Islam: holidays (list). The main holidays of Islam and its traditions

Muslims, like adherents of other religions, have many of their holidays, which are an integral part of Islamic spirituality and culture. The Arabic name for such a solemn date is id, which means something like the following: "return to a specific time." What characterizes the main holidays of Islam and how do they observe the faithful adherents of the religion of the Prophet Muhammad?

General principles

During any of the holidays of the Muslim calendar, the believers, of course, pray. In addition, they remember their loved ones and pray for those of them who have moved to another world. As Islam orders, holidays should be held in the community so that everyone can feel their involvement in the ummah.

Unlike Christianity, where the main holidays are thirteen, Muslims have only two such significant dates: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The first holiday is timed to the end of fasting, and the second is dedicated to sacrifices. He is celebrated during the Hajj, that is, the pilgrimage to Mecca. In opposition to Fitr, which is called the Small Feast, Adha is called Great, or Great.

Both these festive days, as well as all other religious holidays of Islam are celebrated in accordance with the lunar calendar according to the tradition adopted in the Middle East. The account of Islamic chronology begins on July 15, 622 AD. E. On this day the Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina, which is called the day of the Hijra. The lunar year of Muslims is shorter than the solar year for 11 days. This is due to the fact that Islamic holidays are not timed to the dates of the Gregorian calendar, according to which they are displaced every year in their celebration for eleven days. To equalize this rhythm, every third year is considered a leap year.

Hijrah

The Hijra is, in principle, the first of the holidays that was established in the Muslim community. Organized festivities on this day were first initiated by Caliph Omar. And in essence it is an Islamic new year, opening a month for muhharas. This holiday comes after the previous new moon.

The new year assumes for each Muslim a symbolic transition from Mecca to Medina. This means that behind all the sins, failures and old habits must be left behind and enter into a new life in accordance with the will of Allah.

Memory of Hussein

Ten days after the New Year, the memory of Imam Hussein, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is celebrated. He died in 61 AH in battle with the troops of the Caliph Yazid. This is a specifically Shiite day, it is not included in the main holidays of Islam, the list of which is the same for all intra-Islamic currents and confessions. On this day the Shiites are mourning, they arrange solemn processions, stage the events of Hussein's death, etc.

Eid al-Fitr

Fitr serves as an answer to the question of which holidays in Islam are most loved. It marks the end of the great Islamic fast of Ramadan. In the folk tradition it is also called a holiday of sweets. As already noted above, this day is one of the deeds of the most important festivities Islam has. These holidays are called Small and Large, of which Fitr - Small. It is called so only because its duration is three days, whereas the time for celebrating the Great Holiday of Adha is four days.

To celebrate Fitr carefully prepared. Traditionally, at this time go to visit. Because Islamic families prepare a lot of food and decorate their homes. Like the Christians at Easter, the adherents of Islam give each other gifts and greeting cards.

Another mandatory feature of this holiday is charity. The donation is mandatory for poor and needy families, so that the holiday does not bypass them.

When it's time to finish fasting, the believers are called to prayer. In Islamic countries, they beat drums, make announcements on radio and television, shoot guns at the sky, and immediately fun begins. The first thing a modest meal of dates, juice or milk interrupts fasting. The meal ends with a ritual prayer called the Maghrib. For the next three days no one works, does not study. Everyone is just having fun, giving presents, making visits to friends and visiting relatives. The main fun begins on the first day at noon with a festive dinner. After that, there is a visit to the cemeteries and a prayer for the deceased, after which all three days of continued universal joy and celebration.

Eid al-Adha

Adha is a great celebration, a kind of visiting card that embodies Islam. Holidays Muslims in many ways confined to memories of certain events of sacred history. So Eid al-Adha marks not only the end of Hajj, but also is a memorable celebration dedicated to the sacrifice of Issak by the prophet Abraham. The idea of sacrifice is key in this event, therefore Muslims pin sacrificial animals in memory of him. They may be a goat, a cow or even a camel. But most often this role is played by sheep.

Muhammad's Birthday

The main holidays of Islam, of course, can not do without the celebration of the birthday of the founder, who is called in Arabic Milad al-Nabi. Traditionally, this day is the 12th day of the Arab lunar month, rabia aval. Date of birth according to the solar calendar (August 20) is not taken into account. It was not immediately noticed, but only during the reign of the Abbasids. The sacramental significance of this day is to remember and honor the memory of the prophet, to express to him his love, devotion and to draw from the history of his life useful lessons.

The Ascension Night

According to the Muslim tradition, one night the prophet Muhammad transferred the mysterious power of Allah to Jerusalem. Accompanying him, the archangel Jabriel (Gabriel) showed him also hell and heaven, and after that the prophet appeared before Allah himself in the seventh heaven. The result of this revelation was the establishment of prayer - a ritual of prayer, which every faithful Muslim should perform five times a day. This event is celebrated on the 27th of the month of Rajab. Unlike many other solemn dates that Islam has, the feasts of the birthday and the night of the ascension do not provide for special fun. During these, the surahs from the Quran are mainly read and prayers are said. The Arabic name of this holiday is Leylat al-Miraj.

Night of power

Laylat al-Qadr is a festive night, in which the very first revelation of the Prophet Muhammad is recalled. It is celebrated in the holy month of Ramadan on the 27th. But in fact, this date is conditional, as there is no exact information about when this event took place. Therefore, in case of need, it can be noted on any of the nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. As a rule, the celebration is reduced to visiting the mosque and reading prayers throughout the night.

The Night of Blessing

This is another special night, which is called to celebrate Islam. Holidays, whose traditions are based on commemorating the memory of stories from the life of the prophet, include this night as a special time for prayer for the dead. It is celebrated at the full moon before the beginning of Ramadan, on the eve of the 15 Sha'ban. The historical basis of this holiday is the time that the Prophet Muhammad conducted in prayers, preparing for the post, which he kept in seclusion every year. Adherents of Islam believe that this night, called in Arabic Leylat al-Baraat, Allah gives orders for all living people: who will die and who will live, to whom sins are forgiven, and to whom lies the curse, etc. In this The night is preparing a special ritual meal and candles are lit.

Other Holidays

The above holidays are the main ones for the Islamic world. Almost all believers celebrate them at the same time. But there are also such events that each family experiences separately. These days are mainly the birth of a child, the naming of the name, etc. Let us briefly touch on them.

Birth of a child

When a child is born, this is a great joy for the whole family. In the Muslim world, this event has a vivid religious coloring. First, the child is considered the gift of Allah, and secondly, he is immediately consecrated into the Islamic religion as follows: first, the so-called azan is whispered into the right ear to the baby, that is, a prayer call beginning with the formula "Allah Akbar", and then in The left ear whispers Ikama, that is, the command to stand on a prayer. Thus, the newborn child has the word "God" in his life, which is very important. This is the first initiation into faith. In the future, he still has a number of initiations.

Sacrifice and other holidays

After the birth of the child, it is required to bring a sacrificial animal - one for the girl and two for the boy - as a gift to Allah. Meat of animals is distributed to the needy and destitute.

Islam is a religion, whose festivals in honor of the newborn are numerous. Among other of them it is worth noting Tahnik - the anointing of the mouth of the baby with juice with the wish of health; Akiku - ritual shaving of the child on the seventh day after birth; Naming; Khitan - circumcision of a male infant; Bismillu - pronouncing a special spellcasting formula from the Koran over the child.

There are other festive, religiously painted days in private family life. But their scale is not so great as to dwell on them in detail in this article.