- This article is about the Islamic Calendar; for the hijra see Migration to Medina.
The
Hijri year (
AH anno hegirae) is year numbering system (or
Calendar era) used in the
Islamic calendar. It commemorates the
Hijra (هِجْرَة), or emigration of
Muhammad and his followers to the city of
Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter
هـ. The year corresponds to the Islamic Year AH.
Definition
On the actual year the migration took place, there was already a functioning
Lunar calendar with named months. However, this calendar did not number the years, so for example, the year
Muhammad and
Ammar ibn Yasir were born was called "The
Year of the Elephant".
That year was named "The permission to travel". Seventeen 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 July 16, 622 CE in the
Julian Calendar.
The Hijra is celebrated annually on the 8th day of
Rabi I, about 66 days after the 1st of
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 July 16, 622 CE.
History
Migration to Medina
Muhammad's preachings did not 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...
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