Islam organizes the years through a calendar based on a key event in moslem history. This event is the hijra, the exodus of Mohammed's followers from Mecca to Medina to avoid persecution. This happened in the year 622 CE. For Islam, this year became year 1, and the years are counted from this point. (The Hijri calendar started on July 16, 622, to be exact.) The English language designation for this calendar is AH, "After Hijra." So 1997 CE is 1417 AH. In Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the countries of the Persian Gulf, the Hijra calendar provides the means of keeping track of time, just as the Christian calendar (based on the supposed date of Jesus' birth) provides the dating system in the Christian West. Other countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Syria use both the Hijri calendar and the Gregorian calendar in use in the West side-by-side.
The moslem calendar is based solely on the cycles of the moon. There are twelve months of 29 or 30 days each. Since the lunar year consists of 354 days, it does not match with the solar year. Thus, the New Year and the months rotate through the seasons. Sometimes the New Year is in the summer, other times the New Year is in the winter. This rotation takes 32 and a half years to complete. Unlike some other religions that use a lunar calendar (such as Judaism), Islam makes no adjustments to "correct" the lunar calendar to fit the solar. Take a moment to imagine how this affects a person's perception of time. In lands where the Christian calendar (a solar calendar) applies, the months and the seasons are linked; July is always a hot summer month, October is always an autumn month. But in Islamic countries, the months and the seasons are not linked. The month of Ramadan, therefore, can be a spring month and then over a few years will become a summer month.
To read more about the Moslem calendar and its dates, go here.
The Islamic names for the twelve months are: 1) Muharram, 2) Safar, 3) Raby al-Awal, 4) Raby al-Thaany, 5) Jumaada al-Awal, 6) Jumaada al-Thaany, 7) Rajab, 8) Shabaan, 9) Ramadhan, 10) Shawwal, 11) Thw al-Qidah, 12) Thw al-Hijjah.
For a helpful discussion of the Five Pillars of Islam, click here.
Moslems engage in worship according to three repeated cycles: a daily cycle, a weekly cycle and an annual cycle. The daily cycle consists of the prayers (salat) which moslems say five times a day. This is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. These prayers should be said by every individual moslem at the appropriate times. People are encouraged to pray with others in local mosques and gathering places, but it is not necessary. The prayers are said at: dawn, noon, late afternoon, just after sunset, and nighttime.The muezzin sounds the adhan, the Call to Prayer, from the mosque's minaret just before the time for each set of prayers. (To hear the opening line of the adhan, click here).
The daily cycle of prayer continues every day throughout the week. The only difference comes on Friday, when moslems are expected to gather at a Friday Mosque to particular in community worship. This happens at the time designated for prayer at noon. The gathered worshippers join together in prayer and then listen to the local Imam give a sermon. Apart from the expectation of community worship, Friday is not a particularly holy day. Business continues, shops are open, and it is market day. In Jerusalem, for instance, the local sheep and goat market occurs at dawn on Friday morning. After a morning of lively buying and selling, the traders take their animals home, count their money, and then go to the mosque.
The annual cycle of worship centers around two other of the Five Pillars: the Fast of Ramadan and the Hajj (follow these links for further information on: Ramadan, Hajj, Hajj). Apart from these two events, the two most important festivals are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (for a website on these two festivals, go here). The first comes at the end of Ramadan and the second at the end of the Hajj period.
Moslems can worship almost anywhere. As long as a location is not impure (like a latrine, for example), a moslem can engage in prayer there. A person can pray at work, while traveling, in the market, and so on. The prefered locations for worship on a daily or weekly basis, however, are the home and the mosque.
Once a week, at the Friday noon prayer time, moslems are expected to gather together in a large mosque, usually called a Friday Mosque. Although all mosques are usually built along similar lines, a Friday Mosque is usually quite large and elaborate. It is often built with gifts from rich benefactors, such as a sultan. Whether large or small, a mosque (arabic: masjid) is usually centered around a large hall, which usually has little furniture; instead, the floor is often covered with many beautiful carpets. The hall will have a michrab, a niche, indicating the direction of prayer (towards Mecca). Attached to the mosque on the outside is usually minaret (large mosques often have several), from which the muezzin sounds the call to prayer. Moslems are often quite proud of the Friday Mosque in their city or region and promote it as a beautiful example of Islamic architecture honoring Allah.
For some pictures of Friday Mosques, visit some of these links to mosques. You can also take a virtual tour of the complex of the Masjed-e-Jomeh,
Pilgrimage--a journey to a holy place to worship--also is important in Islam. The Hajj to Mecca and Medina, of course, is the most holy destination of worship. Indeed, one of the Five Pillars enjoins all moslems to journey to Mecca at least once in their lives. Other sites also serve as pilgrimage destinations. Jerusalem, for example, is the third most holy site after Mecca and Medina. All three are known for their important mosques and shrines. In Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock identifies the spot from which Mohammed ascended into heaven on his famous Night Journey. Many other places are revered on a local or regional basis; these may be the tomb of a saint (wali), locations of important events in the history of Islam, and so on.
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All material © Copyright 1998. This page last updated on May 08, 2002