Arabic: An Essential Grammar

ص ْي ُفَّ َأل^

as

̇

-s

̇

ayfu, summer

َأْلـ َخ ِري ُف^

al-h

̆

arı

• fu, autumn

َأل ِّش َتا ُء^

asˇ-sˇita ̄

u, winter

35.13 The Islamic era and the Muslim festivals

ِعـيـ ٌد^



ı

• dun, festival, pl.: َأ ْعـ َيـا ٌد

a



ya ̄dun

(a) The hig ̆rah year, ي ُةَّس َن ُة ْل ِه ْج ِرَّ َأل

as-sanatu l-hig ̆riyyatu, is the year

in which the Prophet Muh

̇

ammad emigrated from Mecca to

Medina, i.e. 622 ad (16 July). This year is counted as year 1 of the

Islamic era. The Muslim year is a lunar year, ي ُةَّس َن ُة ْل َق َم ِرَّ َأل




as-sanatu l-qamariyyatu, and counts only 354 days. The lunar

year is not so often used but when it is used, the Christian year is

also mentioned.

(b) The holy month of َر َم َضا ُن Ramad

̇

a ̄n(u) has no regular corre-

sponding date in the Christian year, because the lunar months

rotate backwards. It is the month of fasting from dawn to sunset.

The festivities at the end of Ramadan have two names: ِعي ُد

ْل ِف ْط ِر^



ı ̄du l-fit

̇

ri ‘The festival of the breaking of the fast’ and

ص ِغي ُرَّ َأْل ِعي ُد ل^

al-



ı ̄du s

̇

-s

̇

ag ̇ı ̄ru ‘The small festival’. The common

festival greeting is: ِعي ٌد ُم َبا َر ٌك



ı ̄dun muba ̄rakun ‘Blessed feast!’

or َر َم َضا ُن ُم َبا َر ٌك Ramad

̇

a ̄nu muba ̄rakun ‘Blessed Ramadan!’

(c) ِعي ُد ْ َلأ ْض َحى



ı ̄du l-

ad

̇

h

̇

a ̄ means ‘The festival of sacrifice’, which

consists of different ceremonies on the days of the pilgrimage

(جُّ َأْلـ َح

al-h

̇

ag ̆g ̆u) to Mecca. It takes place on the tenth day of the

month of ج ِةَّ ُذو  ْلـ ِح d

̄

u ̄ l-h

̇

ig ̆g ̆ati (the last month of the Islamic

calendar), when the pilgrims sacrifice sheep and give some of

the meat to the poor. It has another name, َأْل ِعي ُد ْل َك ِبي ُر

al-



ı ̄du

l-kabı ̄ru, which means ‘The great festival’.

(d) The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is called ْلـ َم ْوِل ِد (^) ِعي ُد
ّي َ ن َب ِوَّل^

ı ̄du l-mawlidi n-nabawiyyi, but it is not much celebrated
as a festival.
276
Ordinal
numbers,
fractions,
expres-
sions of
time,
calendars