Agra | In today’s Friday Sermon, Muhammad Iqbal, Imam of Masjid Nehar Wali explained how the Hijri calendar began. He said that as the State of Madinah started to take the shape of a large government, official work also increased. To keep this organized and to maintain records, there was contemplation on how to do it. This Islamic government felt the need for an official calendar for official work and other decrees so that records could be kept safe and the government could run under a system. While there was agreement on the calendar, the issue of when to start it arose. Different suggestions started coming in. Since it was a completely new task and would continue for future generations, its importance was evident. A council of Sahabah was convened for this. Different Sahabah gave their opinions, but everyone agreed on the opinion of Hazrat Ali (RA). His opinion was to start it from the time when Allah’s Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah, and in this context, it came to be known as the Hijri calendar. It is also called the Islamic calendar. Thus, the Islamic calendar began in 622 CE, which now stands at 1446 in the Islamic or Hijri year, and this series will continue until the Day of Judgment, InShaAllah. We should remember this date ourselves and also make our children remember it. Also, remember the names of the twelve months. When Allah’s Prophet migrated to Madinah, he found out that the Jews there fasted on the 10th of Muharram. Allah’s Prophet asked them why they fasted, and they told him that on this day, Musa (AS) had achieved victory over Firaun. Allah’s Prophet said that we are more deserving of observing this fast and instructed Muslims to fast for two days so that it would not resemble the Jewish practice. This is the summary of Hadith number 4737 from Sahih Bukhari. Therefore, we should also observe these two fasts. May Allah grant us all the ability to do so, Aameen.
The Hijri calendar began from the time when the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah : Muhammad Iqbal
