HAPPY NEW ISLAMIC YEAR 1440

The Islamic Year 1440 has arrived. This Tuesday September 11 was Muharram 1. This new Islamic Year means one thousand, four hundred and forty years have passed since Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace), the greatest person to walk on this Planet Earth, left his hometown Mecca to Medina to renew the call of Islam. […]

The Islamic Year 1440 has arrived. This Tuesday September 11 was Muharram 1.

This new Islamic Year means one thousand, four hundred and forty years have passed since Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace), the greatest person to walk on this Planet Earth, left his hometown Mecca to Medina to renew the call of Islam. Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, is the only person Allah Himself (exalted be His Name), celebrates the praises of, unceasingly.

Allah says in Surah al Ahzab (The Confederates, or “The Coalition Forces”) Qur’an Chapter 33:56: “Innal Lah wa mala’ikataHu Yusalluna alan nabiy; ya ayyuhal lazina amanu sallu alaihi wa sallimu taslima.” (Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Shower blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.”

Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!

The date of the Hijrah is said to have corresponded with July 16, 622AD. This journey is a history in itself and in it is a message of historical proportions for mankind. Muharram 1 is such a significant and momentous occasion of reflection and remembrance. Muslims do not date their calendar from the birth of the Prophet, unlike other religions, but the Hijrah is a milestone in the life of Islam as epitomised by the Prophet.

As this Column mentions every year, (especially for those who are too boko-imbibed and Islamiyya-forgotten), Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar, and the others are Safar, Rabi’ Awwal, Rabi’ Thani, Jumada Awwal, Jumada Thani, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Zul Qa’adah, Zul Hijjah. The Islamic Calendar is lunar, and uses the moon, rather than the sun (as in the Gregorian Calendar) to count the days and weeks and months and years. And as the lunar cycle is usually eleven days shorter than the solar, the Islamic New Year reduces by that number of days every year, and Muharram 1 shall fall on each of the days of January to December in a generation of about thirty three years.

Gradually, many Muslim-majority states in the country are declaring a public holiday on the occasion of Muharram 1. Many of us in the Northern States have had that right accorded us for many years, yet our brethren in the South West, especially, have been demanding that for the past several years.

Earlier last week, many Islamic groups jointly and separately called on the Federal and State governments to, as a matter of right, declare the first day of the Islamic calendar as a public holiday. In separate Hijrah messages to mark the first day of the Islamic calendar, the groups said declaring Muharram 1 as public holiday would be in line with fairness and justice to Nigerian Muslims.

The groups included Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) and Muslim Community of Oyo State (MUSCOYS). Others were Muslim Consultative Forum (MCF), Federation of Muslim Women Association’s in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN). The groups said that declaring Muharram 1 as public holiday would also give Muslims a sense of belonging.

“Muharram 1, in the Islamic calendar, is equivalent to January 1, which is observed as a public holiday in Nigeria…Muharram 1, is our own January 1, we want both the federal and state governments alike to declare it as such in the interest of religious harmony in the country”, said MMPN President, Abdurrahman Balogun.

Adding to Balogun’s call, UNIFEMGA, in a message signed by Abdulwaheed Odeyimka, its National President, also called on the government at various levels to recognise the Hijrah calendar and use it side by side with the Gregorian calendar. It congratulated Muslims and non-Muslims alike for witnessing another new Islamic year and urged them to reflect on their deeds and activities during the past year.

In another message, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, Chairman, Muslim Community of Oyo State, said the recognition of Hijrah was long overdue and called for its immediate implementation. Sanni called on the leadership of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) to enter into dialogue with the Nigerian government on the issue. He commended the bold steps of governors of Oyo and Osun states in recognising the first day of new Islamic year by declaring it work free day and urged other states in the South West to emulate them.

This Column joins these Islamic organisations in calling on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency declare Muharram 1 Public Holiday. Doing it at the federal level will short-cut the reluctance of some states in doing same.

For those who don’t know the Prophet (and many a Muslim would love to one day see him, even if it is in a dream), we can listen to how he was described by Umm Ma’bad, a desert woman who hosted the Prophet and his companions during the Hijrah. It was on Umm Ma’bad’s goat, a lean and ill animal that could hardly walk, that the Prophet performed a memorable miracle.

The woman had described Muhammad to her husband (who returned home after the Prophet had left) in the most eloquent, precise and befitting manner. This is because, out of wonderment she had observed the Prophet meticulously, as a result of which she had fully retained his picture in her mind (Google Umm Ma’bad for the full story).

“I saw a man who is distinctly handsome and of a beautiful countenance. He is well-built, neither blemished by a big belly nor disfigured by an unusually small head. The pupils of his eyes are very dark, his eyelashes are very long and the area around the pupils is extremely white. His eyebrows are perfectly close. He has very dark hair, a rather long neck and a thick beard.

“When he remains silent he is ever contemplative and when he speaks, eminence and splendour exhibit in his words. His words are like sliding stringed pearls. He is a gifted orator whose words are neither too few nor too many. He has the clearest wand and the most audible voice as he speaks. When you look at him from afar, he is the most handsome of all people, and when you move closer to him, he is the most pleasant of them.

“You will never be tired of looking at him. He is like a branch between two branches.

He is the most handsome of the three [his travel companions] and the most important of them. He has companions who honour him; when he speaks they listen to his words and when he commands they hasten to carry out his order. They serve and gather around him. He neither frowns or nags.”

Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!

When the Prophet arrived Madinah, it was to the chorus of Tala al Badru, rendered beautifully by famous Muslim singer Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5HiXM9JGJQ):

Tala al badru ‘alayna

Min thaniyati-al Wada’

Wajaba Shukru ‘alayna

Ma da’a lillahi da’

O the white moon rose over us

From the valley of Wada’

And we owe it to show thankfulness

Where the call is to Allah

Ayyuha-al Mab’uthu feena

Ji’ta bi-al amru muta’

Ji’ta sharafta-al Madeenah

Marhaban ya khayra da’

O you, who were raised amongst us

Coming with the words to be obeyed

You have ennobled this city

Welcome O caller to God’s way

Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!

May the Islamic New Year 1440 be a harbinger of glad tidings to all! Kullu ‘aamin wa antum bikhayr!”