Muslim calendar questions

[Rosie_0801]

I'm up to Islam in my journey towards completing a religious calendar curriculum and could do with a bit of guidance. One Wikipedia article says the two Eids are the only official holidays, and another gave me this great long list:

Important dates in the Islamic (Hijri) year are:

• 1 Muharram (Islamic New Year)
• 10 Muharram (Day of Ashura) For Sunnis, the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses occurred on this day. (Musa). For Shia, the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, and his followers.
• 12 Rabi al Awal (Mawlid an Nabi for majority of Sunnis)
• 17 Rabi al Awal (Mawlid an Nabi for Twelvers and some Sunnis)
• 27 Rajab (Isra and Mi'raj for majority of Muslims)
• 15 Sha'ban (Mid-Sha'ban, or Night of Forgiveness), and for Twelvers the birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi (The Twelfth Imam)
• 1 Ramadan (First day of fasting)
• 27 Ramadan (Nuzul Al-Qur'an) The day Muhammad received the first verses of the Qur'an (17 Ramadan in Indonesia and Malaysia)
• Last third of Ramadan which includes Laylat al-Qadr
• 1 Shawwal (Eid ul-Fitr)
• 8–13 Dhu al-Hijjah (the Hajj to Mecca)
• 9 Dhu al-Hijjah (Day of Arafa)
• 10 Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid al-Adha)

Days considered important predominantly for Shia Muslims:

• 21 Ramadan Ali ibn Abi Talib's martyrdom.
• 3 Sha'ban (Birthday of Husayn ibn Ali.)
• 13 Rajab (Birthday of Ali ibn Abi Talib)

Days considered important predominantly for Sunni Muslims(especially in India & parts of Asia):

• 6 Rajab Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.(Generally 6th Day of Every Month is celebrated and observed as Chatthi)
• 11 Rabi Ul Aakhir Urs of Gaus E Aazam Dastagir (Generally 11th Day of Every Month is celebrated and observed as Gyarvi)

 

 

I'm wanting to include what the average, sort of generic Muslim would observe because I can't get into the nitty gritties of location. I can include holy days included by Sunnis or Shia but not both to a certain degree though. I don't expect my end list to be perfect, but I do want it good enough that someone wouldn't be rolling their eyes and groaning about the stupidity of people who think they know what they're talking about. :p

[Tsuga]

Wow, no answers. I'll give it a shot. I lived in Muslim countries for about 10 years. I can say one thing definitively: Muslim cultures range from North African Arab, to Middle Eastern Arab, to Persian, to Turkic, to Indo-Pakistani, to Indonesian, and beyond, but they all share the two Eids and the differences between observant Muslims and non-observant Muslims is pretty big.

 

I would say that the two Eids are like Christmas and Easter to us. One comes after a fast (like Easter) and the other celebrates god's faithfulness to Abraham.

 

All the other holidays are mainly celebrated in a very minor way, or as a regional / cultural celebration, or celebrated by very religious people who are actually (in my experience) a minority.

 

Laylat Al Qadr is a fairly big day for observant Muslims because they stay up all night praying and believe that their prayers count extra on that night. They believe that was the night the Qur'an was revealed to the prophet Mohammed. It's a big deal for a child to stay up all night.

 

'Ashura is the one where some Shi'a flog themselves (you may have seen it on TV). In 10 years of living among Muslims Shi'a and Sunni, I saw a lot of them sneak smoke breaks / Coca Cola breaks during Ramazan but I never saw anyone flog himself in person, though I saw it on TV.

 

My children know about Ramazan (the fast, a big deal in and of itself), Eid-al-Fitr (post-Ramazan holiday), Eid-i-Qurbon (I believe that is al-Adha in Arabic), and Laylat-al-Qadr. Those are pretty generic. If you want to introduce the idea of the difference between Shi'a and Sunni, Ashura would be a good place to start, but at your kids' age it's probably not necessary.

[EmmaNZ]

Hi Rosie, As with all things you will find much variation. I can tell you what we do. Many of the things on that list are fairly cultural, you will find Muslims in certain places celebrating them. I would personally think that they are not from the sunnah ( the way of the Prophet Mohammad) and therefore I would steer clear of them. So what do we do......

 

We celebrate the two Eids. One after the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr, the feast of breaking the fast) and one today (Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice. EID MUBARAK!!!). On Eid we eat, we play, we give gifts, etc etc. We fast the month of Ramadan, and I fast the first 9 days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah (just gone) plus the 9th and 10th of Muharram. You could say that fasting is a form of celebration, at least I would! Laylatul-Qadr is the best night of the year, and we stay up to worship as much as possible.

 

Some of the things at the end of your list I have never heard of, including the ones for Sunni Muslims in India. I am not Shia and don't know much at all about their practices.

 

That's a short version but there's lots more if you want!

 

Have a good sleep!

[mom2bee]

I'm a Muslim, bred, born and raised. I will say that the only 2 holidays are the two Eids, but that there are other holy days with note-worthy associations. But those days aren't holidays perse, I can't attest to what Muslims in various countries do or don't do on those days but I will say that aside from something like fasting or praying a little extra, the practices would be predominantly cultural.

 

I am not a Shia, I--and my community--are more of the "generic" Muslims that you mentioned in your OP.

 

Eid Mubarak to all of the Muslims on WTM!!!

[Rosie_0801]

Eid Mubarak to you all :)

[Rosie_0801]

Me again!

These are the only occasions I am sure I should have on my list. Is this sufficient? I require more guidance if you have more to offer!! 

 

 

 

The month of Ramadan (especially Laylat al-Qadr)

 

Eid al-Fitr

 

The Hajj to Mecca

 

Eid al--Adha

[Rosie_0801]

:lurk5:  :blush:

[Kate in Arabia]

Just remember that the four things you have listed there are actually bundled.  So Eid al-Fitr comes at the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha comes at the end of Hajj.  Also, while laylat al-Qadr is an important part of the Islamic calendar, there is not consensus on what night of Ramadan it will actually fall (one of the last odd-numbered nights -- 21, 23, 25, 27, 29). 

 

We actually have a national holiday here next week for the New Year of the Islamic calendar, I don't know how prevalent that really is across the board though.  We also have a holiday on the day of Isra' and Mi'raj, and I think also on the day of the Prophet's birthday, if I'm remembering correctly.  But these are not consistently observed across all Muslim countries -- I believe only what you have mentioned there are.

 

:)

[EmmaNZ]

Hi Rosie, I just happened to notice this.

 

I would definitely put 10th Muharram (Ashura) on your list. This is the day when the Prophet Musa (Moses) led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and away from the Pharaoh. It is an important date in the calendar I think; many Muslims fast that day.

 

 (N.B. There are lots and lots of things associated with 10th Muharram for the Shia which I do not ascribe to. The importance for me is only what I have written above.)

[Kate in Arabia]

Just an add on, I think the tradition is to fast two days, either the 9th and 10th or the 10th and 11th.  This day of observance actually wasn't that long ago, I remember because my middle ds was fasting with us and had soccer practice -- maghrib came right in the middle and he and a friend had to run off field for a few minutes to break the fast.

 

For the Shia it is a commemoration of the day that Husayn -- one of the grandsons of Muhammad -- was killed at Karbala.  It is a day of mourning for them, and I believe the most famous aspect of that is the public self-flagellation that some do -- but I am pretty sure that is a minority of people who do that.  The event is quite controversial in Islamic history, because it was one of the early confrontations between the growing split between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, so it is interesting (to me) to read the different interpretations of the event, depending on the side.