World Calendars
Islamic (Hijri) date today
The calendar of Islam follows the moon alone and never adds a leap month. That is why Ramadan moves through the seasons, starting about 11 days earlier each year.
1 Jumada II 1448 AH
١ جمادى الآخرة ١٤٤٨ هـ
Saudi official calendar (Umm al-Qura)
- In the Gregorian calendar
- Wednesday 11 November 2026
- This day began
- At sunset on Tuesday 10 November 2026
- This day ends
- At sunset on Wednesday 11 November 2026, when it becomes 2 Jumada II 1448 AH
- Arithmetic (civil)
- 30 Jumada I 1448 AH
- Arithmetic (astronomical epoch)
- 1 Jumada II 1448 AH
- Year 1448 AH began
- At sunset on Monday 15 June 2026
- Next new year
- At sunset on Saturday 5 June 2027 (in 206 days)
- This year has
- 355 days in 12 months
- Year 1 began
- 19 July AD 622, by the arithmetic calendar (Gregorian calendar counted backwards)
- Who uses it
- Muslims everywhere, for Ramadan, the Eids and the Hajj; Saudi Arabia officially
- How it works
- 12 moon months of 29 or 30 days, 354 or 355 days a year
- Years count from
- 622, when Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina
- Unusual detail
- Months traditionally begin when someone sees the new crescent moon
Next holidays in this calendar
88 days
Ramadan begins 1 Ramadan 1448 AH
From sunset on 7 February 2027 · Islamic (Hijri)
117 days
Eid al-Fitr 1 Shawwal 1448 AH
From sunset on 8 March 2027 · Islamic (Hijri)
185 days
Eid al-Adha 10 Dhuʻl-Hijjah 1448 AH
From sunset on 15 May 2027 · Islamic (Hijri)
Islamic dates follow Saudi Arabia's Umm al-Qura calendar. Where the month begins when the new moon is sighted, the day can be one later.
How the Islamic calendar works
A year has 12 lunar months and 354 or 355 days. Because nothing is added to keep step with the sun, each month comes about 11 days earlier every year, and Ramadan moves through all the seasons in about 33 years.
The day begins at sunset and ends at the next sunset. A month traditionally begins when the new crescent, the hilal, is seen after sunset on the 29th. If it is not seen, the month gets a 30th day.
| No. | Month | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muharram | Sacred month; the year begins |
| 2 | Safar | |
| 3 | Rabiʻ al-Awwal (Rabiʻ I) | |
| 4 | Rabiʻ al-Thani (Rabiʻ II) | |
| 5 | Jumada al-Ula (Jumada I) | |
| 6 | Jumada al-Akhira (Jumada II) | |
| 7 | Rajab | Sacred month |
| 8 | Shaʻban | |
| 9 | Ramadan | Month of fasting |
| 10 | Shawwal | |
| 11 | Dhu al-Qaʻda | Sacred month |
| 12 | Dhu al-Hijja | Sacred month; the Hajj |
Why Islamic dates differ by a day
Three ways of fixing the month are in use, and they can give different dates for the same day. This site shows the calculated dates and explains moon sighting.
- Moon sighting. Most Muslim countries still start the month when the crescent is seen, so the date depends on the place and the weather and cannot be known in advance.
- Umm al-Qura (our default). Saudi Arabia's official calendar for administration. Since 1423 AH (16 March 2002), a month starts when the new moon happens before sunset at Mecca and the moon sets after the sun. In 2007 the Islamic Society of North America and the Fiqh Council of North America announced they would use calculations with the same rule.
- Arithmetic (tabular) calendars. A 30-year cycle of 19 years of 354 days and 11 leap years of 355. The civil and astronomical versions differ only in the epoch they count from, one day apart, which is why converters disagree even when they use the same rule.
Umm al-Qura dates here come from the published Umm al-Qura tables built into standard date libraries. Religious observance follows the local authority, so check a local mosque for the start of Ramadan and the Eids.
A short history
Years are counted from the Hijra, the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Around 638 (17 AH), Caliph Umar adopted that year as year 1 after a complaint about undated letters, and Uthman suggested the year should begin with Muharram. Medieval astronomers, projecting their tables back, put 1 Muharram AH 1 on Friday 16 July 622 (Julian).
Sources
How this site calculates the date: Umm al-Qura (official in Saudi Arabia). Local dates may differ by a day where the new moon is sighted. The day begins at sunset.