Explained: Significance of Hijri calendar
Year of migration is the first in Islamic calendar because it was a turning point in Islamic history
The Islamic New Year, also known as the Hijri New Year, began on Tuesday. However, the government allocated today as a holiday to club it with the regular Friday-Saturday weekend.
We are now in the Islamic or Hijri year 1440, corresponding to the Gregorian year 2018.
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, which is shorter than the solar Gregorian calendar. Lunar months are 29 or 30 days, depending on when the crescent moon is sighted. It means each Islamic New Year begins around 11 days ‘earlier’ each year compared to the Gregorian calendar. The Hijri calendar is based on the Hijra, the migration of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) from Makkah to Madinah. Hijri 1, the year in which the migration took place, corresponds to AD622.
The first day of the Islamic year is day one of the month of Muharram, the first month in the Hijri calendar. Today corresponds to Muharram 3.
The year of migration was chosen to be year one in the Islamic calendar because the event was seen as a turning point in Islamic history. It was the year in which Muslims left Makkah, where they were persecuted, to Madinah, where they found support. The Hijri year is significant because Islamic festivals and duties such as fasting in Ramadan, going on the Haj and celebrating Eid are based on the Hijri calendar.
Weekend plans
Osama Ojjeh, a 27-yearold marketing manager from Syria, who lives in Dubai, said: “On Thursday, I’ll be going to a friend’s engagement party. For Friday, my friends and I are going to Wild Wadi [water park in Dubai] for the day. At night, we’re going to a friend’s villa in Ras Al Khaimah. On Saturday, I want to relax.”
Ali Rashid, a 38-year-old Emirati engineer from Sharjah, said: “Whatever I’ll be doing, I definitely want to spend time with my family as we should be grateful for the time we get together.”