Muslim holidays
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Muslim holidays are mostly based around the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, especially the events surrounding the first hearing of the Qur'an. Islam has two main holidays, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. The way that holidays are recognized can vary across cultures, as well as across sects of Islam, Sunni and Shia. Muslim holidays generally follow the lunar calendar, and thus move each year relative to the solar calendar.The Islamic calendar has 12 months and 354-355 days. Sunni and Shia lunar calendars do not always coincide: sometimes a Shia holiday and the same Sunni holiday occur on two different days, typically two successive ones. The Execution of Saddam Hussein was carefully timed to avoid the Shia Eid ul-Adha, but the Sunni holiday began on the day of his death.
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[edit] Friday (Jumu'ah)
Friday is an important day in the life of a Muslim and it is believed that any devotional acts done on this day gain a higher reward. This day however should not be understood as a Sabbath, for Muslims reject the belief that God rested after Creation. The reason for the selection of Friday is due to the belief that Adam was created on that day. Believers attend congregational prayer at the local mosque, perform prayer and listen to a sermon by the Imam. When the holidays occur, it is according to the lunar Islamic calendar.
The lunar year does not match the solar year. Therefore, the Islamic months precess each year; they shift relative to the Gregorian calendar by about 11 days.
Friday is known as "Yowm ul-Jumuah" which means "day of gathering". The day that Muslims gather.
[edit] Ramadan
Ramadan is the month in which Muslims must fast from sun-up to sun-down. This is meant to experience and understand the hardships of poverty and learn the virtue of patience and avoiding evil acts.
[edit] Festival
[edit] Eid ul-Fitr
Eid (عيد) is the Arabic word for celebration and Fitr is the Arabic word for feast. Eid ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر) or The Celebration of the Feast is the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan and the month-long fast. During Ramadan, Muslims all over the world fast from dawn (before sun rise) to sunset, having their first daily meal at sun down prayer time. The purpose of fasting is to teach Muslims patience and humility, as well as to remind Muslims that they are fortunate and should help the needy and less fortunate. The main benefit of Ramadan is for the Muslims to train themselves to exercise restraint with the result being a closer relationship with Allah (God) and a healthier more appreciative self by the end of the month. After sun down of the last day of Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr starts. In the early morning of the first day of Shawwal (first day of the Eid), Muslims perform a ritual prayer called the Eid prayer. Sweets, food, and non-alcoholic drinks are distributed in masajid and homes. Celebrations extend up to three days Ramadan the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Also gifts are givin out and also traded between friends and family.
[edit] Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Adha (عيد الأضحى), also called the big holiday, falls approximately 70 days after Eid ul-Fitr and is celebrated in honor of the prophet Abraham when he intended to sacrifice his son Ismail as a proof of his loyalty to God. Eid ul-Adha is translated into English as "The Feast of Sacrifice", when Muslims all over the world present an animal (usually a cow or a sheep) sacrifice as a gratitude action for God saving the Prophet Ismail's life. The slaughtered animal meat is divided into thirds, one for the person who is presenting the beast, one to be distributed to his poor relatives, and the last third for the needy, regardless of their religion, race, or nationality. As with Eid ul-Fitr, there is an early morning prayer for the Eid, and celebrations are extended for Four days.
It falls two months and 10 days after the Little Feast. Those who are economically able to make a pilgrimage to Mecca do so just before this date, on the Hajj.
[edit] Ashura
Ashura is celebrated on the ninth and tenth day of Muharram on the Islamic Calendar. Ashura is an Arabic word meaning "ten", and it is a day of optional fasting. Jews in the city of Madina fasted only one day, (on Yom Kippur the 10th of Tishrei) so the Prophet Muhammad would fast too. This is the day on which God saved Moses and the Israelites from Pharaoh in Egypt as he crossed the Red Sea (the Exodus day). According to Islamic tradition Muhammad fasted along with the neighboring Jewish communities on this occasion, and according to narrations, Muhammad planned on fasting on the 9th and 10th of Muharram. (According to Judaism the Israelites left Egypt on the first day of Passover, and they crossed the Sea of Reeds seven days later on the 21st of Nisan, both of which are celebrated as holidays with meals.) This is also the day on which Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali, was murdered according to tradition in the Battle of Karbala. For Shi'a Muslims this is a day of mourning. Many Sunni Muslims also commemorate this event, albeit in a less dramatic fashion than the Shi'a.
[edit] Islamic New Year
The 1st of Muharram is the New Year on the Islamic Calendar. In Arabic, the new year is called, "R'as as-Sana." (The Jewish New Year has a similar name, "Rosh Hashana".) It is not generally celebrated as an official Islamic holiday, although many Muslim communities have devised or revived some kind of new year ritual celebration.
[edit] Laylat al-Qadr
Laylat al-Qadr is Arabic for "The Night of Destiny". It falls on one of the last ten days of Ramadan on an odd numbered day. It is considered the holiest night in the entire month of Ramadan, since it is the night in which the Qur'an was first revealed. It is also considered better than a thousand months [Qur'an 97:1-3]. It is said that if a person performs voluntary worship on this night, that worship is equal to a thousand months or approximately 80 years.
[edit] Laylat ul Isra and Miraj
Laylat ul Isra and Mi'raj is Arabic for "the Night of the Journey and Ascension". It is on 27th of Rajab. It is the night when Muhammad was, according to Hadiths, taken to "the furthest mosque" (generally understood to be Jerusalem) on a Buraq (a beast resembling horse with wings; some people consider it a cherub) and ascended to the highest level of the heavens. It is said that he negotiated with God about the number of prayers, which started at fifty a day, but on his way down he met Moses, who asked him to ask for a reduction in the number because the requirement was difficult for Muhammad's people. Muhammad returned to God and several times asked for, and was granted a reduction of five prayers, until the number was reduced to five in total, with the blessing that if they were properly performed, the performers would be credited with fifty prayers instead of five.
[edit] Laylat ul Bara'ah
Laylat ul Bara'ah is Arabic for "the Night of Freedom from Fire." It occurs on the night between the 14th and 15th of Sha'ban. It is considered a night when Muslims are graced with Divine Mercy and blessings. The night is spent in the recitation of the Qur'an and special prayers. This practice is not observed by mainstream Muslims worldwide but is practiced in areas such as Pakistan or by those of Pakistani origin.
[edit] Jumu'ah-tul-Wada
Jumu'ah-tul-Wada (Arabic: جمعة الوداع ) is the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, that is the last fasting Friday before Eid-ul-Fitr.
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