In the Qur’an, Allah says: “The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year) - so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the Earth…”

The Lunar Calendar

A lunar calendar/ Hijri calendar is based upon the monthly cycle of the moon’s phases. The Islamic calendar is also a lunar calendar. It has 354 days and still includes the same 12 months in a year as the Gregorian/ solar calendar does.

As reported by ibn Umar that rasulullah said: “ A month is twenty nine or thirty days.”

These months are: Muharram, Safar, Rabee’ Alawwal, Rabee’ Al Thani, Jamadul Awwal, Jamadi Ul Thani, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qi’dah, and Dhul Hijjah. The journey from Makkah to Madinah of the beloved prophet Mohammed (saw)b and his followers started the beginning of the Islamic era. It is dated that the year of hijri was in 1 A.H.

The Moon Phases

The moon’s phases are a portion of the moon that is sunlit and viewed from Earth. The phases  include a crescent shaped moon “ the new moon”, which in arabic is translated to the hilal moon. The moon begins to thicken up every month until it becomes a full moon, also known as badr. This occurs during the middle of the month, and it also repeats itself in a cycle. Since a month has 29 or 30 days, the moon goes through all of its phases throughout the month.

The Solar Calendar

The solar calendar/ Gregorian Calendar has 365 days in a year and follows the sun’s cycle. In each month it usually has 30 or 31 days, but as we know the second month in the solar year (February) sometimes has 28 or 29 days. There are 12 months in a solar year just like the lunar calendar. These months are January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

In the Qur’an, Allah says: “The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year) - so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the Earth…”

The gregorian calendar started on the year Rome was founded, which was around 46 B.C. by the Roman Emperor’s. Then, Pope Gregory the thirteenth changed the calendar a bit to be correct, which is why the solar calendar today is called the gregorian calendar. This calendar is still used throughout almost the whole world.