Everything about Hijri Year totally explained
» This article is about Islamic Calendar and how it was formed, for the event of hijra see Migration to Medina.
The
Hijra (هِجْرَة), or withdrawal, is the emigration of
Muhammad and his followers to the city of
Medina in
622, and marks the start of the
Hijri year of the
Islamic calendar. The current Islamic Year is 1428 AH.
While sometimes translated as
pilgrimage, Hijra means something like
a journey. It generally conotes a migration, specifically the migration of Muhammad from
Mecca to
Medina.
Alternate spellings of this
Arabic word in the
Latin alphabet are
Hijrah, or
Hegira in
Latin.
Definition
On the actual year the migration took place, there was already a functioning
Lunar Calendar with named months. However, this calendar didn't number the years, so for example, the year
Muhammad and
Ammar ibn Yasir were born was called The
Year of the Elephant.
The actual event of migration started in Thursday 26 in the Month of
Safar AH 1 (9 September 622) of that year.
That year was named
The permission to travel. 17 years later, that year was chosen as the year to start counting from:
first year of Hijra,
1 After Hijra or
1 AH. The first day of 1 AH, corresponds to Friday July 16th, 622 CE in the
Julian Calendar.
The Muslim dates are in the
Islamic calendar extended back in time. The Western dates are in the
Julian calendar. The Hijra is celebrated annually on 8 Rabi' I, about 66 days after 1 Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year. Many writers confuse the first day of the year of the Hijra with the date of the
Migration to Medina itself, erroneously stating that the Hijra occurred on 1 Muharram AH 1 or
16 July 622.
All dates given above may have occurred about 89 days (three lunar months) earlier in the Julian calendar. The calendar conversions quoted above may not have been corrected by early Muslims for the intercalary months (probably three) which had been inserted in the lunar calendar between the year of the Hijra and the year of Muhammad's last
Hajj (AH 10), when
intercalary months were forbidden.
History
Migration to Medina
Muhammad's preachings didn't at first have much success in the city of
Mecca. His tribe, the
Quraysh, which was in charge of the
Kaaba, persecuted and harassed him continuously. This eventually led to the
Migration to Medina.
Designating the first year
The Muslim year during which the Hijra occurred was designated the first year of the
Islamic calendar by
Umar in
638, 17 AH (
anno hegirae = in the year of the hijra).
According to Sunni sources:
Hakim Muhammad Said wrote:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hijri Year'.
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