Dhu al-Qi'dah: The Sacred Month Before Hajj

Dhu al-Qi'dah (also written Dhul Qadah, Dhu al-Qa'dah or Zul Qa'dah) is the 11th month of the Hijri calendar. It falls between Shawwal and Dhu al-Hijjah, and it is the first of three consecutive sacred months. Its name comes from the Arabic root for sitting, because the Arabs stayed put during it, refraining from fighting and travel. The Prophet ﷺ performed three of his four Umrahs in this month. By the calculated Umm al-Qura calendar, Dhu al-Qi'dah 1448 runs from Thursday 8 April to Thursday 6 May 2027.

Key Takeaways

• Dhu al-Qi'dah is the 11th Hijri month and one of the four sacred months named in Sahih al-Bukhari 4406.
• The name refers to "sitting": a classical explanation, quoted by Ibn Kathir, is that the Arabs refrained from fighting and travel in it.
• Three of the Prophet's four Umrahs took place in Dhu al-Qi'dah, according to Sahih al-Bukhari 4148.
• It is one of the months of Hajj, and the Prophet ﷺ set out for his own Hajj from Madinah near its end.
• Calculated dates for 1448 AH: 8 April to 6 May 2027. Local announcements may differ by a day.

What the name Dhu al-Qi'dah means

"Dhu" means "the one of" or "possessor of," and "qi'dah" (or "qa'dah") comes from the root q-'-d, which carries the sense of sitting. A literal rendering is "the month of sitting."

The classical explanation ties this to behaviour, not to any event. In his commentary on Quran 9:36, Ibn Kathir quotes the scholar 'Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi's short work on the names of days and months. Al-Sakhawi says the month was named for the Arabs' sitting back in it from fighting and from travel. Ibn Kathir adds that the first letter may be read with either vowel, which is why both "Qa'dah" and "Qi'dah" are correct spellings.

The English abridgement of Ibn Kathir on the same verse gives the reason for the month's sanctity in similar terms. Dhu al-Qi'dah, "the month before the Hajj month," was made sacred because people refrained from fighting during it. Dhu al-Hijjah followed as the month of Hajj, and Muharram after it so pilgrims could travel home safely.

That is why "the month of truce" is a common gloss. It describes how the month functioned for travellers heading towards Makkah, rather than a separate meaning of the word.

A sacred month in the Quran and Sunnah

The Quran sets the year at twelve months and says four of them are sacred. In the Sahih International translation of the meaning of Quran 9:36, the verse says "of these, four are sacred" and continues "so do not wrong yourselves during them."

The verse does not name the four. The Prophet ﷺ named them during his Farewell Hajj. In Sahih al-Bukhari 4406, narrated by Abu Bakra in al-Bukhari's chapter on the Farewell Hajj, he says the year is twelve months, four of them sacred, and "three are in succession, i.e. Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul-Hijja and Al-Muharram," with the fourth being Rajab.

So Dhu al-Qi'dah opens the longest stretch of sacred time in the Islamic year: about three lunar months in a row, from the start of Dhu al-Qi'dah to the end of Muharram.

For how the four months fit together, and what "do not wrong yourselves" has been taken to mean, see our guide to the four sacred months in Islam.

The Prophet's Umrahs in Dhu al-Qi'dah

The clearest link between this month and the Prophet ﷺ is the timing of his Umrahs. In Sahih al-Bukhari 4148, Anas ibn Malik says he performed four Umrahs, "all in the month of Dhul-Qa'da, except the one which he performed with his Hajj."

Anas then lists them. A parallel report from Qatada asking Anas, in Sahih al-Bukhari 1778, adds the circumstances:

1. The Umrah of al-Hudaybiyyah, in Dhu al-Qi'dah, "when the pagans hindered him." He was stopped before reaching Makkah.
2. The Umrah of the following year, also in Dhu al-Qi'dah, made under the peace agreement reached at al-Hudaybiyyah.
3. The Umrah from al-Ji'ranah, in Dhu al-Qi'dah, where he distributed the spoils of the Battle of Hunayn.
4. The Umrah performed with his Hajj, which took place in Dhu al-Hijjah.

In the same narration in Sahih al-Bukhari 1778, Anas says the Prophet ﷺ performed Hajj only once.

The truce at al-Hudaybiyyah

The first of these Umrahs connects the "truce" sense of the month with an actual treaty. Encyclopaedia Britannica's entry on the Pact of al-Hudaybiyah dates it to 628 and describes the Prophet ﷺ approaching Makkah with about 1,400 followers to perform Umrah. The Makkans refused entry and negotiated at al-Hudaybiyah instead. Britannica says a 10-year truce was declared, and he agreed to abandon that Umrah on condition that the Muslims could enter Makkah the following year. That later visit is the second Umrah in Anas's list.

Dhu al-Qi'dah and Hajj preparation

Dhu al-Qi'dah sits inside the months of Hajj. The Quran says, in the Sahih International translation of the meaning of Quran 2:197, "Ḥajj is [during] well-known months."

Scholars differ on how much of Dhu al-Hijjah these months include, but both main views count Shawwal and Dhu al-Qi'dah in full. The classical commentary of al-Qurtubi on Quran 2:197 (in Arabic on quran.com) records two views:

• Shawwal, Dhu al-Qi'dah and the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah. Al-Qurtubi reports this from Ibn 'Abbas, al-Sha'bi and al-Nakha'i, among others. Ibn Kathir's abridged English commentary on the same verse cites it from Ibn 'Umar through al-Bukhari, and notes that al-Tabari preferred it.
• Shawwal, Dhu al-Qi'dah and all of Dhu al-Hijjah. Al-Qurtubi reports this from Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Umar, 'Ata', Mujahid and al-Zuhri, and notes that both views are narrated from Imam Malik.

The months matter for when a pilgrim enters ihram for Hajj. Ibn Kathir's commentary on 2:197 cites Ibn 'Abbas saying it is part of the Sunnah not to assume ihram for Hajj before the months of Hajj. For the rules that apply to your own pilgrimage, follow the guidance of your Hajj group or a qualified scholar.

The Prophet's departure for Hajj

The Prophet ﷺ began his own Hajj journey in this month. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1545, Ibn 'Abbas says he set out from Madinah, entered ihram, and garlanded his sacrificial camels with five days of Dhu al-Qi'dah remaining (the sunnah.com English renders this as "the 25th of Dhul-Qa'da"). He reached Makkah on the 4th of Dhu al-Hijjah.

For pilgrims and the families who stay behind, the practical result is the same: Dhu al-Qi'dah is when travel, ihram plans and the final countdown to the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah take shape. The day-by-day sequence that follows is covered in the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah.

What Dhu al-Qi'dah does not include

The sources above do not tie a special prayer, festival or fast to a particular day of Dhu al-Qi'dah. Its distinction comes from being a sacred month, a month of Hajj, and the month of most of the Prophet's Umrahs.

The regular voluntary fasts still apply during it. Jami' at-Tirmidhi 745 (graded sahih by Darussalam on sunnah.com) reports that the Prophet ﷺ used to try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, and Jami' at-Tirmidhi 761 (graded hasan) names the 13th, 14th and 15th of the month for those who fast three days. What sets the month apart is the general instruction in 9:36 not to wrong yourselves during the sacred months.

Dhu al-Qi'dah dates, 1447 to 1449 AH

These are the calculated Umm al-Qura dates. Each Hijri date begins at sunset on the evening before the Gregorian date shown, so 1 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1448 begins at sunset on Wednesday 7 April 2027.

Dates are calculated from the Umm al-Qura tables in the open-source hijri-converter library that this site uses. Communities that begin the month by local crescent sighting may start or end it a day earlier or later, so confirm with your local mosque or the authority you follow.

The month starts about 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. In 1448 AH it falls in April and early May; by 1449 AH it begins in late March.

Plan for Dhu al-Qi'dah

• Open the Dhu al-Qi'dah 1448 calendar to see each day of the month alongside its Gregorian date.
• If you are planning an Umrah or Hajj trip, convert key dates with the Hijri date converter and mark them as provisional until the month is announced.
• Look ahead to Dhu al-Hijjah: our guide to how Eid al-Adha is tied to the Hajj calendar explains how the dates of Arafah and Eid follow from the start of the month.