Safar

Safar is a term with multiple uses in Arabic- and Persian-speaking cultures. It is the second month of the Islamic lunar calendar, following Muharram. As a lunar month, Safar lasts 29 or 30 days and, because it is lunar, its dates shift about 11 days earlier each solar year. The name Safar means travel or journey in Arabic, reflecting an ancient naming convention for the months. In many cultures, Safar does not correspond to a fixed religious observance, though regional beliefs about the month vary.

Historically, Safar also appears as a nisba in Persian and Arabic names. In Persian, saffar (سَفّار) can mean “coppersmith.” The Saffarid dynasty, founded by Ya’qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar and ruling roughly from the mid to late 9th century into the 10th, took its name from this occupational term. The dynasty rose in Sistan (present-day eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan) and expanded into eastern Iran and Khorasan before being eclipsed by later powers such as the Ghaznavids and Samanids.

In modern usage, Safar is also a given name and surname in various regions, including the Arab world, Iran, South Asia, and Central Asia. Spelling varies with transliteration, yielding forms such as Safar or Saffar, and it is distinct from but etymologically related to Safari, which shares the same root related to travel or journey. The term thus spans time from ancient occupational identifiers through an Islamic calendar month to contemporary personal names.