Hijri calendar

How it works

Each month follows the moon. A new month begins with the new crescent, by sighting or by a calculated civil-religious calendar, depending on the community. Twelve of those months make a Hijri year of about 354 or 355 days, shorter than the 365-day solar year. Because of that gap, Islamic dates walk backward through the Gregorian year, roughly ten to twelve days a year. Ramadan is not glued to March. Hajj is not glued to a Gregorian season.

The epoch is the Hijra: the Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Years are counted AH, After Hijra. A Hijri day begins at sunset, not at midnight. That is why a religious date can “start” on a Gregorian evening. Friday prayer is still Friday after dawn; the new civil-religious date for a feast can have begun the night before.

On 3 September 2026 the Gregorian year is 2026. Ramadan 1447 AH has already passed, in February and March 2026. The Hijri year keeps moving. You do not read today’s Islamic date off a September picnic chart. You read it off a moon, a mosque notice, or a conversion table that states its method.

The twelve months and why they drift

The months, in order, are Muharram, Safar, Rabi‘ al-awwal, Rabi‘ al-thani, Jumada al-ula, Jumada al-thaniya, Rajab, Sha‘ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa‘dah, and Dhu al-Hijjah. Ramadan is ninth. Shawwal is tenth; Eid al-Fitr is its first day. Dhu al-Hijjah is twelfth; Hajj and Eid al-Adha sit there. Muharram is first; the tenth of Muharram is Ashura.

Type: lunar, twelve months, 29 or 30 days each. Year length: about 354 or 355 days, shorter than the solar year. Epoch: Hijra, 622 CE, years labelled AH. Day boundary: sunset, not midnight. Ramadan 1447 AH: already observed in February–March 2026.

Some states print a Hijri civil calendar by astronomy so offices can plan. Many communities still wait for a crescent for Ramadan and Shawwal. Both practices exist. A converted date on a phone is only as good as the method behind it. For a fast or a feast, the mosque or authority you follow outranks a widget.

A lunar year is shorter on purpose. If you wanted Ramadan to stay in July, you wanted a different calendar.

What the Hijri date is for

It is for worship dates: the fast, the two Eids, Hajj, the sacred months, and the nights people already keep. It is not a replacement passport year in countries that file papers in Gregorian. China, the United States, and most civil offices will still want 3 September 2026 on a form this Thursday. A wedding, a visa, and a school term follow the civil clock of that country unless that country also recognises the Hijri date for that act.

Converting a birthday from Hijri to Gregorian needs the year and the method. A one-day slip is common around crescents. Do not treat a round-trip conversion as a notarised birth certificate. Converting “today” needs a source. This page will not invent a Hijri numeral for 3 September 2026 and then pretend the moon agreed.

If you only needed to know whether Ramadan is a Hijri month, yes: the ninth. If you only needed to know whether the Hijri calendar is the same as Chinese lunar new year, no. They are different lunar systems with different epochs, months, and festivals. Sharing a moon is not sharing a calendar.