NEW HIJRAH YEAR!
Muharram 1428
A year has ended. And i meant in Islamic Calendar.
And yesterday in the evening, muslims around the world marks the beginning of the NEW YEAR in ISlamic Calendar.
The Islamic calendar was first introduced by the close companion of the Prophet, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab. During his leadership of the Muslim community, in approximately 638 A.D., he consulted with his advisors in order to come to a decision regarding the various dating systems used at that time.
The Islamic year has twelve months that are based on a lunar cycle.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"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...." (9:36).
"It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory, and the moon to be a light of beauty, and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count of time. Allah did not create this except in truth and righteousness. And He explains His signs in detail, for those who understand" (10:5).
And in his final sermon before his death, the Prophet Muhammad said, among other things, "With Allah the months are twelve; four of them are holy; three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumaada and Sha'ban."
Islamic months begin at sunset of the first day, the day when the lunar crescent is visually sighted. Lunar year is approximately 354 days long, so the months rotate backward through the seasons and are not fixed to the Gregorian calendar.
For your information, here are the meanings behind the names of each month in ISLAMIC calendar.
1. Muharram ("Forbidden" - it is one of the four months during which it is forbidden to wage war or fight)
2. Safar ("Empty" or "Yellow")
3. Rabia Awal ("First spring")
4. Rabia Thani ("Second spring")
5. Jumaada Awal ("First freeze")
6. Jumaada Thani ("Second freeze")
7. Rajab ("To respect" - this is another holy month when fighting is prohibited)
8. Sha'ban ( "To spread and distribute")
9. Ramadan ("Parched thirst" - this is the month of daytime fasting)
10. Shawwal ("To be light and vigorous")
11. Dhul-Qi'dah ("The month of rest" - another month when no warfare or fighting is allowed)
12. Dhul-Hijjah ("The month of Haj" - this is the month of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca,
again when no warfare or fighting is allowed)
It is then up to muslims ourselves to remind ourselves and our muslim brothers/sisters to seek Allah's forgiveness and to change to become a better muslim. Being the last ummah has alot of challenges and i myself knew how hard to be a good muslim when everywhere around us doubts the credibility of our pure religion. Wa'allahualam.
May the new year brings forward a blessed year for everyone!
