Short answer: the four sacred months (al-ashhur al-ḥurum) are Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab, the 11th, 12th, 1st and 7th months of the Islamic calendar. The Quran names their number (9:36) and the Prophet ﷺ named them in his Farewell Sermon. In them sins weigh heavier and good deeds count for more. The next one begins with Rajab 1448 on Thu 10 Dec 2026, by the Umm al-Qura calendar.
The Quran and the Sunnah
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّهُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًۭا فِى كِتَٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْهَآ أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ ۚ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا۟ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ وَقَٰتِلُوا۟ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ كَآفَّةًۭ كَمَا يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمْ كَآفَّةًۭ ۚ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٣٦﴾
Inna 'iddatash shuhoori 'indal laahis naa 'ashara shahran fee Kitaabil laahi yawma khalaqas samaawaati wal arda minhaaa arba'atun hurum; zaalikad deenul qaiyim; falaa tazlimoo feehinna anfusakum; wa qaatilul mushrikeena kaaaf fattan kamaa yuqaati loonakum kaaaffah; wa'lamooo annal laaha ma'al muttaqeen
Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him].
Quran 9:36 · Sahih International · Read Surah At-Tawbah
The Prophet ﷺ named the four in his sermon at the Farewell Hajj:
"Time has come back round to its form on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months, of which four are sacred: three in a row, Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab of Mudar, which comes between Jumada and Shaban."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4662; Sahih Muslim 1679, from Abu Bakrah
"Rajab of Mudar" was named after the tribe of Mudar, who kept Rajab in its true place, while some other Arabs moved it. "Time has come back round" refers to al-nasīʾ, the pre-Islamic practice of shifting the sacred months to suit war or trade, which the Quran condemned (9:37). From that Hajj on, the months stayed fixed to the moon.
Dates of the sacred months, 2026 to 2028
These dates follow the Umm al-Qura calendar used in Saudi Arabia, the same calendar as our Islamic calendar page. Where your community starts the month by local moon sighting, it may begin a day later. Each Hijri day begins at the sunset before.
| Month | Begins | Ends | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajab 1448 | Thu 10 Dec 2026 | Fri 8 Jan 2027 | 30 days |
| Dhul Qadah 1448 | Thu 8 Apr 2027 | Thu 6 May 2027 | 29 days |
| Dhul Hijjah 1448 | Fri 7 May 2027 | Sat 5 Jun 2027 | 30 days |
| Muharram 1449 | Sun 6 Jun 2027 | Sun 4 Jul 2027 | 29 days |
| Rajab 1449 | Mon 29 Nov 2027 | Tue 28 Dec 2027 | 30 days |
| Dhul Qadah 1449 | Mon 27 Mar 2028 | Tue 25 Apr 2028 | 30 days |
| Dhul Hijjah 1449 | Wed 26 Apr 2028 | Wed 24 May 2028 | 29 days |
| Muharram 1450 | Thu 25 May 2028 | Fri 23 Jun 2028 | 30 days |
Key days inside them: the Day of Arafah, 9 Dhul Hijjah 1448, falls on Sat 15 May 2027, and Ashura, 10 Muharram 1449, on Tue 15 Jun 2027.
Why these four?
The sacred months go back, the scholars say, to the religion of Ibrahim. The Arabs before Islam kept them as a truce: no raiding or blood feuds. The three in a row, Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram, let pilgrims travel to Makkah for Hajj and get home safely. Rajab, alone in the middle of the year, let people travel for Umrah. Islam kept them, removed the shifting of months, and gave them a meaning tied to worship.
Do not wrong yourselves in them
The verse says "so do not wrong yourselves during them". Ibn Abbas and Qatadah explained that wrongdoing is always forbidden, but a sin in these months is graver, and a good deed greater, just as sins and deeds are weighed more heavily in the sacred places (Tafsir al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir on 9:36).
In practice, scholars encourage:
- Extra fasting, especially in Muharram: "The best fasting after Ramadan is in Allah's month, al-Muharram" (Sahih Muslim 1163). See Ashura.
- Good deeds in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, the best days of the year (Sahih al-Bukhari 969), and fasting the Day of Arafah, which wipes out the sins of two years (Sahih Muslim 1162).
- Umrah in Dhul Qadah. All of the Prophet's ﷺ Umrahs were in Dhul Qadah, except the one he joined with his Hajj (Sahih al-Bukhari 1778; Sahih Muslim 1253, from Anas).
- Keeping away from sin, quarrels and harm, and repenting.
The rulings: fighting and blood money
The Quran forbade starting war in the sacred months (2:217, 5:2), while allowing self-defence: "[Fighting in] the sacred month is for [aggression committed in] the sacred month" (2:194).
The ban on starting a war in the sacred months was abrogated, by 9:5 and by "fight against the disbelievers collectively" in 9:36, as the majority of scholars hold. Defending against attack is allowed in any month. The sanctity of the months remains: sins in them are graver. Blood money (diyah) is not increased for a killing in a sacred month.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Agrees that the ban on war was abrogated, and blood money is not increased for the sacred months.
- Shafi'i
- Agrees on abrogation. Blood money for accidental killing is made heavier (taghliẓ) when the killing happens in a sacred month, in the Haram of Makkah, or of a close relative.
- Hanbali
- Agrees on abrogation. In the main position of the school, blood money is increased for a killing in a sacred month, following reports from Umar and Uthman.
- Other views
- Some early scholars, such as Ata ibn Abi Rabah, held that starting war in the sacred months is still forbidden.
Rajab: what is authentic and what is not
Rajab is a sacred month, and the general virtue of good deeds in the sacred months applies to it. But many specific Rajab practices rest on weak or fabricated reports. Ibn Hajar wrote a whole book on them, Tabyin al-Ajab, and concluded that no sahih hadith singles out Rajab for fasting or a special prayer.
| Practice | Status |
|---|---|
| Fasting in the sacred months in general | A report that the Prophet ﷺ told a man "fast from the sacred months and leave" is in Sunan Abi Dawud 2428, graded weak by al-Albani. Even so, most jurists, including the Hanafis, count fasting in the sacred months as recommended |
| Fasting all of Rajab, or special Rajab fasts | No sahih hadith. Umar is reported to have discouraged treating it like Ramadan |
| Salat al-Raghaib, a special prayer on the first Friday night of Rajab | Fabricated, according to al-Nawawi, Ibn al-Salah and others; al-Nawawi called it a reprehensible innovation |
| "Rajab is the month of Allah, Shaban my month, Ramadan the month of my ummah" | Fabricated or very weak |
| The dua "Allahumma barik lana fi Rajab wa Sha'ban wa ballighna Ramadan" | Its chain is weak (Musnad Ahmad, through Za'idah ibn Abi al-Ruqad). Many scholars still allow it as a general dua |
| 27 Rajab as the night of the Isra and Miraj | A widely followed date, but historians and scholars give several dates. See Isra and Miraj |
Questions
What are the 4 sacred months in Islam?
Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab: the 11th, 12th, 1st and 7th months of the Hijri calendar (Sahih al-Bukhari 4662).
When is the next sacred month?
Rajab 1448, beginning on Thu 10 Dec 2026 by the Umm al-Qura calendar, or a day later where the month starts by local moon sighting.
Is fighting allowed in the sacred months?
Self-defence is always allowed. The majority of scholars, including the four schools, hold that the original ban on starting war in these months was abrogated, while the months stay sacred.
Are good deeds multiplied in the sacred months?
Yes. Ibn Abbas and Qatadah explained 9:36 to mean that good deeds are greater in these months and sins graver, though no fixed multiple is given.
Is there a special fast for Rajab?
No sahih hadith singles out Rajab for fasting. Fasting Mondays and Thursdays, the white days, or more days in the sacred months in general is recommended by most jurists.
Why is Rajab separate from the other three?
The three in a row cover the travel for Hajj; Rajab in the middle of the year allowed safe travel for Umrah. The Prophet ﷺ called it "Rajab of Mudar, between Jumada and Shaban".
Sources
- Quran 2:194, 2:217, 5:2, 9:5, 9:36-37. Translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 969, 1778, 4662; Sahih Muslim 1162, 1163, 1253, 1679. Sunan Abi Dawud 2428, graded weak by al-Albani. Musnad Ahmad, the Rajab dua.
- Al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan, and Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, on 9:36.
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Tabyin al-Ajab bima Warada fi Fadl Rajab. Al-Nawawi, al-Majmu and Sharh Sahih Muslim, on Salat al-Raghaib. Ibn Rajab, Lata'if al-Ma'arif, the section on Rajab.
- Al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran, and Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, for the Hanafi positions. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from al-Nawawi, al-Majmu (Shafi'i); Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid (Maliki); Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni (Hanbali).
- Dates: the Umm al-Qura calendar as implemented in the Unicode CLDR (islamic-umalqura), read on 30 Oct 2026.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.