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{{Short description|Holidays in Islam}}
{{Islam |religion}}

There are two official '''holidays in [[Islam]]''', [[Eid al-Fitr]] and [[Eid al-Adha]], which are celebrated by [[Muslim]]s worldwide. Both holidays occur on dates in the lunar [[Islamic calendar]], which is different from the solar-based [[Gregorian calendar]], so they are observed on different Gregorian dates every year. There are a number of other days of note and festivals, some common to all Muslims, others specific to Shia Islam as a whole or branches thereof.

Both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow a period of 10 holy days or nights: the last 10 nights of [[Ramadan]] (Eid al-Fitr), and the first 10 days of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]] (Eid al-Adha). The [[Qadr Night|Night of Power]], one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, is the holiest night of the year. Conversely, the [[Day of Arafah]], the day before Eid al-Adha, is the holiest day of the Islamic year.

Additionally, Friday is considered the holiest day of the week, and in Islamic tradition, is considered a celebration in itself. [[Friday prayer|Friday Prayers]] (Juma) are congregational prayers held in mosques, and Muslims are encouraged to wear clean and refined clothes, perfume, and bathe. It's customary to eat special meals with family on this day.

==Holidays==
{{Main|Eid al-Fitr|Eid al-Adha}}Eid al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of [[Ramadan]] (a month of fasting during daylight hours), and Muslims may perform acts of [[zakat]] (charity) on the occasion, which begins after the new moon is sighted for the beginning of the month of [[Shawwal]]. Celebration begins with prayers on the morning of 1 Shawwal, followed by breakfast, and often celebratory meals throughout the day.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the tenth day of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]], when the [[Hajj]] pilgrimage takes place and lasts for four days. Muslims may perform an act of zakat and friendship by slaughtering a sheep and distributing the meat to family, friends, and to the poor. Muslims are also encouraged to be especially friendly and reach out to one another during this period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=الشحيمي|first=محمد|title=العيد فرحة وآداب|publisher=[[دائرة الشؤون الإسلامية والعمل الخيري]]|year=2014|isbn=978-9948-499-99-2|location=دبي، الامارات العربية المتحدة}}</ref>

==Religious practices==
===Fasting===
[[File:Fanous Ramadan.jpg|thumb|The Fanoos, or Fanoos Ramadan, is a lantern used to light up homes, mosques, and streets, during the holy month of Ramadan]]
{{Main|Ramadan}}
Muslims celebrate when the [[Quran]] was first revealed to Prophet Muhammed by fasting from dawn to sunset during [[Ramadan (calendar month)|Ramadan]], the ninth month of the [[Islamic calendar]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=No god but God : the origins and evolution of Islam|last=Reza|first=Aslan|date=2011|publisher=Delacorte Press|isbn=9780385739757|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=118–119|oclc=614990718}}</ref> Fasting is a purifying experience so that Muslims can gain compassion and deepen their faith in Allah.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ramadan0000aloi|title=Ramadan|last=Molly.|first=Aloian|date=2009|publisher=Crabtree|isbn=978-0778742852|location=New York|oclc=227911610|url-access=registration}}</ref>

The act of fasting represents the condition experienced by the needy, who although already hungry must also fast for Ramadan. Muslims fast by denying themselves food, water and all related sexual activity with their spouses, but people with chronic diseases or unhealthy conditions such as diabetes, and children are exempt from fasting. Travelers, and women who are menstruating or nursing a baby, are exempt from fasting but are required to fast later. A person's observance of fasting can be for naught if religiously forbidden acts are made, such as Ghibah (backbiting others) and deceiving others.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

===Pilgrimage===
====Hajj====
{{Main|Hajj}}

====Umrah====
{{Main|Umrah}}

==Dates of holidays and other days of note==
The Islamic calendar is based on the [[orbital period|synodic period]] of the [[Lunar phase|Moon's revolution]] around the Earth, approximately 29{{1/2}} days. The Islamic calendar alternates months of 29 and 30 days (which begin with the new moon). Twelve of these months make up an Islamic year, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year. Some Gregorian dates may vary slightly from those given, and may also vary by country. See [[Islamic calendar#Astronomical considerations|Islamic calendar]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Islamic Calendar|url=http://islamicfinder.org/islamic-calendar/|website=IslamicFinder|access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Special Islamic Days|url=http://islamicfinder.org/special-islamic-days/|website=IslamicFinder|access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Holiday name!! Hijri date !! 1445 AH
!1446 AH
|-
| align="left" | [[Islamic New Year]] || align="left" | 1 Muḥarram || 19 July 2023
|7 July 2024
|-
| align="left" | [[Ashura]] || align="left" | 10 Muḥarram || 28 July 2023
|17 July 2024
|-
| align="left" | [[Arbaʽeen]]{{efn|name=Shia|Primarily observed by Shias.}} || align="left" | 20 or 21 Ṣafar{{efn|Observed 40 days after Ashura.}} || 6 Sep. 2023
|26 Aug. 2024
|-
| align="left" | [[Eid-e-Shuja']] (Eid-e-Zahra){{efn|name=Twelver|Primarily observed by [[Twelver|Twelver Shias]].}} || align="left" | 9 Rabī‘ al-Awwal || 24 Sep. 2023
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Mawlid|Mawlid an-Nabī]]<br />('Birthday of the [[Muhammad|Prophet Muhammad]]){{efn|Not observed by Wahhabis, Deobandis and Ahl-i-Hadith}}|| align="left" | 12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal || 27 Sep. 2023
|15 Sep. 2024
|-
| align="left" | Beginning the Three Holy Months || align="left" | 1 Rajab || 13 January 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Laylat al-Raghaib]] || align="left" | 2 Rajab || 14 January 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | Birthday of [[Ali|‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib]]{{efn|name=Shia}} || align="left" | [[13 Rajab]] || 25 Jan. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Isra and Mi'raj|Laylat al-Mi'raj]] || align="left" | 26 Rajab or 27 Rajab{{efn|There is some disagreement about this date; see [[Isra and Mi'raj#Modern Muslim observance|Isra and Mi'raj]].}} || 7-8 Feb. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Mid-Sha'ban|Laylat al-Bara'at]] || align="left" | 15 Sha‘bān || 25 Feb. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | Birthday of [[Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi|Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdī]]{{efn|name=Twelver|Primarily observed by [[Twelver|Twelver Shias]].}} || align="left" | 15 Sha‘bān || 25 Feb. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | First day of [[Ramadan|Ramaḍān]] || align="left" | 1 Ramaḍān || 11 Mar. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Qadr Night|Laylat al-Qadr]]''' || align="left" | 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29 Ramaḍān{{efn|Most often observed on 23 Ramaḍān by Shias and 27 Ramaḍān by Sunnis; see [[Qadr Night#Date|Laylat al-Qadr]].}} || between<br />29 Mar. & 8 Apr. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Chaand Raat]]{{efn|Primarily observed in [[South Asia]].}} || align="left" | 29 or 30 Ramaḍān{{efn|Observed on the last evening of Ramaḍān; see [[Chaand Raat#Background|Chaand Raat]].}} || 9 Apr. 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Eid al-Fitr]]''' || align="left" | '''1 Shawwāl''' || '''10 Apr. 2024'''
|9 April 2024
|-
| align="left" | [[Hajj]] || align="left" | 8–13 Dhū al-Ḥijja || 14–19 June 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Day of Arafah]]''' || align="left" | 9 Dhū al-Ḥijja || 15 June 2024
|15 June 2024
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Eid al-Adha]]''' || align="left" | '''10 Dhū al-Ḥijja''' || '''16 June 2024'''
|16 June 2024
|-
| align="left" | [[Event of Ghadir Khumm|Eid al-Ghadeer]]{{efn|name=Shia}} || align="left" | 18 Dhū al-Ḥijja || 24 June 2024
|
|-
| align="left" | [[Event of Mubahala|Eid al-Mubahalah]]{{efn|name=Shia}} || align="left" | 24 Dhū al-Ḥijja || 30 June 2024
|
|}

===Notes to table===
{{Notelist|45em}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Leaman, Oliver, "Festivals of Love", in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol I, pp. 197–199.

==External links==
* [http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/ummalqura.htm The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia] (with date converter valid from 1937 to 2077)

{{Eid}}
{{Muslimholidays}}
{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Islamic holy days| ]]
[[Category:Religious holidays]]

Islamic holidays - Revision history

Igortxa: minor update

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article