"They ask thee concerning the New Moons.
"The number of months
In the sight of Allah
Is twelve (in a year)-
So ordained by Him
The day He created
The Heavens and the Earth;
Of them four are sacred:
That is the straigth usage.
So wrong not yourselves
Therein, and fight the Pagans
All together as they
Fight you all together.
But know that Allah
Is with those who restrain themselves."
.....Qur'an (Surah 9 Verse 36)
"Verily the transposing
(Of a prohibited month)
Is an addition to Unbelief:
The Unbelievers are led
To wrong thereby: for they make
It lawful one year,
And forbidden another year,
In order to adjust the number
Of months forbidden by Allah
And make such forbidden ones
Lawful. The evil of their course>br>
Seems pleasing to them
But Allah guideth not
Those who reject Faith."
.....Qur'an (Surah 9 Verse 37)
The Meaning And Importance Of Hijra
The verses above from Holy Qur'an are the divine command to use Hijra calendar with 12 (purely) lunar months without intercalation. It is of great interest to note that the Hijra Calendar is not just a sentimental system of time reckoning. It has a much deeper meaning and significance.
Why was the Hijra chosen as the starting point of the Islamic calendar year and not the dates of the birth and the death of the Holy Prophet, the date of the revelation of the Qur'an or even the dates of the victories in the battle fields, such as the conquest of Mecca or triumphs in Qadisyya or in Yarmuk?
Hijra was chosen because it was the first major sacrifice offered by the Islamic Ummah for the preservation of faith in its formative stages. The word 'Hijra' has often been misrepresented by many Western scholars. It means neither flight nor fleeing. The Arabic word Hajara means: to break off from the relations or abandon one's tribe.
The Islamic Calendar was not fixed right after Hijra (the event of tremendous proportions in the history of Islam), but started from the 17th year of Hijra. The decision was taken in the fourth year of the Caliphate of Hazrat Umar (the second Caliph of Islam), who felt motivated to institute the Islamic calendar and is reported to have remarked,
"The Hijra has separated truth from falsehood, therefore, let it become the epoch of the era."
The Advent Of Hijra Calendar
The advent of the Hijra Calendar, in the fifteenth century of the Christian era, is indeed a unique occasion to ponder that the Islamic era did not start with the victories of Islamic wars nor with the birth or death of the Prophet of Islam nor with the Revelation itself. It starts with Hijra, or the sacrifice for the cause of Truth and for the preservation of the Revelation. It was a divinely inspired selection. God wanted to teach man that struggle between Truth and Evil is Eternal. The Islamic year reminds Muslims, everywhere and every year, not of the pomp and glory of Islam (to do so would be to show off, and showing-off is not allowed in Islam), but of its sacrifice and prepares them to do the same.
Apathy Towards The Hijra Calendar
All the events of Islamic history, especially those which took place during the life of the Holy Prophet and afterwards are quoted in the Hijra calendar era. But our calculations in the Gregorian Calendar keeps us away from those events and happenings, which are pregnant of admonitory lessons and guiding instructions. And this chronological study of our Islamic heritage and history
is possible only by adopting the Hijra calendar to indicate the year and the lunar months in line with our cherished traditions.
Use of lunar months and Hijra, as a common denominator, introduces us to the virtues of these months. We know when and what the Holy Prophet did in various months of the lunar year and how he asked his companions (and through them to the entire Ummah, the Nation) to act and behave in those months.
The Inauguration Of Lunar Calendar
The first year of the Islamic era was begun in the year of the Hijra but with the date of Hijra. The first month of the year one was begun with Muharram of the year of Hijra on the basis of purely lunar years, counted backwards. The combination of various factors that lead to the (backward) fixing of the Islamic era may look troublesome but then even the Christian Era (Gregorian) Calendar has run into more serious problems especially the fixing of 1st January as the start of the new year and there is considerable controversy on the date of crucification of Prophet Jesus to which it is supposed to be tied. The inauguration of the Lunar Calendar reckoning started from the year of the Hijra, in 622 A.D. (the Christian era), during the reign of Caliph Umar. The Islamic Calendar began to be known as Anno Hajirae - A.H.
The Cycle
One fixed cycle of 30 lunar years consists of 11 years of 355 days and the remaining 19 years of 354 days in the following sequence:-
Year Days Year Days
----------------------------
1 354 17 354
2 355 18 355
3 354 19 354
4 354 20 354
5 355 21 355
6 354 22 354
7 355 23 354
8 354 24 355
9 354 25 354
10 355 26 355
11 354 27 354
12 354 28 354
13 355 29 355
14 354 30 354
15 354
16 355
The Months Of The Year
1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabi-ul-Awal
4. Rabi at-Thani
5. Jamadi-ul-Awal
6. Jamadi at-Thani
7. Rajab - sacred month
8. Sha'ban
9. Ramadhan - the fasting...click month
10. Shawwal - sacred month
11. Zhul Qadah - sacred month
12. Zhul Hijjah - sacred month
The Important Dates In Islamic Calendar
1. 1 Muharram : Beginning of the New Year
1402 A.H. began with the Lunation No. 728 in October 1981.
Year 1996 A.D. correspond to Hijra years 1416/1417 A.H.
There are two Eids in a lunar calender year (The lunar calender year is usually 11/12 days shorter than the civil calender year).They are : Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adh-ha.
The first one (Eid-ul-Fitr) falls on 1st of 10th month of Islamic (based on lunar)
calender. The month of Ramadhan is the 9th month of the same calender.
That is to say that this first Eid is observed after completing
the exercise of fasting for a full lunar month (29 or 30 days). And
this is a thanks-giving celebration for having completed a blessful
and bountiful month of Ramadhan...click.
The second Eid is Eid-ul-Adha, which is observed on 10th of the 12th Month of Islamic
calender (Al-Hajj). The Hajj or Pilgrimage...click to the Holy site in Mecca
is observed on 9th (or 1st to 9th more commonly) of this month. And on the 10th, 11th and 12th the eid celebration is performed.
The spirit behind these worship-style-celebration has changed since
the introduction of these events. However there are still a larger
number of Muslims who adhere to the true spirit of these events.
Year 1999 And Its Hijri Conversion
Sufism And Love : One And The Same
2. 12 Rabiul Awal : Maulid (Prophet Muhammad's birthday)
3. 27 Rajab : Isra and Miraj
4. 15 Shaban : Nisful Shaban
5. 1 Ramadhan : First Day of Fasting...click
6. 17 Ramadhan : Nuzul Qur'an
7. Last 10 days of Ramadhan : Lailatul Qadr...click (27th Ramadhan)
8. 1 Shawal : Eidul Fitr
9. 10 Zhul Hijjah : Hajj...click (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
A conversion of Hijra years into the Gregorian calendar may be made using the following relationship:-
Christian Era (A.D.) = 621.54 + (Hijra in years and decimals) X 0.970225
The Eid Celebrations
Sindh : My Motherland My Fatherland
Makhdoom's Quest For The Truth
Makhdoom's Quality Quest