Guest Columnist By Dr. Huseyn Zakaria
Concept:
The Hijri calendar stands as one of Islamic civilisation’s most enduring achievements, providing a unified temporal framework that supported the administrative, legal, and religious organisation of the expanding Muslim state. Named after the Hijrah; the migration of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE. It was not formally instituted until the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khaāb (r. 13–23 AH / 634–644 CE), around 17 AH (638 CE). In this article I intend to explore the pre-Islamic Arab chronological practices, the administrative imperatives that prompted calendar reform, the consultative process among the Companions, and the broader civilisational significance of adopting the Hijrah as the epoch. Furthermore, I will examine the significance, modern applicability, jurisprudential rulings of the calendar across the four Sunni schools of law, and the specific rulings on exchanging greetings during the Islamic New Year, with a particular emphasis on the Mālikī perspective. I will also argue that the Hijri calendar was not merely a dating tool but a deliberate political and identity-building project that reinforced Islamic unity and independence until eternity.
The impetus for compiling this comprehensive study arose from a recent and unexpected engagement. I received a call from a staff member of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Nigeria, who expressed a keen interest in discussing with me the history, foundation, and significance of the Hijrah. I accepted the request immediately, and we reconvened shortly thereafter. The discussion was profoundly successful, and the text you are about to read is a scholarly expansion of the insights shared during that conversation. It is my sincere hope that this work will benefit us all in one way or another, serving as a reminder of our rich civilisational heritage and the enduring wisdom of our pious predecessors. May Allah forgive and bless them.
Introduction:
Human societies have for long developed calendars to structure their social, economic, political, and religious life. Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and others created sophisticated systems tied to solar or lunar cycles since time immemorial. Islamic civilisation contributed the Hijri (lunar) calendar, also anchored to the lunar months and the pivotal Hijrah of 622 CE. While the Hijrah occurred in 622 CE, the formal calendar emerged later under Umar ibn al-Khaāb. This delay reflected the early community’s modest size and reliance on event-based dating, which became inadequate as the Islamic state expanded across the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. The resulting system unified administration while symbolizing a new era of empowerment and identity for Muslims until the end of time.
Chronological Systems Among Pre-Islamic Arabs:
Pre-Islamic Arabs lacked a sequential numerical year-counting system. They marked time through memorable events, a practice scholars term “event-based chronology.” Key references included the Year of the Elephant (Ām al-Fīl), the Fijār Wars, the Alliance of Virtue (ilf al-Fuūl), the rebuilding of the Kabah, and years of famine and so on. This oral-culture method effectively preserved collective memory but lacked precision for large-scale governance. The most prominent marker was the Year of the Elephant (c. 570–571 CE), when Abraha al-Ashram, the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, marched on Makkah with war elephants to destroy the Kabah. The Qurān commemorates this in Sūrat al-Fīl (105:1): “Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?” This year coincided with the birth of Prophet Muhammad, embedding it deeply in Arab historical consciousness (Ibn Hishām, 1990).
The Arabic Months and the Abolition of al-Nasī:
Islam retained the twelve lunar month names already in use among pre-Islamic Arabs: Muharram, afar, Rabī al-Awwal, Rabīh al-Thānī, Jumādā al-Ūlā, Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Rajab, Shabān, Ramadān, Shawwāl, Dhū al-Qaadah, and Dhū al-hijjah. The Qurān affirms this structure: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth” (Qurān 9:36).
However, pre-Islamic Arabs practised al-nasī, the intercalation or postponement of sacred months to align lunar cycles with seasons or to justify warfare and trade that was based on whims and caprices. This manipulation was condemned in the Qurān: “Indeed, the postponing [of restriction within sacred months] is an increase in disbelief…” (Qurān 9:37). The Prophet’s Farewell Pilgrimage sermon in 10 AH abolished this practice, restoring the pure lunar calendar, a reform strictly upheld by the Salaf (Ibn Kathīr, 1997).
Chronology in the Prophetic and Early Caliphal Eras:
During the Prophet’s lifetime and Abū Bakr’s caliphate (11–13 AH), dating solely relied on major events (e.g., Year of Badr, Uhud, Trench), months, or simple references. As the community remained relatively compact, this sufficed. However, rapid conquests under Umar exposed the limitations of this system. A vast bureaucracy emerged, handling correspondence, contracts, judiciary matters, military logistics, and treasury affairs.
The catalyzing incident for reform involved a letter from Governor of Egypt Abū Mūsā al-Asharī to the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khaāb , which included documents dated only “Shaabān.” Umar noted that officials could not distinguish which Shaabān was intended, as the correspondence had become ambiguous. Recognizing the administrative crisis, he convened all the senior Companions for consultation (al-abarī, 1967).
Deliberation and the Choice of the Hijrah:
When Umar ibn al-Khaāb convened the consultative council (shūrā) of the senior Companions from the Muhājirūn and the Anār in 17 AH, the assembly included luminaries such as Uthmān ibn Affān, Alī ibn Abī Hālib, Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf, Saad ibn Abī Waqqāh, and Muhādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with them all). They all deliberated deeply on the most fitting epoch. Some suggested the Prophet’s birth, but this lacked precise consensus on the exact date. Others proposed the start of Revelation, but this marked a private, gradual phase. A third suggestion was the Prophet’s death, but the Companions rightly rejected this, as it was a moment of profound grief and sorrow for the Ummah.
It was Uthmān ibn Affān who profoundly articulated the pivotal nature of the migration, stating that the Hijrah was the very event that distinguished truth from falsehood (furqān), and thus it should be the era. Alī ibn Abī Hālib strongly corroborated this, noting that the Prophet migrated at a time when he was leaving behind the land of polytheism (shirk), making it the ultimate milestone for the establishment of Islam. Consequently, Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf, Sahd ibn Abī Waqqāh, and the rest of the council unanimously selected the Hijrah (622 CE) as the epoch.
Furthermore, when discussing the starting month, Alī ibn Abī Hālib specifically suggested Muharram. He reasoned that it is the month following the Hajj season, a time when people naturally conclude their major annual gathering and return to their homes, making it a logical administrative starting point for a new year. This profound juristic reasoning (ijtihād) of the Salaf was universally accepted and later reinforced under the Caliphate of Uthmān bin Affān (al-Bayhaqī, 1994; Ibn Hajar, 1960).
