Officially, Saudi Arabia uses the Islamic, or Hijra, calendar. Islamic dates are calculated from the year that the prophet Mohammed migrated (hijra) from Makkah to Medina in the year 622 AD. The Western method of designating Islamic dates is referred to in Saudi Arabia as A.H. (Anno Hegirae). For example, the year 1996 AD corresponds roughly to 1417 A.H.
The Islamic calendar is based on a lunar year rather than the solar one used in the West. A lunar month, therefore, is the time between two successive new moons. Although the Islamic year contains twelve months, the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by eleven days. As a result, the holy days and the months themselves shift gradually from one season to another. It is important to remember that the Islamic year bears no relation to the seasons.
The months of the Islamic calendar are:
1.Moharram
2.Safar
3.Rabi Awwal
4.Rabi Thani
5.Jumad Awwal
6.Jumad Thani
7.Rajab
8.Shaban
9.Ramadhan
10.Shawwal
11.Dhul-Qudah
12.Dhul-Hijjah
Back to the Begining