The story of Hijri history, the reason and the beginning

Weather of Arabia - Hijri dating is a calendar system based on the lunar cycle, and has been adopted by Islamic countries to determine the dates of events, months, and religious holidays. The story of Hijri dating begins with the migration of the Prophet Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - from Mecca to Medina, which was considered an important turning point in the history of Islam. In this article, we will discuss the reason behind adopting Hijri dating and how it began to use it, and review the events that led to the establishment of this system. Which is still used today in many Islamic countries.

• What are the Hijri months?

(Muharram - Safar - Rabi' Al-Awwal - Rabi' Al-Thani - Jumada Al-Awwal - Jumada Al-Thani - Rajab - Shaban - Ramadan - Shawwal - Dhul-Qa'dah - Dhul-Hijjah).

• What are the four sacred months?

(Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah).

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• When did Hijri history begin?

Muslims began documenting the Hijri date in the 16th year of the Hijra in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, two and a half years after the caliphate of our master Omar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him.
On the first of Muharram in the seventeenth year of the Hijra, it was the beginning of the first Hijri year.

• What is the reason for Hijri dating?

The Hijri calendar did not exist at the beginning of Islam, but an occasion occurred during the caliphate of our master Omar ibn al-Khattab in which Abu Musa al-Ash’ari wrote to our master Omar that we receive books from you that have no history.
They mentioned another incident in which he submitted to our master Omar bin Al-Khattab - may God be pleased with him - a written instrument in which a man paid the last debt he owed in Sha’ban. Omar, may God be pleased with him, said: Which Sha’ban? Is it this year, the one before it, or the one after it?
So Omar - may God be pleased with him - gathered the Companions and consulted with them, and some of the people said: Date as the Persians date to someone who is in charge of their affairs, and the Companions disliked that.
Some of them said: They dated the history of the Romans, but the Companions disliked that.
Then some of them said: They dated it to the sending of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace. Others said: They dated it to the migration of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace -
Our master Omar - may God be pleased with him - said: “Migration differentiated between truth and falsehood, so they dated it.”

• Why did the Hijri year start in the month of Muharram?

The purpose of starting the Hijri year at the beginning of the month of Muharram is for the first Hijri year to bring together the four sacred months (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah), and also because the month of Muharram is the month that follows people’s return from Hajj, so the Hajj season is the season in which People will shake it off, and they will go back to starting their business.
Omar - may God be pleased with him - consulted with the Companions in which month the year would begin, if we define the Hijra as the first year, and Omar, Uthman and Ali chose that it should be from Muharram, since the beginning of the date is the year of the Hijra, and the beginning of the year is Muharram, and thus Muslims have a date by which they date.

• What is the difference between the lunar year and the solar year?

Due to the dependence of the Hijri calendar on the lunar months and the movement of the moon, the Hijri year advances by 11 days every year. Therefore, the Hijri months may fall in seasons that differ from the seasons that were named at the time of their adoption.
The moon revolves around the Earth, and a lunar year results from its rotation, while the Earth revolves around the sun and a solar year results from its rotation.
The solar year consists of 365 days
The lunar year consists of 354 days
There is a difference between the lunar year and the solar year of 11 days (ten nights).

After careful calculation, three hundred solar years equal three hundred and nine lunar years.
“And they remained in their cave for three hundred years, and they increased for nine.” Surah Al-Kahf: 25
And God Almighty said: {Indeed, the number of months with God is twelve months. In the Book of God on the day He created the heavens and the earth, four of them are sacred. That is the right religion. “So do not wrong yourselves therein. And fight the polytheists at all costs, just as they fight you at all costs. And know that God is with the righteous.” 36 Al-Tawbah.

See also:

The covering of the Kaaba throughout history.. Why did the Prophet Muhammad cover it with a white and red striped covering?

On the Hijri New Year.. How was the weather part of the Muslims’ journey throughout history?

Sources:

Saad Bukhari 1 Muharram 1446
the reviewer:

• The Holy Quran.
• Al-Nawawi mentioned it in his book: “Tahdheeb al-Asma wa al-Lughat” (1/47).
• Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his book 'History of the Caliphs', citing the book 'The Firsts' by Abu Hilal al-Askari.
• Ibn Kathir mentioned him in his book 'The Beginning and the End' in the news of Omar bin Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him.
• Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid.