15 Sha'ban
Wiladat of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)
In 2027
15 Sha'ban 1448 · Expected — subject to moon sighting
Not yet in the calendar feed. The month begins by moon sighting, and the Centre publishes the date for your phone once it is confirmed.
Dates year by year
| Hijri | Gregorian | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sha'ban 1447 | Expected | |
| 15 Sha'ban 1448 | Expected | |
| 15 Sha'ban 1449 | Expected | |
| 15 Sha'ban 1450 | Expected |
Hijri months begin by moon sighting, not by calculation. A date marked expected is the calculated one and may move by a day when the Centre confirms the month.
About this day
The fifteenth of Shaban is the birth anniversary of Imam al-Mahdi (aj). Twelver sources describe the mid-Shaban celebrations, with illuminations and decorated streets, as the biggest of the Shia celebrations. Reports of the year differ, 255 or 256 after the Hijra, though the day itself is not in dispute. The Centre keeps it in two parts: a night programme from maghrib the evening before, and a programme on the day itself.
Communities differ on this
The Centre’s congregation includes Indian, Pakistani, Irani, Hazara, Iraqi and Afghan families, and they do not all keep this on the same day. The date above is the one the Centre observes; it is not a ruling on anyone else’s.