Islamic Holidays

Hijrah

Hijrah is essentially the first holiday that was established in the Muslim community. Organized festivals on this day were first initiated by Caliph Omar. In essence, it is the Islamic New Year, which opens the month of Muharram. This holiday comes after the previous new moon.

The New Year for every Muslim is a symbolic transition from Mecca to Medina. It means breaking away from all old sins, failures and old habits and entering a new life according to the will of Allah.

Memorial of Hussein

Ten days after the celebration of the New Year, the memorial of Imam Hussein, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is celebrated. He died in 61 in a battle with the soldiers of Caliph Yazid. This is specifically a Shiite day that is not included in the main holidays of Islam, the list of which is the same for all internal Islamic currents and confessions. On this day, Shiites mourn, preparing festive processions to commemorate the death of Hussein.

Eid al-Fitr

It marks the end of the great Islamic fast of Ramadan. In popular tradition, it is also called the feast of sweets. These holidays are called Small and Great, of which Fitr is Small. It is called so only because it lasts three days, while the time for celebrating the Great Feast of Adha is four days.

Celebrating Fitr means having everything carefully prepared. Traditionally, families go to visit each other. Islamic families prepare a lot of food and decorate their homes. Just like Christians at Easter, adherents of Islam give each other gifts and cards.

Eid al-Adha

By celebrating holidays, Muslims often remember certain events in their sacred history. So, Eid al-Adha is not only a celebration of the end of the Hajj, but also an unforgettable celebration dedicated to the sacrifice of Issa by the Prophet Abraham. The idea of ​​sacrifice is key in this case, so Muslims sacrifice sacrificial animals in memory. It can be a goat, a cow or even a camel. But most often it is a sheep.

Birthday of Muhammad

The birthday of the founder is celebrated, which is called Milad al-Nabi in Arabic. Traditionally, this day is the 12th day of the month of the Arab month - Rabi' Awal. The date of birth according to the solar calendar (August 20) is not taken into account. This was not immediately recorded, but only during the reign of the Abbasids. The main meaning of this day is to remember and honor the memory of the Prophet, express love and devotion to him, and learn the history of the period of his life.

Night of Ascension

According to Muslim tradition, this holiday lasts only one night. The Prophet Muhammad brought the mysterious power of Allah to Jerusalem. At the same time, the archangel Jabriel (Gabriel) showed him hell and heaven, and then the Prophet appeared before Allah himself in the seventh heaven. The result of this revelation was the establishment of prayer - a prayer ritual that every faithful Muslim should perform 5 times a day. This event is celebrated on the 27th day of the month of Rajab. Unlike many other festive days that Islam has, the Birthday and Ascension Holidays do not provide for special entertainment. During these holidays, surahs from the Quran are mainly read and prayers are said. The Arabic name for this holiday is Lailat al-Miraj.

The Night of Power

Lailat al-Qadr is a festive night on which the first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad was revoked. It is celebrated on the 27th day of the holy month of Ramadan. However, in fact, this date is conditional, since there is no exact information about when this event took place. Therefore, if necessary, it is possible to record the last ten days of Ramadan on any of the nights. The celebration is carried out by visiting the mosque and reading prayers all night.

Ramadan

As soon as we see the first sliver of the crescent moon with the naked eye, Ramadan begins. During the month of fasting, life is paralyzed during the day, because one must fast: not only food, but also drinks, smoking and sex are prohibited. The exceptions who do not have to fast are children, the sick and pregnant women. A thunderous cannon shot, a novelty since the Turkish government, opens iftar, the fasting tradition. Iftar is a time of invitation for Egyptian families, and women prepare festive dishes all day long. After the subsequent digestion, Egypt wakes up and holds unique festivities. Merchants sell special Ramadan pastries called kunufa, pasta baked in oil. In the squares in front of the mosques, children have fun with “fanous” (Ramadan lanterns) on boat swings or on merry-go-rounds, while adults drink tea or coffee and smoke hookahs. Before the renewed fast, the night ends with “suhoor”, the morning meal before sunrise. To make sure no one misses it, many neighbors organize “messaharati” together, during which they drum and sing in the streets and march to wake up everyone who is sleeping. Ramadan is a fiasco for the Egyptian economy every year. Food prices double, and at the same time, there are many leftovers in the trash cans everywhere. With each passing day, Ramadan is crippling life more and more, with some companies losing up to 50% of their production, according to newspaper reports. Al-Azhar reminds us that the holiday is primarily a celebration of pure souls, not full stomachs.

The dates of Islamic holidays are based on the Islamic calendar, which is lunar (holidays are movable - they do not have a fixed date).