Shawwal

Shawwāl (شوÙ'ال) is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to 'lift or carry'; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.

Fasting during Shawwāl

The first day of Shawwāl is Eid al-Fitr. Some Muslims observe six days of fasting during Shawwāl beginning the day after Eid ul-Fitr since fasting is prohibited on this day. These six days of fasting together with the Ramadan fasts, are equivalent to fasting all year round. The reasoning behind this tradition is that a good deed in Islam is rewarded 10 times, hence fasting 30 days during Ramadan and 6 days during Shawwāl is equivalent to fasting the whole year in terms of reward.

The Shia scholars do not place any emphasis on the six days being consecutive while among the Sunnis the majority of Shafi`i scholars consider it recommended to fast these days consecutively. They based this on a hadith related by Tabarani and others wherein Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, "Fasting six consecutive days after Eid al-Fitr is like fasting the entire year." Other traditional scholarly sources among the Hanbaliyya and Hanafiyya do not place an emphasis on consecutive days, while the strongest opinion of the Malikiyya prefers any six days of the year, consecutively or otherwise.

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, Shawwāl migrates throughout the seasons. The actual and estimated start and end dates for Shawwāl are as follows:

Islāmic Events

• 01 Shawwāl, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated throughout the Muslim World.
• 08 Shawwāl, the destruction of Jannatul Baqee' [Baqee' Holy Graveyard] and Jannatul Mualla on 8 Shawwal 1926 by the Saudi government
• 13 Shawwāl, primary traditionist of the Sunni Muslims, Muhammad al-Bukhari, was born in 194 AH.
• 14 Shawwāl, birth of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, 1250.
• 17 Shawwāl, early Muslims took part in the Battle of Uhud
• 22 Shawwāl 1284 AH, death of Haji Dost Muhammad Qandhari, an Afghan Sufi master of Naqshbandi tradition
• 25 Shawwāl, martyrdom of Shia Imām, Ja‘far as-Sādiq
• 29 Shawwāl, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib was born.

Notes

External links

• Shawwal 2013 Start
• Islamic-Western Calendar Converter (Based on the Arithmetical or Tabular Calendar)
• Islamic Calendar / Hijri Calendar for Makkah
• Sahih Muslim
• Fasting Six Days of Shawwal: Necessary?