Muslim holidays are not so numerous, but believers honor them and try to fulfill all the prescribed rites for everyone and multiply beneficent deeds.
Major Muslim holidays
Initially, the rules of celebrating Muslim holidays were laid by the Prophet Muhammad himself. He forbade faithful Muslims to celebrate the triumphs of other religions and cultures, since such a celebration would support wrong beliefs. A person who participates in the feast of another faith, himself participates in it and becomes a part of this religion. To celebrate the present, Muslims were given two days a year, which became the largest Muslim religious holidays. This is Eid al-Fitr or Uraza-Bayram , as well as Eid al-Adha or Kurban Bairam.
It should also be noted that the calendar of Muslim holidays is tied to the lunar calendar, the beginning of the day according to which in Islam is calculated from sunset. Thus, all Muslim holidays are not tied to certain dates, and the days of their celebration are annually calculated according to the movement of the moon in the sky.
Uraza-Bayram (Eid al-Fitr) is one of the main Muslim holidays. This day symbolizes the end of the month's fast, held in the ninth lunar month. The month is called Ramadan, and the fast is Uraza. Uraza-Bayram is celebrated on the first day of the tenth lunar month - Shavvala - and is a day of breaking up, leaving the Muslim fast.
Kurban-Bayram (Eid al-Adha) - no less significant Muslim holiday. It is celebrated for several days and begins on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. It is a holiday of sacrifice, on this day every faithful Muslim should bring a blood sacrifice, for example, to stab a sheep or a cow.
Other Muslim holidays in the year
In addition to the two major major holidays, over time, the Muslim calendar was replenished with other festive dates, which previously were considered simply memorable days for truly religious people.
The most important among them were such days as:
- New Year on Hijra (lunar calendar, Muslim new year);
- Ashura - the day of pardon of the Muslim Imam Al-Hussein ibn Ali, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad; Mawlid - the holiday of the day of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad;
- Leylat al-Ragaib or Night Ragaib - the memory of the day of the wedding of Mohammed's parents, as well as his conception;
- Miraj is a holiday in honor of the journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, which he performed on the fairy-tale animal of Burak;
- Lailat al-Bara or Night Baraat is the night of Creation, during which Muslims pray for the atonement of sins and remember the dead;
- Laylat al-Qadr - the night of Predestination, when the Prophet Muhammad was "sent down" by the Qur'an;
- Day Arafat - the last day of the Hajj, that is, the pilgrimage to Mecca;
- Nauryz is the day of the spring equinox, it has no direct relation to the faith, but it is celebrated in many Muslim countries.
In addition, it should be noted such important days in the Muslim annual cycle as the month of Ramadan or Ramazan, which is marked by fasting, as well as the weekly Juma, that is Friday, which in many Muslim countries is considered an official day off.
Muslim holidays are celebrated not only with festivities, joy and refreshments. For a Muslim, any holiday is an opportunity to multiply good deeds that will be compared to bad ones during the Day of Judgment. The Muslim holiday is, first of all, an opportunity for more diligent worship and diligent fulfillment of all the rites prescribed by religion. In addition, these days Muslims give alms, try to please all the people around them, including strangers, give gifts to relatives and friends, try not to offend anyone.