Jumada al-Awwal

Jumāda l-Ūlā (Arabic: جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْأُولَىٰ, romanized: Jumādā al-ʾŪlā, lit. 'The first Jumada'), or Jumada I, is the fifth month of the Islamic calendar. Jumada al-Ula spans 29 or 30 days. The origin of the month's name is theorized by some as coming from the word jamād (Arabic: جماد), meaning "arid, dry, or cold",^[1] denoting the dry and parched land and hence the dry months of the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar. Jumādā (Arabic: جُمَادَىٰ) may also be related to a verb meaning "to freeze", and another account relates that water would freeze during this time of year. The secondary name Jumādā al-Ūlā may possibly mean "to take charge with, commend, entrust, commit or care during the arid or cold month".^[1] However, this explanation is rejected by some as Jumādā al-Ūlā is a lunar month that does not coincide with seasons as solar months do.

Jumada al-Awwal
Native name	جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْأَوَّل (Arabic)
Calendar	Islamic calendar
Month number	5
Number of days	29-30 (depends on actual observation of the moon's crescent)
← Rabiʽ al-Thani Jumada al-Thani →

In Turkish, the name of the month is cemâziyelevvel (Ottoman Turkish: جماذی‌الاول);^[2][3] it was abbreviated as جا ca in Ottoman Turkish.^[2][4]

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a purely lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the tropical year, Jumada al-Awwal migrates backwards throughout the seasons in a cycle of about 33 solar years. The estimated start and end dates for Jumada al-Awwal are as follows (based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia:^[5])

Jumada al-Awwal dates between 2022 and 2026

AH	First day (CE/AD)	Last day (CE/AD)
1444	25 November 2022	24 December 2022
1445	15 November 2023	13 December 2023
1446	03 November 2024	02 December 2024
1447	023 October 2025	021 November 2025
1448	012 October 2026	010 November 2026

Islamic events

• On 1 Jumada al-Awwal 8 AH (September 629), the Battle of Mu’ta took place in the village of the same name (in present-day Jordan), in which the Muslim army (dispatched by Muhammad) fought against the army of the Byzantine Empire and their Ghassanid vassals reportedly in retribution for the murder of a Muslim emissary by a Ghassanid chief, Shurahbil ibn ‘Amr. The battle was won by the Byzantines, and amongst the losses the Muslims incurred were three of the most prominent Companions of Muhammad: Zayd ibn Haritha (his adopted son, known as the fourth person to become a Muslim); Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib (his cousin), and ‘Abd Allah ibn Rawaha (present at the second pledge at al-‘Aqaba), whom Muhammad had specifically appointed to be generals of the Muslim army in the battle, so that if one of them should be killed, the other would take his place.^[6]
• On 5 Jumada al-Awwal, Zaynab bint Ali was born.
• On 8 Jumada al-Awwal, Amir al-Kulal died. Amir Kulal.
• On 10 Jumada al-Awwal 11 AH, Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, died in Medina at the young age of 23 years according to Sunni Muslim sources.
• On 13 Jumada al-Awwal 11 AH, Fatima was buried by her husband Ali.
• On 15 Jumada al-Awwal, Ali ibn Husayn was born.
• On 20 Jumada al-Awwal 857, Mehmed II conquered Constantinople.

See also

• Jumada al-Thani