty-nine and thirty days to make a year of 354 or 355 days. In the Islamic calendar, the twenty-four-hour day starts at sunset. The Muslim era began on 16 July 622 c.e., according to some, 16 or 24 September, according to others, presumed dates of the beginning of the prophet Muhammad's Hijra to Medina. The month of Ramadan can last twenty-nine or thirty days, and, in relation to the solar calendar, the date moves back every year by eleven days. The first month of the Hijri calendar is Muharram, followed by the months of Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thanni, Jumâda al-oula, Jumâda al-Thânnyia, Rajab, Shabân, Ramadhan, Shawâl, Dhû al-Qaʾda and Dhû al-Hijja.