Muslim Festivals and Ceremonies — Page 4
The Muslim Calendar "They ask thee, O Prophet, concerning the phases of the moon. . Tell them: These alterations are a means of determining time for regulation of people's affairs and for the Pilgrimage' (2:190). The Muslim calendar is based on the lunar cycle and in terms of the solar calendar moves earlier by about eleven days each year. . A month is counted from the appearance of the new moon to the next new moon. The lunar month, therefore, consists of either 29 or 30 days; that is why the sighting of the moon is important in deciding the dates of the festivals. The Muslim year starts from the day the. Holy Prophet of Islam migrated from Mecca to Medina, in 622 AD. . This event is known as Hijra. . To calculate conversions from one calendar to the other the following formula is used: 3 × H. G=H+622 100. G-622. H = G+ 622 32 where G = Gregorian year (AD) and H = Hijra year (AH). Thus 1983 AD is 1403 AH. In fact Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar systems of measuring time. . Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day the solar system of reckoning time is used as in the five daily Prayers or for the beginning and breaking of the fast, and where worship is to be completed within a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in the determination of the month of fasting or fixing the time of Haj or other festivals. 4