Twelver - Calendar

Calendar

Twelver Shi'a, celebrate the following annual holidays:

• Eid ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر), which marks the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan and falls on the first day of Shawwal.
• Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca, starts on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

The following holidays are observed by Twelvers Shi'as, unless otherwise noted:

• The Mourning of Muharram or Remembrance of Muharram and Ashurah (عاشوراء) for Shia commemorates Imam Husayn ibn Ali's martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala. Imam Husayn was grandson of Muhammad, who was killed by Yazid ibn Muawiyah,the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate (and the first one by heredity).One group of Sunni Scholars have deemed Yazeed to be a kaafir(e.g. Sunni Scholar Ibn Jauzi in Wafa al-Wafa), another has stated he was a fasiq (transgressor), a fajir (one that commits debauchery) and a drunkard.Yazeed considered nikah (marriage) with mothers and sisters to be permissible and drank alcohol". Ashurah is a day of deep mourning which occurs on the 10th of Muharram. Sunnis also commemorates Imam Husayn ibn Ali's martyrdom, but little different from Shi'as.
• Arba'een (Arabic word for forty(40)) commemorates on 40th day of Imam Husain's martydom( 40th day is an auspious day for any deceased as per Islam) remembering the suffering of Imam Husayn and his household, the women and children. After Husayn was killed, they were marched over the desert, from Karbala (central Iraq) to Shaam (Damascus, Syria). Many children (some of whom were direct descendants of Muhammad) died of thirst and exposure along the route. Arba'een occurs on the 20th of Safar, 40 days after Ashurah.
• Milad al-Nabi, Muhammad's birth date, is celebrated by the Shia on the 17th of Rabi' al-awwal, which coincides with the birth date of the sixth imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq.
• Mid-Sha'aban is the birth date of the 12th and final imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. It is celebrated by Twelvers on the 15th of Sha'aban. Many Shia fast on this day to show gratitude.
• Eid al-Ghadeer celebrates Ghadir Khum, the occasion when Muhammad announced Ali's imamate before a multitude of Muslims. Eid al-Ghadeer is held on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
• Al-Mubahila celebrates a meeting between the Ahl al-Bayt (household of Muhammad) and a Christian deputation from Najran. Al-Mubahila is held on the 24th of Dhu al-Hijjah.