Dhu al-Hijja ( ar, ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة, translit=Ḏū al-Ḥijja, ), also spelled Zu al-Hijja, is the twelfth and final month in the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 ...

. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the '' Ḥajj'' (

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

) takes place as well as the Festival of the Sacrifice. "Dhu al-Hijja" literally means "Possessor of the Pilgrimage" or "The Month of the Pilgrimage". During this month Muslim pilgrims from all around the world congregate at

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj is performed on the eighth, ninth and the tenth of this month. Day of Arafah takes place on the ninth of the month. Eid al-Adha, the "Festival of the Sacrifice", begins on the tenth day and ends on sunset of the 13th. In the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

times, the name in Ottoman Turkish was Zī-'l-Hìjjé or Zil-hig̃g̃e. In modern Turkish, the name is Zilhicce. In

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

used to fast the first nine days of this month, owing to their perceived virtue . One of the wives of Muhammad said: "Allah's Messenger used to fast the irstnine days of Dhul-Hijjah, the day of 'Ashurah, and three days of each month." (Reported by Abu Dawud)

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

, and months begin when new moon is sighted. Since the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Dhu al-Hijja migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Dhu al-Hijja, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, are:Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia
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Special days

* The first 9 days of Dhu al-Hijja for fasting * The first 10 nights of Dhu al-Hijja for standing (Qiyaam) in

Tahajjud Tahajjud, also known as the "night prayer", is a voluntary prayer performed by followers of Islam. It is not one of the five obligatory prayers required of all Muslims, although the Islamic prophet, Muhammad was recorded as performing the tahaj ...

* The 8th, 9th and 10th of Dhu al-Hijja as the days of Hajj * The 9th of Dhu al-Hijja as the Day of Arafah *

Takbirut Tashreeq ''Takbír at-Tashreeq'' is the recitation of Takbir during the period of tashriq. It is practiced by Muslims from the time of the morning prayer on the 9th day of the month of Dhul Hijjah until after the afternoon prayer on the 13th day of Dhul ...

is observed from the 9 Dhu al-Hijja till 13 Dhu al-Hijja * The 10th of Dhu al-Hijja as the Night of Eid * Eid al-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice) begins on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijja and ends on sunset of the 13th Dhu al-Hijja * 18th Dhu al-Hijja - Eid-al-Ghadeer

Prescribed acts of worship

The following acts have been prescribed for the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijja: * A person should give extra charity Sadaqah in these 9 days * Better your

Salaah (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wi ...

in these days * Spend time in the Masjid * Perform voluntary Nafl prayer at home * Recitation, Memorization and Reading of the Qur’an * Dhikr * Dua * Fasting the first nine days

sawm In Islam, fasting (known as ''Sawm'', ar, ; . Or ''Siyam'', ar, ; , also commonly known as Rūzeh or Rōzah, fa, روزه in non-Arab Muslim countries) is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. ...

* Iʿtikāf On the days of Qurbani, i.e. 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu al-Hijja, the greatest action is the spilling of blood of a sacrificial animal (Qurbani).

Reward for fasting and ''Tahajjud''

According to the

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

, great rewards have been mentioned for fasting the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijja and standing in worship (

) in the first 10 nights of Dhu al-Hijja: This hadith has been classed as a daeef(weak) hadith by many scholars, Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (no. 758); al-Bazzaar (no. 7816) and Ibn Maajah (1728) via Abu Bakr ibn Naafi‘ al-Basri, who said: Mas‘ood ibn Waasil told us, from Nahhaas ibn Qaham, from Qataadah, from Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah. This is a da‘eef isnaad because of an-Nahhaas ibn Qaham and Mas‘ood ibn Waasil. Hence the scholars of hadith unanimously agreed that it is to be classed as da‘eef. At-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is a ghareeb hadith, which we know only from the hadith of Mas‘ood ibn Waasil, from an-Nahhaas. I asked Muhammad – i.e., al-Bukhaari – about this hadith and he did not know it except via this isnaad. Some of this was also narrated from Qataadah, from Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in a mursal report. Yahya ibn Sa‘eed criticised Nahhaas ibn Qaham with regard to his memory. End quote. Al-Baghawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad is da‘eef (end quote) Sharh as-Sunnah (2/624) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: There is some weakness in it. End quote Sharh al-‘Umdah (2/555) Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad is da‘eef. End quote. Fath al-Baari (2/534) It was classed as da‘eef by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) in as-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah (no. 5142). The reason for the 10 days being distinguished is due to the combination of worship in this period of prayer, fasting, charity, Takbir and Hajj. From the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijja, it is particularly recommended to fast the Day of Arafah (9 Dhu al-Hijja) as expiation of the sin of two years:

General events

Pilgrims cover Arafat's roads, plains and mountain - Flickr - Al Jazeera English

* 9 Dhu al-Hijja, Day of

Arafa Mount Arafat ( ar, جَبَل عَرَفَات, translit=Jabal ʿArafāt), and by its other Arabic name, (), is a granodiorite hill about southeast of Mecca, in the province of the same name in Saudi Arabia. The mountain is approximately i ...

h. * 10-13 Dhu al-Hijja, Eid al-Adha is observed by Muslims on the hajj and around the world in commemoration of the willingness of

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...

(

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

) to sacrifice his son Isma'il ( Ishmael) for Allah.

Sunni

* 18 Dhu al-Hijja,

assassination of Uthman Uthman ibn Affan, the third Rashidun caliph, was assassinated at the end of a siege upon his house in 656. Initially a protest, the siege escalated following the death of a protester. The protesters-turned-rebels had demanded a new caliph, but ...

, the prominent companion and son-in-law of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

and Khadija. Husband of Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum.

Shi'ite

* 01 Dhu al-Hijja, '' Nikah'' (

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

) of Ali and Fatimah – AH 2 (24 February AD 624). * 07 Dhu al-Hijja, martyrdom of Twelver and Ismāʿīlī Shīʿite Imām, Muhammad al-Bāqir ‐ AH 114. * 08 Dhu al-Hijja, Husayn ibn ʿAlī began his journey to Karbalāʾ from Mecca. * 09 Dhu al-Hijja, martyrdom of Muslim ibn ʿAqīl and Hani ibn Urwah in Kufah. It is also a day of supererogatory

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

– AH 60. * 15 Dhu al-Hijja, birth of Twelver Imām, ʿAlī al-Naqī - AH 214 isputed date * 18 Dhu al-Hijja, Shīʿite Muslims celebrate the event of Ghadir Khumm - AH 10. * 19 Dhu al-Hijja, Fatimah went to Ali's house after their marriage. * 23 Dhu al-Hijja, martyrdom of Meesam Tammar, friend of Ali – AH 60. * 23 Dhu al-Hijja, martyrdom of two sons of Muslim ibn ʿAqīl in Kufa - AH 60. * 24 Dhu al-Hijja, event of al-Mubahalah took place (' Eid al-Mubahilah). * 24 Dhu al-Hijja, some historians mention that the

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

Ahl al-Kisa Ahl al-Kisa ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْكِسَاء, ʾAhl al-Kisāʾ, lit=people of the cloak, '), also known as the Aal al-Aba (, ), are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Ha ...

', event was also on the same day prior to Muhammad setting out for Mubahila. * 24 Dhu al-Hijja, supplication day and giving of alms with the ring by Ali. In reply verse, "Verily your ''Walee'' is Allah; and His Messenger and those who establish '' Salaat'', and pay '' Zakaat'' while they be in ''Rukooʿ''. (Maa-Idah: 55)" was revealed. * 25 Dhu al-Hijja, Sura

Al-Insan Al-Insan ("Man") (alternative names: al-Dahr, "Endless time", Hal Ata, "Has There Not come") is the 76th chapter (surah) of the Quran, with 31 verses ( ayat). Summary :1-2 Man conceived and born by the power of God :3-4 Unbelievers warned by th ...

or Hal Ata, or Dahar, which records the giving of alms to orphans, the destitute and travellers by Fatimah Hasan and Husain was revealed. * 25 Dhu al-Hijja, Ali becomes the Caliph of Islam – AH 35.

Notes

References

External links

Islamic-Western Calendar Converter
(based on the Arithmetical or Tabular Calendar).
Hadith on Dhul-Hijjah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhu Al-Hijjah 93 Islamic terminology