Muslims throughout the world depend on the Islamic Calendar for religious purposes, as based on this lunar system the precise dates of the important religious occasions, such as, Ramadan (the annual fast), Hajj dates and other Islamic festivals are decided. The Muslim calendar is traditionally known as the Hijri calendar and just like the Gregorian calendar it consists of the 12 months, however the number of days in a year vary with from 354 to 355. This variation is, simply due to the fact that this calendar is not in sync with seasons and totally follows the lunar chart. One can observe the yearly drift of about 10 to 11 days annually, which repeats at every 33 Islamic years (approximately).
History
A per the Islamic traditional belief system it is propounded that the Muslim lunar calendar was first introduced among the populace by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, one of Prophet Mohammed's companion, in around 638 A.D. He took this step in order to synchronize various date calculation systems prevalent at that time. Therefore, he made consultations with numerous prominent Islamic scholars of the era and came to the conclusion that the Hijrah would be the keystone of the Islamic calendar. Since it was during this time that a significant event in the history of Muslim community to place, when Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina. This move gave a real chance to the Muslim community, to truly organize itself into an independent force and an entire civilization developed based on the foundation of Islamic principles.
In some Islamic nations in the world, especially in Saudi Arabia, the Hijiri is the official calendar of the state, whereas most other nations use the western calendar for regular dates but the Islamic calendar is used for deriving religious dates. The twelve months of the Islamic calendar are: Muharram (forbidden), this is the first month of Islamic calendar it was considered against the religious laws to wage war during this time. The second month is known as Safar (void), named thus, as it is believed that pagan Arabs went on looting sprees a this time and left peoples houses ransacked. The third month is Rabi I (the first spring) and the fourth is Rabi ll (the second or last spring). The fifth month is named Jumada l (parched land season) and the sixth is Jumada ll (second season of parched land). The seventh month known as Rajab (respect) is considered a holy month, when fighting is forbidden. Shaban (scattered), is the eighth month of Islamic calendar and Ramadan (scorched) is the ninth and holiest month of the Muslim calendar. This is the time when members of the community fast from dawn to sunset. The tenth month is named Shawwal (raised), whereas the eleventh month is known as Dhu al-Qada (the one of truce) this is another month, when war is prohibited. The twelfth and last month of the Hijiri calendar is Dhu al-Hijja (the one of pilgrimage) it refers to the annual Islamic tradition of going on pilgrimage to Mecca.
Dates of Muslim Festivals
All the Muslim festivals are celebrated with great zeal in India and given below is this year's Islamic festival calendar. The dates given in the calendar are subject to the appearance of crescent moon.