Tuesday 16 June
The first of Muharram — the start of the Hijri year, marking the Prophet's migration to Medina.
رأس السنة الهجرية
Islamic New Year 2026
The first of Muharram, the start of the Hijri year.
In 2026 it falls on Tuesday 16 June, in Sunni and Shia practice alike.
Like every day of the Hijri year, it begins at sunset the evening before. Hijri dates are projected, and may move a day once the new moon is sighted.
The date
In each branch
Tuesday 16 June
The first of Muharram. The month opens the mourning of Karbala, so the new year is entered quietly rather than kept as a feast.
The season
The days around it
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Wednesday 24 June · Shia
Tasu'a
The ninth of Muharram — the eve of Ashura, when the camp of Husayn was surrounded and the water cut off.
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Thursday 25 June · Sunni
Day of Ashura
The tenth of Muharram — a recommended fast, kept with the ninth (Tasu'a) so the day is distinguished.
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Thursday 25 June · Shia
Ashura
The martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali at Karbala. A day of mourning, majalis, and the Ziyarat of Ashura — not a day of fasting: the greater part of the jurists hold a fast on it disliked, and many forbid it. It is customary to abstain from food and drink until the afternoon in grief, then to break it.
In ActivePray, each branch’s holy days and fasts come in its own year, with reminders for them, and every prayer at its hour.
ActivePray on the App StoreIslamic New Year in other years: 2027 · 2028. Every holy day of the year is on the calendar and in Islam.