Hijrah and the Islamic New Year: History, Calendar and Lessons

The Hijrah was the migration of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the early Muslims from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE. It provided a setting in which the community could worship, organise its affairs and build new relationships after persecution. The Hijri calendar later took that migration year as its historical starting point.

The Islamic New Year begins with Muharram, but that first day is not the anniversary of the Prophet's actual arrival in Madinah. Understanding this distinction helps separate calendar conventions from the events they commemorate.

Key points about the Hijrah

• The migration to Madinah occurred in 622 CE, after earlier Muslim migrations to Abyssinia.
• The Hijri era was formalised during Umar ibn al-Khattab's caliphate, rather than announced as a calendar system during the journey itself.
• Madinah became the centre of an organised Muslim community; Muslims had already existed as a community in Makkah.
• The event joined faith, practical planning, mutual help and public responsibility.
• Its lessons include contributing positively to the communities in which people live.

What Hijrah means

The Arabic root can convey leaving or separating, and in this historical context hijrah means migration. It should not be reduced to a command to sever family relationships. The Islamic duty of kindness and appropriate family ties is a separate matter from leaving a place of persecution.

The source also mentions the English use of “exodus” from 1753. That is a dictionary-history assertion rather than part of the religious event, and the supplied text provides no evidence for its precise first-use date. The historical meaning here is the movement of people in response to religious conditions.

The migrations to Abyssinia preceded the move to Madinah, and Abyssinia's Christian ruler provided refuge. Describing all migration from Christian-ruled lands as one necessary Muslim duty would ignore this early example and oversimplify later history. Circumstances and the ability to practise religion matter.

Madinah before the migration

Known as Yathrib, Madinah was an oasis with Arab and Jewish communities. The Aws and Khazraj were major Arab tribal groups, and Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayza were prominent Jewish groups. The name Banu Qaylah is associated with Aws and Khazraj in historical accounts.

The source states that the oasis was founded by survivors of a Roman uprising. That specific origin story needs historical evidence and should not be treated as established solely from the supplied paragraph. The existence of Jewish settlement is different from proving one definite foundation date and cause.

Conflicts between Aws and Khazraj, and their alliances with other groups, shaped the city's circumstances. The source's fixed claim of a century of fighting needs qualification: accounts describe sustained rivalry, but one precise duration should not stand in for the complex history.

Contacts with the people of Yathrib

The Prophet continued presenting his message to visitors to Makkah. In the commonly related sequence, a small group from Khazraj accepted Islam around 620 CE and carried the message home. Their hope for reconciliation between rival groups helped create an opening for further contact.

The supplied narrative mentions six early listeners, later representatives of twelve clans and an invitation to arbitrate. These details should not be merged into one meeting. The pledges at Aqabah and the developing invitation belong to a sequence of encounters, with accounts differing in some details.

Source detail	Clarification
Migration year	622 CE is the historical year of the migration.
Distance	The source alternates between over 260 miles and 320 km or 200 miles. These cannot describe the same measure; the route and measurement method must be specified.
Early supporters	Support came through successive contacts with people of Yathrib. The supplied table’s description of clans is not a numerical count of converts.

The journey from Makkah to Madinah

Abu Bakr accompanied the Prophet during the journey. The source describes the threat from Quraysh, Ali ibn Abi Talib remaining behind, concealment at the cave of Thawr and difficult terrain. These elements show a combination of reliance on Allah and practical measures rather than a journey undertaken without preparation.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3905 describes three nights in the cave and arrangements involving information, supplies and a guide. Such details support the lesson that careful planning is compatible with faith.

The source's date of May 622 for the departure is inaccurate as a standard presentation. Historical accounts place the arrival in Rabi al-Awwal of the migration year, usually correlated with September 622; precise day correspondences need attention to the chronology and calendar method. The event should not be confused with the earlier beginning of the Hijri year.

Muslims left Makkah at different times, and not everyone was immediately able to migrate. The claim that every Muslim joined the Prophet without exception is too broad. The community's growth involved continuing movements and changing circumstances.

Descriptions of rocky valleys and a difficult route convey the journey's demands, but the source's competing distances should not be repeated as consistent facts. Separate straight-line distance, modern road distance and the historical route if a precise measurement is needed.

The Ansar and Muhajirun

The Muhajirun were the emigrants, particularly those who left Makkah, and the Ansar were the Muslim helpers of Madinah. Their relationship became an important model of sacrifice, hospitality and mutual support. The brotherhood established between individuals helped newcomers build lives in a new setting.

Group	Background and contribution
Ansar	Muslims of Aws and Khazraj who welcomed and supported the emigrants. The source names Sad ibn Ubadah, Ubayy ibn Kab, Zayd ibn Thabit and Hassan ibn Thabit.
Muhajirun	Emigrants who faced persecution and loss in Makkah, and were honoured for their faith and sacrifice. The early caliphs came from the emigrants, but that does not reduce the Ansar’s contribution.
At Badr	The source gives the Ansar as three-quarters of the army. Historical counts vary; avoid treating that fraction as an exact established figure without a specified account.
Shared responsibility	Hospitality, brotherhood and cooperation strengthened the developing community without erasing individual duties.

How the Hijri calendar was established

The source gives 638 in one passage and 639 in others. Dar al-Ifta's historical account places the calendar's establishment under Umar in 637/638 CE. The main point is that the era was chosen retrospectively during his caliphate.

AH denotes years in the Hijri era. The calendar is lunar, with twelve months and years normally of 354 or 355 days in tabular reckoning. Months move through the solar seasons, which is why Ramadan does not stay in one Gregorian season.

Muharram is the first month. The conventional epoch is often given as 16 July 622 in the Julian calendar; that date is not the same as 16 July in the modern Gregorian calendar. A convention used for reckoning is also not a direct observation proving that everyone saw a crescent on one specified night.

The source's statement that a new moon was likely seen on the evening of July 15 confuses astronomical new moon with a visible crescent. Calendar conversion requires the chosen method, and religious month beginnings may follow the relevant authority's sighting or calculation practice.

The first of Muharram does not mark the actual migration day, as Dar al-Ifta explains. Keep this distinction clear when describing the Islamic New Year.

Historical impact and later calendar use

The Hijrah helped establish a centre for Muslim social, religious and public life. It did not turn Islam from a purely private faith into a moral system for the first time; teachings about conduct and community already existed before Madinah. The new setting made organised public responsibilities possible on a larger scale.

The source also refers to Ottoman official adoption in 1677–78, AH 1088. That specific administrative claim requires a precise historical reference and should not imply that Ottoman Muslims only began using Hijri dates then. Calendar use can vary between religious, civil and financial systems.

Commemorations and the Islamic New Year

Muslim communities may hold educational programmes, talks, exhibitions or social-media discussions around the Hijrah and Muharram. Customs and scholarly assessments differ. A local commemoration is not automatically a universally prescribed annual act of worship.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha relates to sacrifice and the Hajj season. They are not festivals established to celebrate the Hijrah, as the source suggested. Their dates are determined through the Hijri calendar, which is a different relationship.

The Prophet's birthday and New Year observances also should not be presented as practices shared identically by all Muslims. Historical reflection can focus on perseverance, planning, hospitality and social responsibility without inventing a special prayer or guaranteed reward for the occasion.

The Madinah Charter

The agreement commonly called the Constitution of Madinah or Madinah Charter organised relations among the emigrants, local Muslim groups and other communities. It is important in discussions of early Islamic public life and the responsibilities of different groups living together.

The source attributes the description “first written constitution” to Muhammad Hamidullah. That is an interpretation about its historical significance, not an undisputed global ranking. Scholars also debate whether “charter,” “agreement” or “constitution” best describes the reported material, and how its provisions were assembled.

Versions associated with Ibn Ishaq and Abu Ubayd are discussed in historical scholarship. Their transmission and composition should be investigated rather than described as universally accepted in every detail. Historical importance does not remove the need for source criticism.

Aspect	What the source discusses
Composition and transmission	Different accounts and scholarly assessments concerning the document’s form, parts and authorship.
Responsibilities	Ransom of prisoners, blood money, assistance with burdens, protection, alliances, wrongdoing and contributions to defence.
Population	Aws and Khazraj, their associated groups and Jewish communities. The source’s counts of eight clans, 33 smaller groups and about 20 Jewish tribes require a stated classification and evidence.
Leadership and significance	The Prophet’s leadership and arrangements for cooperation among groups, with an important place in the history of Islamic governance.

The provisions concerning retaliation, murder, protection and shared war expenses need to be understood within the reported agreement and its historical context. They should not be turned into a simple claim that a seventh-century charter operated like every modern constitution.

Hijrah and modern life

Later Muslim migrations include many different motives: safety, religious freedom, work, family and education. Movement to the United States, Europe or Muslim-majority countries should not all be labelled the same religious duty solely on the basis of destination.

The source lists Taif alongside Abyssinia and Madinah. The Prophet's visit to Taif is a distinct event in his biography, not the same migration as the community's establishment in Madinah. Keeping these events separate makes the history clearer.

For contemporary readers, useful lessons include leaving harmful behaviour, seeking a setting in which faith can be practised and supporting people who have had to move. These lessons do not require cutting off relatives or assuming that migration guarantees a better life. Further background appears in Islamic education and the five pillars.

Talqeen Academy is a globally recognized platform for learning the Quran, Arabic, and Islamic Studies through personalized one-on-one online sessions with expert tutors.

Browse All Quran & Arabic Courses