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                The next Hajj season will be on October 2^nd, 2014 which corresponds to the last month of the Islamic calendar, Thul Hijjah 8^th, 1435 H. the letters 'th'  in the word "Thul",  are pronounced as in the word "the", and the letter 'u' is pronounced like in the word "full". Thul Hijjah means, lord of the pilgrimage, in Arabic. It is a sacred month. Hajj  starts from the eighth of the month to the twelfth of it.  Of course, next year, it might not be the same day of October, because the Islamic months begin when a new moon is sighted, according to the lunar calendar.   

                  The lunar Islamic year is eleven to twelve days shorter than the solar year.  Consequently, the month of Thul Hijjah can go throughout the seasons.  It can be in summer, winter, spring or autumn. That is owing to the rotation of the sun around the earth and its tendency toward its axis. That was pure astronomy which I do not have enough tools for it. To summarize this, we can say, the lunar calendar is eleven to twelve days shorter than the Gregorian calendar.

 These are the months of the Islamic calendar:

1-  Muharam

2-  Safar

3-  Rabee Al awal

4-  Rabee Al thani

5-  Jumada Al awal

6-  Jumada Al thani

7-  Rajab

8-  Shaaban

9-  Ramadan

10 -  Shawal

11 -  Thul Gidah

12 – Thul Hijjah

To be continued