Rabiʽ al-Thani (, also known as Rabi' al-Akhirah, Rabi al-Akhir (رَبِيع ٱلْآخِر), or Rabi' II is the fourth month of the Islamic calendar. The name Rabī‘ al-Thani means "the second spring" in Arabic, referring to its position in the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar. In the days of the Ottoman Empire, the name of this month in Ottoman Turkish was Rèbi' ul-a h er, with the Turkish abbreviation Rè, or Reb.-ul-Akh. in western European languages. In modern Turkish, it is Rebiülahir or Rebiülsani.

Meaning

The word "Rabi" means "spring" and Al-thani means "the second" in the Arabic language, so "Rabi' al-Thani" means "the second spring" in Arabic. As the Islamic calendar is a purely lunar calendar, the month naturally rotates over solar years, so Rabīʽ al-Thani can fall in spring or any other season. Therefore, the month cannot be related to the actual season of spring.

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, Rabī' al-Thānī migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Rabī' al-Thānī are as follows (based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia ):

Islamic events