Jumada al-Awwal, also known as Jumada al-Ula , or Jumada I, is the fifth month of the Islamic calendar. Jumada al-Awwal spans 29 or 30 days. The origin of the month's name is theorized by some as coming from the word jamād, meaning "arid, dry, or cold", denoting the dry and parched land and hence the dry months of the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar. Jumādā 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". However, this explanation is rejected by some as Jumada al-Awwal is a lunar month that does not coincide with seasons as solar months do. In Turkish, the name of the month is cemâziyelevvel ; it was abbreviated as جا ca in Ottoman Turkish.

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: )

Islamic events