Rabi' al-Thani

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

• 08 or 10 Rabī' al-Thānī, the birth of the Eleventh Imam Hasan al-Askari
• 10 or 12 Rabī' al-Thānī, death of Fatimah bint Musa
• 11 of Rabī' al-Thānī, death of Abdul-Qadir Gilani, the Sufi sheikh who is believed to be the "saint of saints"
• 15 of Rabi' al-Thani, death of Habib Abu Bakr al-Haddad
• 27 of Rabi' al-Thani, death of Ahmad Sirhindi
• 28 or 29 of Rabī' al-Thānī, death of ibn Arabi, the great philosopher from Andalus who died and rests in Damascus, Syria.

References

References

1. "المنجد في اللغة - المكتبة الوقفية للكتب المصورة PDF".
2. [https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/ummalqura.htm Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia]
3. (29 January 2016). "Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn Al-Arabi (RA) - URS 22 Rabi al-Thani".