Rabi’ al-Awwal is one of the significant months in the Islamic lunar calendar, laden with historical and spiritual milestones. The events of this month encompass pivotal moments that have shaped the course of Islamic history. Most prominently, Rabi’ al-Awwal is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as the birth month of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله). Additionally, it holds other events like the birth of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (عليه السلام) and Imam Al-Ridha (عليه السلام), the migration of the Prophet to Medina, and other significant incidents that echo the resilience, faith, and love that have been integral to Islam’s heritage. Reflecting on these events provides Muslims with a renewed understanding and connection to their rich religious legacy.
| Event | Day | Year |
| Night of the Prophet’s stay and migration | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| The Prophet’s entrance into the cave of Thawr and his stay there during his migration to Medina | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Attack on the house of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (Peace be upon her): | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 11 AH |
| The onset of Imam Hasan al-Askari’s illness | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 260 AH |
| Martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari, according to a narration: | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 260 AH |
| The Prophet’s expedition against the Bani Lihyan | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 6 AH |
| Killing of Masoor bin Mukhrama, a companion of the Prophet and a supporter of Abdullah bin al-Zubair in his war against Yazid bin Muawiya in Mecca | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 64 AH |
| Revolt of the Tawwabin in Kufa led by Sulaiman bin Surd al-Khuzai against the Umayyad government | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 65 AH |
| Death of Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Musa al-Mubraqa, known as al-A’raj, a descendant of Imam al-Jawad and the chief of the Sayyids in Qom | 1st of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 315 AH |
| Burning of the Kaaba and it being targeted by catapults by Yazid bin Muawiya’s army | 3rd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 64 AH |
| The Prophet’s (Peace be upon him and his family) departure from the cave of Thawr and his heading towards Medina: | 3rd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Death of Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Bahrani (al-Muhaddith al-Bahrani), a jurisprudent, hadith scholar, moderate historian, and author of “al-Hada’iq al-Nazira” | 4th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1186 AH |
| Liberation of the city of Nishapur by the Muslim army | 4th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 42 AH |
| Death of Lady Sakina, daughter of Imam Hussain in Medina | 5th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 117 AH |
| Martyrdom of the second martyr, the author of the book “al-Rawdah al-Bahiyya” | 5th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 965 AH |
| Death of Sayyid Ali al-Qadi al-Tabatabai, a jurisprudent, knower, and ethics teacher in Najaf al-Ashraf (29 January 1947) | 5th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1366 AH |
| Death of Sheikh Muhammad Baqir al-Sabzawari, known as al-Muhaddith al-Sabzawari, a jurisprudent, philosopher, theologian, and Imam of Friday prayers in Isfahan during the reign of Shah Abbas II Safawi | 6th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1090 AH |
| Martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (Peace be upon him), the eleventh Imam from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt | 8th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 260 AH |
| Beginning of the Minor Occultation | 8th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 260 AH |
| Death of Hisham bin Abdul Malik, the tenth caliph of the Umayyads, who ordered the killing of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir | 8th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 125 AH |
| Birth of Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, one of the prominent Marja’s of Najaf (4 August 1930) | 9th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1349 AH |
| Start of the leadership of Imam al-Mahdi (May Allah hasten his reappearance) | 9th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 260 AH |
| Death of Omar bin Saad, the commander of Ubaydullah bin Ziyad’s army in the Battle of Karbala | 9th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 66 AH |
| The Prophet’s (Peace be upon him and his family) marriage to Lady Khadija, the mother of Lady Fatima al-Zahra and the first woman to embrace Islam | 9th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | Year of the Elephant |
| Death of Ibn Qulawayh al-Qummi, one of the Shia hadith scholars and narrators, and the author of the complete book on supplications and visits | 10th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 368 AH |
| Death of Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet’s grandfather (Peace be upon him and his family), the elder of Quraish, and one of Mecca’s nobles: | 10th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | Year 8 of the Elephant |
| Birth of Agha Buzurk al-Tehrani, the jurist, historian, and author of the book “Al-Dhari’ah to the Shia writings,” which chronicles the writings of Shia scholars and their narrators (6 April 1876) | 10th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1293 AH |
| Birth of Lady Nafisa, the hadith scholar and the memorizer of the Holy Quran, daughter of Hasan bin Zaid, one of the descendants of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (Peace be upon him) | 11th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 145 AH |
| Birth of Imam al-Ridha (Peace be upon him), the eighth Imam from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be upon them), according to one narration | 11th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 153 AH |
| Birth of the Prophet Muhammad, according to the Sunni narration, and the beginning of the Islamic Unity Week | 11th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | Year of the Elephant |
| The Prophet’s entry into Medina: | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Construction of the Quba Mosque by the command of the Prophet | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Beginning of the obligation of prayer | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Birth of Sayyid Ali al-Tabatabai al-Haeri, one of the Shia jurists and author of “Riyadh al-Masa’il,” which is a complete course in deductive jurisprudence | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1161 AH |
| Victory of the Abbasids and the end of Umayyad rule: | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 132 AH |
| Death of Ahmad bin Hanbal, one of the hadith scholars and jurists of the four Sunni schools, and author of the book “Virtues of Amir al-Mu’minin” | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 241 AH |
| Death of al-Mu’tasim al-Abbasi, the eighth of the Abbasid caliphs who ordered the killing of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 277 AH |
| Beginning of Mukhtar’s revolt | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 66 AH |
| Birth of Sayyid Ahmed al-Husseini al-Ashkouri, the manuscript investigator (29 July 1931) | 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1350 AH |
| Liberation of Jerusalem by the Muslim army: | 13th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 16 AH |
| Death of al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, the jurisprudent, the foundationalist, and author of the book “Shara’i’ al-Islam in Jurisprudence” (21 August 1277): | 13th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 676 AH |
| Death of Ali bin Hilal al-Karki, the jurisprudent and hadith scholar, and the “Sheikh of Islam” during the reign of Shah Tahmasp the First | 13th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 984 AH |
| Death of Yazid bin Muawiya; the second of the Umayyad caliphs, who ordered the killing of Imam Hussain (Peace be upon him) and his companions in Karbala | 13th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 64 AH |
| The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his family) led the first Friday prayer: | 14th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1 AH |
| Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his family) | 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | Year of the Elephant |
| Unveiling of the re-gilding of the dome of Imam Ali’s shrine (17th December 2016) | 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1438 AH |
| Birth of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt | 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 83 AH |
| The Battle of Banu Nadir, from the Prophet Muhammad’s campaigns against the Jews of Banu Nadir in Medina due to their treaty violation | 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 4 AH |
| Death of Muhammad Hassan al-Muzaffar, jurist, theologian, author, professor at the Najaf seminary, and author of “Signs of Truth in Shia Beliefs” (9th November 1955) | 22nd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1375 AH |
| Death of Mirza Jawad Agha Tehrani, a jurisprudent who taught ethics, Islamic knowledge, Islamic beliefs, and Tafsir (Quranic exegesis), and one of the major figures of the analytical school in Mashhad (24th October 1989) | 23rd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1410 AH |
| Entry of Lady Fatima al-Ma’sumah into Qom | 23rd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 201 AH |
| Death of Sayyid al-Murtada, a jurisprudent and theologian, and one of the pioneers of the idea of Ijtihad in Shia jurisprudence | 23rd of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 436 AH |
| Battle of Dumat al-Jandal | 25th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 5 AH |
| Treaty of Imam Hassan with Muawiya | 25th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 41 AH |
| Death of Sayyid Mohsen al-Tabataba’i al-Hakim, one of the Shia Marja’ (religious authority), and father of Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim (2nd June 1970) | 26th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1390 AH |
| Death of Sayyid Muhammad al-Firuzabadi, one of the jurisprudents and professors of Najaf seminary (7th October 1926) | 27th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1345 AH |
| Death of Sayyid Hussein al-Tabataba’i “Bahr al-Uloom,” one of the jurisprudents and professors of Najaf seminary (22nd June 2001) | 29th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 1422 AH |
| Birth of Imam Hussein, according to a certain narration | 30th of Rabi’ al-Awwal | 3 AH |