Is the Hijra Calendar the Most Accurate?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I am trying to find an answer, but it seems nearly impossible, so I decided to ask. Is the Hijra calendar the most accurate calendar since it is Islamic?

And am I sinning in any way for doubting this? I don’t want to fall into bid‘a or kufr by denying Islamic teachings.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. This is an important question.

The Hijra calendar is the most accurate and was chosen by the Second Caliph ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) with a committee of companions. You are not sinning for being unsure; neither one will fall into innovation (bid‘a) or disbelief (kufr).

Beginning of the Islamic Calendar

Although there is an opinion that the beginning of the Islamic date was initiated by the  Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) when he migrated to Madina in the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal. However, it was specifically during the time of Caliph ‘Umar Bin al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) that he gathered the companions and consulted all; some said the day of prophethood, some said his blessed birth, and some said his day of demise. After some discussion, the day of migration (hijra) should be the start of the Islamic calendar.

First Month of the Calendar

Some said to be the month of Ramadan, some said to be the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, when the Prophet entered Madina, and some said Muharram, when the pilgrims return from performing Hajj. The committee of companions chose Friday, July 16th, 622 CE, as the evening of the lunar crescent that marked the beginning of the lunar year in which our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) migrated from Makka to Madina; hence the Hijri calendar began. [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir ibn Kathir; Sarakhsi, Sharh al-Siyar al-Kabir; Kandhlawi, Sirat al-Mustafa]

Hijra Calendar – Unique Islamic Civilizational Identity and a Unifying Calendar

Although the calendar system was developed for practical reasons to conduct the Islamic caliphate’s affairs and correspondence, we cannot underestimate how much the institution of the Islamic calendar was essential in constructing a cultural and civilizational identity over unprecedented distances. One could travel from Morocco to India and find that everyone has Ramadan around the same time, plus or minus a day, depending on the moon sighting. People would come for Haj from all over the Islamic lands and arrive in the same month (a miracle, given that this was before satellite communication and TVs).

Moreover, this was a low-maintenance calendar system. By adopting the strictly lunar calendar, any person living in Muslim lands could determine the start and end of each month by looking at the moon or visiting their local mosque. There was no need for complicated adjustments that plagued the solar calendars adopted by different religious and political authorities.

Significance of Hijra Calendar

We live in a materialistic world where spirituality is removed from the public and into private confined areas. We need to follow the Islamic calendar and incorporate it into our daily lives to remind us about its spirituality and the importance of migration (hijra), be it individually from moving away from sins to good works or as a community by moving away from civil inactivity to better the state of the wider human community.

Virtues of Migration

Islam, Hajj, and Hijra Erase All Sins Before Them

‘Amr ibn al-‘As (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Do you not know that embracing Islam wipes away all sins committed before it, that emigration wipes away what came before it, and the Hajj pilgrimage wipes away what came before it?” [Muslim]

Live Anywhere as Long as you Practice Islam

Salih ibn Bashir (Allah be pleased with him) reported: Fudayk came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, they argue that whomever does not make emigration will be ruined.” The Prophet said, “O Fudayk, establish prayer, avoid sins, and live in the land with your people wherever you wish.” [Ibn Hibban]

True Jihad is against One’s Lowly Desires

Dhahabi reported: Abu Hamid al-Tusi, (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Know that the religion has two conditions. The first is to abandon what has been forbidden. The other is to perform righteous acts of obedience. Abandoning what is forbidden is more difficult than being obedient. Everyone is capable of being obedient, but none are capable of abandoning lowly desires except the truthful. For this reason, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The true emigrant is one who emigrates away from evil, and the one striving in jihad for the sake of Allah is he who strives against his desires.” [Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’]

Read and watch the links below:
Hijra Archives
The Sacred Nature of the Islamic Calendar [Video]
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD [Video]
Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani