The new Hijri year has kicked off announcing the start of a new chapter in the book of life. A few days back, Muslims all over the world commemorated the start of the Islamic calendar and referenced the event of Hijrah.
The word ‘Hijrah’ is referred to the migration of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) from the city of Mecca to Medina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was the central historical event in the early days of Islam.
In fact, this event marked a turning point in Islamic history as it led to the foundation of the first Muslim state at that time. The migration of the Prophet took place on the first of Muharram and was designated to be the actual starting date of the calendar.
The most important dates in the Islamic calendar are the first of Muharram, the Islamic New Year, the 27th of Rajab, Ascension Day, the first of Ramadhan, the first day of fasting, the first of Shawwal, Eid Al Fitr, 8–10 of Dhu Al Hijjah, Haj to Mecca and 10th of Dhu Al Hijjah, Eid Al Adha.
For religious reasons, every Hijri month is marked not by the start of a new moon, but by a physical sighting of the curved moon at a given setting.
To Muslims, the Hijri calendar is not just an old system of time calculation and dating important religious occasions such as fasting during the month of Ramadhan and Haj, the pilgrimage. Rather, it brings a much deeper religious and historical significance to all Muslims.
As another year has passed, a new one has just started to remind us of the glorious memories of the significant day on which the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) migrated to Medina. The blessed migration mirrored an honourable challenge for human excellence and presented several lessons of patience, control, knowledge, and wisdom.
It stands as an improvement for future generations to take advantage of, so they will be able to clear up all the difficulties and overcome the hardships they come across.
The Almighty Allah has sent the Prophet Mohammad with guidance to renew the call for Islam; the religion of all the Prophets and Messengers who came before him. All of them in succession conveyed the religion, which Allah accepts to their respective audiences until the religion was fully completed by revealing the Quran to the last Prophet Mohammad.
As the verse confirms, ‘Say you we believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes of Al Asbat, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we submit to Allah in Islam.’
As a Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Mohammad was ordered to ask people to convert to Islam and spread its rules among all people in Mecca. At the onset of his call, just a few people believed in him and the majority rejected his call and denied his prophethood.
They used to worship idols, bury their newly born female daughters alive and commit many acts of evilness and dishonesty.
Thereafter, the Prophet advised his companions to migrate to another city called Habasha where there was a just Christian king who welcomed Muslims and believed in them.
When the number of believers increased in Medina, Allah revealed to the Prophet to migrate to that city. Then, all Muslims started migrating one after another in compliance with the order of Allah and in obedience to the order of the Prophet.
The Prophet's migration to Medina started a new era for he could unite all believers as if they all had a heart of a single man. It was a dawn that enticed millions of people from every corner of the universe.
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