Here you can get to know various Islamic Day in a Year with some insights each. Islamic year follows Hijriyah calendar. There are 12 months in a year.
- Muharram
- Safar
- Rabiul awal
- Rabiul akhir
- Jumadil awal
- Jumadil akhir
- Rajab
- Sya’ban
- Ramadhan
- Syawal
- Dzulkaidah
- Dzulhijjah
Within these 12 months of Islamic year, there are some months that have Islamic day. To get to know those Islamic days, check these out.
Various Islamic Days in a Year
These are various Islamic days in a year.
1. Eid Al-Fitr
Eid Al-Fitr falls on the first Syawal. It is a victory day for Muslims who have been fasting for the whole month of Ramadan. Fasting is an exercise for muslims to guard their hearts, words, minds and all of the body so that when the day of victory comes, they return to its nature purely as if they were born again. As a form of achieving the purity, muslims forgive each other about the mistake they did in the past intentionally and unintentionally. In the night before the Eid day, muslims chant takbir continuously until tomorrow morning before Eid prayer.
In the morning of Eid Al-Fitr, muslims pray Eid two rakaats in congregation at masjid. Eid prayer begins with seven takbirs before the first rakaat and 5 takbirs for the second rakaat. Eid prayer is usually followed with a khutbah (sermon). On this holy day, muslims are obliged to give charity 2.5 kg of rice or money equivalent to 2.5 kg of rice. There are some opinions about when to give the donation, but it’s commonly around 1 or 2 days before Eid.
2. Eid Al-Adha
Eid Al-Adha is a feast day that falls on the 10th of Dzulhijjah. This day is usually called as the Eid Hajj. On this day the Muslims do hajj in Makkah. Muslims who are not going to the hajj perform Eid al-Adha prayers. Just like on Eid Al-Fitr, the Eid prayer begins with seven takbirs before the first rakaat and 5 takbirs for the second rakaat. The Eid prayer is also done in congregation at masjid.
After the Eid prayer, muslims do the sacrifice by slaughtering cattle such as camels, cows, goats, and buffalo. While slaughtering, muslims chant takbirs that has started the night before. The meat that has been slaughtered is then distributed to those who deserve and to the others based on the provisions. The slaughtering can be done on the first day of Eid Al-Adha or three days after.
3. Isra’ Mi’raj
Isra’ Mi’raj is an event about the journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Masjidil Haram to Masjidil Aqsa to Sidratil Muntaha to accept the obligation to pray five times. The obligation was previously 50 times, but after some considerations, in the end only 5 prayers were required to be carried out in one day and night. This Isra’ Mi’raj event happened overnight. The day of Isra ’Mi’raj is commemorated on the 27th of Rajab. Every country has their own unique way on commemorating Isra’ Mi’raj. Muslims in America attend conference about Isra’ Miraj an say the prayers at night. In Canada, muslims make some candies and share them to neighbors. Some ethnic groups in Indonesia celebrate Isra’ Mi’raj by doing Qur’an recitation and distributing food.
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4. Maulid Nabi
Commemorated on the 12th Rabi’ul Awwal, Maulid Nabi is the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad SAW. The birth anniversary of the Prophet’s was first carried out by Sultan Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi. In his warning he told about the history of the birth of the prophet to the struggle of the Prophet for his people. He is a good role model for muslims. The purpose of commemorating the birth anniversary of a prophet is to emulate his noble character and magnify the our supreme prophet Muhammad.
5. Lailatul Qadar
Lailtaul Qadar falls within the last 10 odd nights of the month of Ramadan. It is the most important night that occurs only during the month of Ramadan and no one knows when the night of Lailtaul Qadar will arrive. Lailtaul Qadar is usually also commemorated by Nuzulul Qur’an. Lailtaul Qadar has a lot of virtues as shown below.
- It’s better than a thousand months
“The night of glory is better than a thousand months. ” (Surat al-Qadar: 3). This means that doing prayers and good deeds on Lailatul Qadar are better than in 1000 months that are not Lailatul Qadar.
- It’s the night of the annual destiny
Some references explained that in Lailatul Qadar, it would be detailed in Lauhul Mahfuzh about the writing of destiny in a year, Death, fortune and everything will be noted until the end of the year.
- Allah will forgive the sin of everyone who lives up the night of Lailatul Qadar
From Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he said, “Whoever performs prayers on the night of Lailatul Qadar because of faith and expects merit from Allah, then his past sins will be forgiven.” (Narrated by Bukhari no. 1901)
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Nuzulul Qur’an
It’s the commemoration of when Qur’an were given in the form of the words of God to the Prophet Muhammad through the intermediaries of the seraph Jibril which were later compiled into the Holy Qur’an. Due to the different perceptions of when Nuzulul Qur’an is, some think it’s celebrated on the 17th of Ramadan while some other think it’s the same day as Lailatul Qadar.
7. Islamic New Year
The Islamic New Year is commemorated on the first day of the Hijriyah year, namely on 1 Muharram. This day is to commemorate the move of the Prophet Muhammad SAW from Makah to Medina. The Prophet Muhammad SAW was a propagator of Islam who returned to Makkah after receiving revelations from Allah to spread Islam throughout the world. When the Prophet Muhammad SAW tried to spread Islam in the city of Makkah, Muhammad SAW and his followers were shunned by atheists. They were forced to leave the city of Makkah for Medina. This event is known as the Hijrah. Hijrah is a symbol of the beginning of Islam and its calendar.
8. Ashura Day
The 10th of the month of Muharram is the day of Ashura. Ashura day has a history of when the jahiliyah era of Arab has glorified and installed the Ka’bah. When the Prophet Muhammad SAW arrived in Medina, he met the fasting Jews that day, so he asked:
“Why are you fasting? Then he replied: “Because Allah has saved Musa for the pharaoh today, then the Prophet Musa fasted as a sign of gratitude to Allah, then we also fasted”. Then the Prophet said: “We have more right to follow the Prophet Musa than you” so that he fasted and commanded to fast on Ashura Day.
So, those are Various Islamic Days in a Year that you need to get to know. Knowing these special days will give you some knowledge to get to know the history of Islam and take lessons from Prophet Muhammad SAW and how meaningful his struggle was in spreading Islam throughout the world.