Jumada al-Oola (Arabic: جمادى الأولى, also transliterated Ǧumādā al-ʾAwwal, [d͡ʒʊˈmæːdæ lˈʔæwwæl]; also pronounced Ǧamādā al-ʾAwwal, [d͡ʒæˈmæːdæ lˈʔæwwæl]) or Jumada I is the fifth month of the 12 lunar months in the Islamic calendar. It is also known as Jumada al-Ula or Jumadil Awwal. The month spans 29 or 30 days.
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The origin of the name is as follows: the word "Jumda", from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry parched land: land devoid of rain, and hence denotes the dry months.
Timing
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Jumada al-Awwal migrates backwards throughout the seasons, during 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):