THE HIJRI CALENDAR

  1. What is The Hijri Calendar?

  2. How Long is it?What are its Months?

  3. When Muslims Started Using it?

  4. Did Muslims Ever Use a Tabulated Calendar?

  5. Chronological Events in History

    6. What is The Hijri Calendar?

    The Hijri calendar is the Islamic dating system deriving its name from the Hijra, the Arabic word for migration, refering to the migration of the prophet Muhammad(SWT) from Mecca to Yathrib(Medina) in the Arabian peninnsula in 622 A.D. thus marking the first year in the Islamic calendar. The first day of the Islamic calendar, 1 Muharram, 1 A.H.(Anno Hijrae) is Friday July 16, 622 A.D Julian.

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    How Long is it?What are its months


    The Islamic Hijri calendar is purely lunar i.e. it depends on the moon's cycle around earth. it has twelve lunar months;this was mentioned by the great prophet(SWT) in his last Pilgrimage at Ghadir-Khumm: "A year is twelve months, as at the time of Creation". Also in the Holy Quran, Sura IX, verse 36 reads: "Verily twelve months is the number of the months with Allah, according to Allah's Book, ever since the day when He created Heavens and Earth." Since the average length of a lunar month is 29.53058 (solar)days, the hijri year will contain 29 or 30 days long months.. The total length of the Hijri year will be 354 days moving back 11 days for each solar year with a leap day accumulating about every three years.This means that the lunar cycle will repeat itself every 33 years. i.e the new moon falls in about the same time it occured 33 years ago. Before Islam, the Arabs used to add a leap month to the lunar year every three years in order to stay in sync with the solar cycle.

    The Islamic months are:
    1.Muharram7.Rajab
    2.Safar8.Sha'aban
    3.Rabii' I9.Ramadan
    4.Rabii' II10.Shawwal
    5.Jumada I11.Dhu al-Qa'ada
    6.Jumada II 12.Dhu al-Hijja

    The Islamic month begins when the crescent is seen by the naked eye at sunset, so the day in this calendar starts from sunset to sunset of the following day. This has been always the rule which has been based on the prophet Muhammad's(SWT) saying: [start fasting when seeing it(crescent) and end fasting when you see it - soomo li-roa'yatihi wa aftiroo li-roa'yatihi]

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    When Muslims Started Using it?

    The Islamic calendar started being used the time of the second Caliph Omar in the seventeenth year after Hijra(638 A.D.), when he ordered muslims to start it from the beginning of the month of Muharram preceding the date of the Hijra by two months, which corresponds to Friday July 16, 622 A.D. According to [Safinat-ul-Bihar] book for its author Sheikh Abbas AlQummi,there was two stories of how they decided to use this calendar:

    1- The idea came to Omar from the captive persian king of Ahwaz, called Al-Harmazan. It states that this king recommended using a similar calendar to the persian one called "Mah Ruz", and the muslims accepted this and translated it to Arabic and called it "Muarrakh".

    2- Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb(AS) recommended to fellow muslims starting the calendar from the Hijra of the prophet reminding them of a Hadith for Jibril(AS) to the prophet(SWT) That: "the Essence(spirit of Islam) of Islam agitates starting from your Hijra staying 10 years, then it agitates on the 35th year(cycle) from your Hijra staying 5 years.

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    Did Muslims Ever Use a Tabulated Calendar?

    Yes. The earlier muslim scientists designed a tabular calendar of 12 months alternating in length between 30 and 29 days with a leap day added to the last month Dhu-al-Hujja every about three years. So the epoch of this calendar is Friday July 16, 622 AD which is 1 Muharram 1 AH, and the leap day will be added to the last month in the: 2nd, 5th, seventh, 10th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 26th and 29th years of a 30 years.
    Here are the months of this calendar:
    1.Muharram 30 days7.Rajab30 days
    2.Safar29 days8.Sha'aban29 days
    3.Rabii' I30 days9.Ramadan30 days
    4.Rabii' II29 days10.Shawwal29 days
    5.Jumada I30 days11.Dhu al-Qa'ada30 days
    6.Jumada II 29 days12.Dhu al-Hijja29/30 d

    Below are beginnings of some of first Islamic new years in this calendar:
    An Asterisks * indicates a leap year.
    Year of Hijra 1 2* 3 4 5* 6 7* 8 9 10* 11
    Start(Julian) 16 Jul 622 5 Jul 623 24 Jun 624* 13 Jun 625 2 Jun 626 23 May 627 11 May 628* 1 May 629 20 Apr 630 9 Apr 631 29 Mar 632*
    Year of Hijra 12 13* 14 15 16* 17 18* 19 20 21* 22
    Start(Julian) 18 Mar 633 7 Mar 634 25 Feb 635 14 Feb 636* 2 Feb 637 23 Jan 638 12 Jan 639 2 Jan 640* 21 Dec 640* 10 Dec 641 30 Nov 642

    And Here are the beginnings of some future years:
    Year of Hijra 1420* 1421 1422 1423* 1424 1425 1426* 1427 1428* 1429
    Start (Gregorian) 17 Apr 1999 6 Apr 2000* 26 Mar 2001 15 Mar 2002 5 Mar 2003 22 Feb 2004* 10 Feb 2005 31 Jan 2006 20 Jan 2007 10 Jan 2008*
    Year of Hijra 1430 1431* 1432 1433 1434* 1435 1436* 1437 1438 1439*
    Start (Gregorian) 29 Dec 2008* 18 Dec 2009 8 Dec 2010 27 Nov 2011 15 Nov 2012* 5 Nov 2013 25 Oct 2014 15 Oct 2015 3 Oct 2016* 22 Sep 2017

    Below is a converter that implements the tabular calendar mentioned. <

    Hijri Date Converter
    Today's Date:
     
    Gregorian Calender
    Month Day Year
    Hijri Calendar
    Month Day Year
     

    Day of the Week:




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    Chronological Events in History


    Hijri

    Julian/Gregorian

             Event

    Notes

    -54

    570

    The year of Elephant. Abraha attaks the Ka’aba

    The prophet is born 12 or 17 Rabi’-I (Friday )

     

    -14

    609

    Start of the descending of the Revelation

     

    1

    622

    Emigration from Mecca to medina

     

    8

    630

    First pilgrimage to Mecca.

     

    11

    632

    Islamic constitution in Mecca

    Pass away of Zahra

    11

    632

    Passing away of the Prophet Mohammed.

     

    11-13

    632-634

    1st Islamic Caliphate, Abu Bakrbin abi-Qahafa

     

    13-23

    634-644

    2nd Islamic Caliphate, Omar bin al-Khattab

     

    15

    636

    Byzantines withdrew from greater Syria.

     

    17

    638

    Hijri lunar calendar adopted. Epoch pushed back to 1 Moharram.

    Capture of Jerusalem by Omar.

     

    18-25

    639-646

    Egyptian campaign.

     

    21

    642

    Arabs control Mesopotamia,Western & Central Persia.

     

    24-35

    644-656

    3rd Islamic Caliphate, Uthman bin A’ffan

     

    30

    651

    Occupation of Persia

     

    35-40

    656-661

    4th Islamic Caliphate, Ali bin abi-Ttaleb

    Friday 18/12/35 Hijri

    37

    657

    Battle of Saffin. Emergence of the Kharijite sect.

     

    40-132

    661-750

    Umayyad Dynasty, capital: Damascus.

     

    60

    679

    Capture of Carthage, Tunisia

     

     

    691-692

    Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, built.

     

    91

    710

    Moslems reach the Indian delta

     

    92

    711

    Capture of Qordoba, Spain by the Berbers & Arabs

     

    102

    721

    Capture of Narbonne, Spain by the Berbers & Arabs

     

    114

    732

    Defeat of the Andalus’ governer at Poitiers, France

     

     

    747

    Revoltution against the Umayyads, in Khorasan led by Abu Moslem.

     

    132-656

    750-1258

    Abbassid caliphate established, capital Baghdad

     

    139-422

    756-1031

    Ummayad prince ‘Abdurrahman ibn Mohammed al-Dakhil escapes Syria to Andalus to establish  the sole surviving Ummayad caliphate in Qordoba, Andalus

     

    148

    765

    d. Ja’far al-Sadiq, the 6th Shia’ Imam, split of followers to Imamites (12ers) and Ismailites, followers of his son Ismail.

     

    150-241

    767-855

    Emergence of the main 4 Sunni sects.

     

    256-303

    870-915

    The six official Hadith (narration) books authored.

     

    260

    874

    Occulation of al-Mahdi, the 12th Shi’a Imam.

    b. 15 Sha’ban 255 AH

       Thu 28 July, 869

    311

    923

    d. Historian al-Tabari

     

    338

    950

    Coding of the seven accents for reading the Quran

     

    357-567

    968-1171

    Fatimid caliphate established in North Africa

     

    359

    970

    Al-Azhar mosque built in Cairo by the Fatimid caliph al-Moa’taz.

     

    428

    1037

    d. Ibn Sina, master of the Encyclopedia of Medicine

     

    447-656

    1055-1258

    Almoravids, then Almoahhids (1147)

     

    489-690

    1096-1291

    The 4 Crusades

    launched  to gain control of Jerusalem.

     

    495-496

    1102-1103

    Conversion of Ghana, Africa to Islam.

     

    504

    1111

    d. Theologist al-Ghazali.

     

    583

    1187

    Salaheddine (Saladin) retrieves Jerusalem form the Crusaders.

     

    594

    1198

    d. Philosopher Ibn-Rushd (Averroes).

     

     

    1220

    Genghis Khan took Samarkand and Bukhara, after conquering China earlier.

     

    637

    1240

    d. Mystic Ibn-A’arabi.

     

    648-923

    1250-1517

    Mamlouks’ dynasty established in Egypt & Syria

     

    656

    1258

    Fall of Baghdad under Hulagu Khan-Mongol leader. End of Abbasids’ dynasty.

     

    658

    1260

    the Mongols moved against Palestine and Egypt. the Mamluks were able to marshal their forces in time to meet, and crush, the Mongols at 'Ayn Jalut near Nazareth in Palestine.

     

     

    667

    1269

    Mecca is under the control of Egypts’ Mamlouks.

     

    700

    1301

    Uthman the 1st founds the Ottomon empire.

     

    728

    1328

    d. Ibn Taymia, the Hanbali theologist.

     

     

    1380

     Tamerlane, who claimed descent from Genghis Khan. Under Tamerlane, the Mongol forces swept down on Central Asia, India, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, occupying Aleppo and Damascus and threatening - but not defeating - the Mamluks.Battle of Marj-Dabiq, Mongols defeated.

     

    857

    1453

    Capture of Constantinopole by the Ottomans. Expulsion of jews & Moslems from Andalus.

     

    897

    1492

    The fall of Grenada, Spain. Columbus set for America.

    2nd January

    918-1188

    512-1774

    Rise of the Ottomans.

     

    923

    1517

    The Ottomans defeat the Mamlouks of Egypt and take control of Mecca.

     

    932

    1526

    Siege of Vienna by the Ottomans.

     

    963-1119

    1556-1707

    Rise of the Mongol empire in India.

     

    1018

    1609

    Expulsion of the last Moslems out of Spain.

     

    1038

    1629

    The peak of Mongols(Moslems) architecture and possibly the most famous work of all times and cultures is the dazzling Taj Mahal mausoleum built at Agra, India

     

    1188-1338

    1774-1920

    Decline of the Ottoman Empire

     

    1206

    1792

    d.  Mohamad bin Abdul-Wahhab

     

    1212

    1798

    Invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor.

     

    1218-1220

    1803-1805

    Mecca and Medina fall under the Wahhabist

     

    1314

    1897

    d. reformist Jamal Uddine al-Afghani

     

    1341

    1923

    End of the Ottoman Empire

     

    1342

    1924

    Abolition of the Caliphate by the Turkish parliament

     

    1343

    1925

    Capture of Mecca and Medina by Ibn Sa’ud

     

    1351

    1932

    Establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

     

     

    References:

    http://www.islamicity.com/

    http://www.barkati.net/english/chronology.htm

    http://islamicweb.com/history/chronology.htm

    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/history/chronology/

     

     

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