THE ISLAMIC (HIJRI) CALENDAR
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1. HISTORY AND MOTIVATION
The Islamic Calendar, which is based purely on lunar cycles, was first
introduced in 638 C.E. by the close companion of the Prophet and the second
Caliph, `Umar ibn Al-KHaTTab (592-644 C.E.). He did it in an attempt to
rationalize the various, at times conflicting, dating systems used during
his time. `Umar consulted with his advisors on the starting date of the
new Muslim chronology. It was finally agreed that the most appropriate
reference point for the Islamic calendar was the _Hijrah_. The actual
starting date for the Calendar was chosen (on the basis of purely lunar
years, counting backwards) to be the first day of the first month
(1 MuHarram) of the year of the Hijrah. The Islamic (Hijri) calendar
(with dates that fall within the Muslim Era) is usually abbreviated
A.H. in Western languages from the latinized _Anno Hegirae_. MuHarram 1,
1 A.H. corresponds to July 16, 622 C.E.
The Hijrah, which chronicles the migration of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) from Makkah to Madinah in September 622 C.E., is the central
historical event of early Islam. It led to the foundation of the first
Muslim city-state, a turning point in Islamic and world history.
To Muslims, the Hijri calendar is not just a sentimental system of time
reckoning and dating important religious events (e.g., Siyaam (fasting)
and Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah)). It has a much deeper religious and
historical significance.
Muhammad Ilyes [Ilyes84] quotes Nadvi who wrote:
``It (the advent of the 15th century) is indeed, a unique
occasion to ponder that the Islamic Era did not start
with the victories of Islamic wars, nor with the birth
or death of the prophet (PBUH), nor with the Revelation
itself. It starts with Hijra, or the sacrifice for the
cause of Truth and for the preservation of the Revelation.
It was a divinely inspired selection. God wanted to teach
man that struggle between Truth and Evil is eternal. The
Islamic year reminds Muslims every year not of the pomp
and glory of Islam but of its sacrifice and prepares them
to do the same.''
From a historical angle, Ilyes quotes Samiullah who writes:
``All the events of Islamic history, especially those which
took place during the life of the Holy Prophet and afterwards
are quoted in the Hijra calendar era. But our calculations
in the Gregorian calendar keep us away from those events and
happenings, which are pregnant of admonitory lessons and guiding
instructions.
...And this chronological study is possible only by adopting the
Hijri calendar to indicate the year and the lunar month in line
with our cherished traditions.''
2. SPECIFICATION AND METHOD
The Islamic (Hijri) year consists of twelve (purely lunar) months.
They are:
(1) MuHarram
(2) Safar
(3) Raby` al-awal
(4) Raby` al-THaany
(5) Jumaada al-awal
(6) Jumaada al-THaany
(7) Rajab
(8) SHa`baan
(9) RamaDHaan
(10) SHawwal
(11) Thw al-Qi`dah
(12) Thw al-Hijjah
The most important dates in the Islamic (Hijri) year are:
1 MuHarram (Islamic new year); 27 Rajab (Isra & Miraj); 1 RamaDHaan
(first day of fasting); 17 RamaDHan (Nuzul Al-Qur'an); Last 10
days of RamaDHaan which include Laylatu al-Qadar; 1 SHawwal
(`iyd al-FiTr); 8-10 Thw al-Hijjah (the Hajj to Makkah); and
10 Thw al-Hijjah (`iyd al-'aDHHae).
It is considered a divine command to use a (Hijra) calendar with 12 (purely)
lunar months without intercalation [Ilyes84], as evident from the following
verses of the Holy Qur`an (Trans: A. Yusuf Ali):
They ask thee
the New Moons
Say: They are but signs
To mark fixed periods of time
In (the affairs of) men
And for Pilgrimage. (II:189)
The number of months
In the sight of Allah
Is twelve (in a year)
So ordained by Him
The day He created
The heavens and the earth;
Of them four are sacred;
That is the straight usage
So wrong not yourselves
Therein, and fight the Pagans. (IX: 36)
Verily the transposing
(Of a prohibited month)
Is an addition to Unbelief:
The Unbelievers are led
To wrong thereby: for they make
it lawful one year,
And forbidden another year,
Of months forbidden by Allah
And make such forbidden ones
Lawful. The evil of their course
Seems pleasing to them.
But Allah guideth not
Those who reject Faith. (IX: 37)
Since the Islamic calendar is purely lunar, as apposed to solar or luni-solar,
the Muslim (Hijri) year is shorter than the Gregorian year by about 11 days,
and months in the Islamic (Hijri) year are not related to seasons, which
are fundamentally related to the solar cycle. This means that important
Muslim festivals, which always fall in the same Hijri month, may occur
in different seasons. For example, the Hajj and RamDHaan can take place in
the summer as well as the winter. It is only over a 33 year cycle that lunar
months take a complete turn and fall during the same season.
For religious reasons, the beginning of a Hijri month is marked not by
the start of a new moon, but by a physical (i.e., an actual human) sighting
of the crescent moon at a given locale. From the Fiqhi standpoint, one may
begin the fast in RamDHaan, for example, based on "local" sighting (IKHTILAF
AL-MATALE') or based on sighting anywhere in the Muslim World (ITTEHAD
AL-MATALE'). Although different, both of these positions are valid Fiqhi
positions.
Astronomically, some data are definitive and conclusive (i.e. the time of the
BIRTH of a new moon). However, determining the VISIBILITY of the crescent
is not as definitive or conclusive; rather it is dependent upon several
factors, mostly optical in nature. This makes it difficult to produce
(in advance) Islamic calendars that are reliable (in the sense that they
are consistent with actual crescent visibility).
Efforts for obtaining an astronomical criterion for predicting the time of
first lunar visibility go back the the Babylonian era, with significant
improvements and work done later by Muslim and other scientists. These
efforts have resulted in the development in a number of criteria for
predicting first possible sighting of a crescent. However, there remains
a measure of uncertainty associated with all criteria developed thus far.
Moreover, there has been little work in the area of estimating crescent
visibility on global (as apposed to local) scale. Until this happens, no
Hijri calendar software can be 100% reliable, and actual crescent sighting
remains essential especially for fixing important dates such as the beginning
of RamaDHaan and the two `iyds.
The slight differences in printed Islamic calendars, worldwide, can therefore
be traced to two primary factors: (1) the absence of a global criterion for
first visibility; and (2) the use of different visibility criterion (or
method of calculation). Weather conditions and differences in the observer's
location also explain why there are sometimes differences in the
observances of Islamic dates, worldwide.
Readers interested in further information should consult Muhammad
Ilyas' excellent book ``A Modern Guide to Astronomical Calculations of Islamic
Calendar, Times & Qibla,'' Berita Publishing, 1984, (ISBN: 967-969-009-1).
The book contains a thorough discussion of the Islamic calendrical system
and related historical and scientific developments. It also presents a sound
proposal for a universal Islamic Calendar based on a global visibility
criterion and the concept of a Lunar Day (or International Lunar Date Line).
Waleed Muhanna
Tuesday 13 Jumaada al-THaany 1413 A.H.
December 8, 1992
Inaugurating the Hijri calendar
Caliph `Umar bin Al-Khattab was the first to initiate the system of the lunar calendar taking the Prophet’s Hijrah from Mecca to Medina on 622 A.D as the starting event.
Later on, the Hijri calendar was referred to as (A.H.) in Western languages, which indicates the Latin Anno Hegirae.
The exact date of starting the Hijri calendar was Muharram 1,/ July 16, 622 A.D. Hijri (Islamic) year consists of 12 lunar months order as follows:
(Muharram, Safar, Rabi` Al-Awwal, Rabi` Al-Akhar, Jumada Al-Awwal, Jumada Al-Akhar, Rajab, Sha`ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qa`dah, Dhul-Hijjah).
The Hijri calendar includes Islamic festivities such as the New Hijri year on the first of Muharram, the Isra’ and Mi`raj [Night Journey and Ascension] on the twenty-seventh of Rajab, Laitat Al-Qadr [the Night of Revelation] on the last ten days of Ramadan, `Id Al-Fitr [the Lesser Bairam] on the first of Shawwal, `Id Al-Adha [the Greater Bairam] on the tenth of Dhul-Hijjah and the Hajj season from Dhul-Hijjah 8 to 13.
N.B.
*As the Hijri calendar basically relies on the lunar cycle, the Hijri year is 11 days less than the Gregorian year.
*The lunar months of the Hijri calendar are not related to the four seasons. This means that the Islamic festivities that fall on the same month every year may occur in different seasons. Hajj and Fasting of Ramadan, for example, may occur equally in summer or in winter.
*Islamic festivities occur in the same season each 33 years when the lunar cycle is complete.
*There are slight differences between the printed Islamic calendars, because of the following:
1. There are no international criteria for determining the new crescent soon after its appearance.
2. There are different calculating methods used to determine the appearance of the new crescent.
3. There may be different weather conditions in the location of sighting the new crescent.
For the above-mentioned reasons, there is no calculation method with a 100% accuracy. Sighting the new crescent still formulates the basic method of determining certain Islamic festivities such as the advent of the Month of Ramadan and the Two `Ids.
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