Islamic New Year 1438 AH

Yesterday Sunday, October 2, 2016 marked the Islamic New Year 1438 A.H. (After Hijra) which is the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar. The Muslim calendar and times are calculated based on sightings of the crescent moon. Thus the Islamic Lunar Calendar year consists of 354-355 days. The 12 […]

Yesterday Sunday, October 2, 2016 marked the Islamic New Year 1438 A.H. (After Hijra) which is the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar. The Muslim calendar and times are calculated based on sightings of the crescent moon. Thus the Islamic Lunar Calendar year consists of 354-355 days.
The 12 months in the Islamic/Hijra calendar was started by the second Caliph Umar in 16 AH/ 637 CE. The first month of the year, Muharram, known as the month of remembrance, is one of the most important months in the Muslim calendar. Muharram means “forbidden” and many Muslims fast during this period. The Muslim New Year’s Day is not regarded to be as significant as days such as Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr. It however marks the day that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) established the first Islamic state in the city of Medina, once called Yathrib. The Holy Prophet migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D., an event now referred to as the Hijrah which signifies the beginning of the Muslim calendar. It marks the time that Islam became a community with its own state and its own calendar.
Many Muslims voluntarily fast during the month of Muharram, though this fasting is not mandatory. It is also one of the four months of the Muslim calendar in which fighting is not permitted.  Different significance is attached to the Muslim New Year’s Day by Shia and Sunni Muslims. Muharram is one of the four Islamic months observed by Shia Muslims as a month of mourning for the loss of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein ibn Ali at Karbala on the 10th day of Muharram. The day is also known as Ashura. For Sunni Muslims it is regarded as celebration of the day Noah left the ark and also the day Moses was saved from the Egyptians.
For many Muslims, the New Year represents a period for self-reflection and historical awareness and is also considered a time of birth and renewal and is celebrated relatively quietly, with prayers, readings and reflection.
The New Year 1438 AH should remind Muslims of the sacrifices made by the first Muslims in order to safeguard their religion.  The use of the Hijra Calendar for acts of worship and as a frame of reference to major historical events will help Muslims keep links with their roots and further enhance their knowledge of their religion and history. The beginning of the Islamic Calendar also heralded a turning point in the history of Islam and is a time to reflect on the revolution and complete transformation of society through a unique brotherhood. The focus was not only on the development of personal belief, but on the development of Islam as a complete way of life. Many acts of worship such as Zakat, Fasting and Hajj revolve around this calendar.
It is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and be thankful for a new dawn, a time to look forward to new beginnings and to seek greater closeness to Allah and the Holy Prophet by striving to embody our humanity through consciousness of Allah and service to others.
It is imperative for Muslims to maintain a connection to Allah through specific acts of worship and also to establish justice and peace. They must repent and become righteous through specific acts of worship like donation to charity, volunteering, discarding wastes on idle pursuits, memorizing verses of Qur’an,  spending quality time with family, furthering Islamic knowledge, serving the less fortunate and thanking Allah for the all blessings and bounties bestowed on Mankind. We congratulate our Muslim readers on the onset of the Muslim New Year and wish that it will be a year of peace, progress, end of economic recession and harmonious coexistence.