The Islamic Months for Kids

The Islamic calendar has twelve months, from Muharram to Dhul-Hijjah. It follows the moon: each month begins when the new crescent is sighted, so every month is 29 or 30 days and the year is about 354 days — roughly eleven days shorter than the solar year. Four of the twelve are sacred months. This page gives all twelve in order with what each is known for and its source, explains Ashura and the Islamic new year for children, and has a free printable chart of the months.

What are the 12 Islamic months, in order?

Muharram, Safar, Rabi’ al-Awwal, Rabi’ al-Thani, Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Akhirah, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qa’dah and Dhul-Hijjah. The number is fixed by the Quran itself: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve” (9:36). Spellings vary a little in English — Rabi’ al-Thani is also written Rabi’ al-Akhir — but the order never changes.

Most of the twelve have no special acts of worship attached to them, and it is worth saying that plainly to a child: an ordinary month is not a lesser month. The five-times-daily prayer, the Quran and good character belong to all of them.

Why does the Islamic calendar follow the moon?

Because the Quran ties the months to the moon’s phases. “They ask you about the new moons. Say: they are measures of time for people, and for Hajj” (2:189). And Allah “made the sun a shining light and the moon a light, and determined phases for it, so that you may know the number of years and the reckoning” (10:5).

A child can see the calendar for themselves, which no other calendar allows. Go outside on the evening a new month is expected and look low in the west after sunset for the thin crescent. When it is seen, a new month has begun. There is a du’a for that moment, and it is short:

Because the year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year, every Islamic month moves backwards through the seasons. A child who fasts Ramadan in winter at seven will fast it in summer in their twenties. That is also why Muslims in the two hemispheres take turns having the long fasts.

What are the four sacred months?

Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. The Quran says four of the twelve months are sacred and tells the believers not to wrong themselves in them (9:36). The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم named them in his farewell sermon: three in a row — Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram — and Rajab, which falls between Jumada and Sha’ban (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

For a child, “sacred” can be explained as extra-special: months when doing good counts for more and doing wrong is more serious. The three together also make sense once a child knows about Hajj — they surround the pilgrimage.

What is Ashura, explained for kids?

Ashura is the 10th of Muharram, the day Allah saved the Prophet Musa and his people from Pharaoh. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to Madinah, he found the Jews of the city fasting on that day because of it. He said the Muslims had more right to Musa, fasted it, and told the Muslims to fast it (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). He also said he hoped the fast of Ashura would wipe out the sins of the year before (Sahih Muslim), and intended to fast the 9th as well (Sahih Muslim), which is why many families fast the 9th and 10th together.

It is a good day to tell a child the story of Musa and the sea — it is on our Prophet Musa story for kids page. It is also where the companions trained their children to fast, giving them toys to play with until the fast ended (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

Ashura is also the date on which al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, the grandson of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, was killed at Karbala in 61 AH. For many Muslims, and especially Shia Muslims, the day is marked with mourning for him. Families from different traditions keep Ashura in different ways; what this page sets out is the part they share — the day of Musa, and the fast.

What is the Islamic new year?

The Islamic new year is the 1st of Muharram, and the years are counted from the Hijrah — the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, which is year 1 AH (after Hijrah). The calendar was dated from the Hijrah during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. The year 1448 AH began in June 2026, and the next new year, 1449 AH, is expected in early June 2027, with the exact day set by the moon sighting.

No particular act of worship for the first day of the year is reported from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. The practice attached to the month is the fast of Ashura ten days later. The new year is, though, a natural moment to tell a child the story of the Hijrah itself, which is part 6 of our seerah for kids.

How do I teach the Islamic months to my child?

One month at a time, as it arrives. Learning twelve names from a list lasts a week. Knowing that “it is Sha’ban now, so Ramadan is next” lasts a lifetime, and it only needs a chart on the wall and a minute when each month begins. Look for the crescent together, say the du’a, move the marker on the chart, and say one thing about the month.

Children who learn the months this way also learn why Ramadan and Eid move, which dates matter and which are ordinary — and that an ordinary month is not an empty one. What to do in the biggest two months is on our pages on Ramadan for kids and Eid for kids.