Today I'm going to discuss two Islamic date formats and why they are important. I'll also discuss the history of the Islamic date format and what it means today. Many Muslims use this type of format when marking their day-to-day calendar. It's worth looking at.

This one is from Imam Ahmad's father, Abu Muhammad. The name 'Ibn' is often used by Muslims to indicate the Imam. You can think of Ibn as a particularly stringent and literal Imam with lots of special rules.

Another one is Juman 'Ashura. 'Ashura is the year one thousand and fifty of the Era of Caliph Umar. Its origin is found in the Prophet's call for people to offer their 'Rakats' - which were special religious sacrifices. This is the day that the sacrifice was made. Its significance is as a reckoning of an already established historical figure.

The call is repeated every twenty years and is called Al 'Dhahirah. Juman Ashura would have been in 'Abbasid' time. Abbasid Caliph 'Umar spent about a year celebrating the day. As it's Islamic, most of the caliph's appointees turned up and partied, drank alcohol and generally went mad.

The al-Qidah festival, i.e. Juman Ashura, was on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah, i.e. the first Friday after the feast of Eid al-Fitr. The festival was commemorated by it being marked by both fasts and prayers. The fasting was to bring in 'Ashura'. But Muslims are allowed to fast and pray on the same day.

The date here is set to the Sun 'Rak' but can be different for the month or the region. To take a moment to look at today Islamic date, it's February 3rd, which is in the northern hemisphere, but in the southern hemisphere it's July 13th. So both the dates will be different. In short, this is the most 'southern' of all the Islamic dates, and its significance should not be underestimated.

A final reference, but a more specific and scholarly Fatawa regarding this issue is found in "Kitab al-Tajrid" by Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. He writes that the day 'Ashura' is not a date for the world, but an observance for the pious. It was a time for them to return to God, to offer their own sacrifices, but also to take the opportunity to speak directly to God, through their Imams. So when you consider it as an Islamic date, its importance should not be underestimated.

So there you have it, two brief reference points on the subject of 'Ashura' and Juman. We all have our own opinion of which is more important.