Islamic calendar

American  

[is-lam-ik kal-uhn-der, -lahmik, iz-] / ɪsˈlæm ɪk ˈkæl ən dər, -ˈlɑmɪk, ɪz- /

noun

1. the lunar calendar used by Muslims and reckoned from a.d. 622: the calendar year consists of 354 days and contains 12 months: Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Awwa, Jumada al-Thani, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu ʾl-Qaʿda, and Dhu ʾl-Hijjah. In leap years the month Dhu ʾl-Hijjah contains one extra day.

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Etymology

Origin of Islamic calendar

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Islamic calendar

"Yesterday marked one year" since disaster struck, said mosque leader Khin Maung Naing, counting by the Islamic calendar.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

It is the most important time in the Islamic calendar where Muslims fast and refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025

The Islamic calendar is a lunar system that adds up to only 354 days and shifts some 11 days from the Gregorian calendar each year—though a single leap day is sometimes added.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 26, 2024

But the Ahmeds’ decorating will come later, when they put up strings of moon and star lights to celebrate Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic calendar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2023

The Islamic calendar is lunar and depends on the sighting of the moon — something Muslim religious authorities tend to disagree on.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2023