Awal Muharram
Next: June 6, 2027
A new year begins at sunset.
The story
Where it comes from
Awal Muharram, the first day of the month of Muharram, opens the Islamic year and is also known as Maal Hijrah. The Hijri calendar counts its years from the Hijrah, the Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Yathrib, later Medina, in 622 CE. In 639 CE the second caliph, Umar, introduced the Hijrah era and set the first day of its first year at 1 Muharram, which corresponds to 16 July 622. Because the Islamic year is lunar and about eleven days shorter than the solar year, the new year comes roughly eleven days earlier each year.
How it's celebrated
It is a quiet, reflective new year. In Malaysia, Muslims read a prayer for the year's end after the afternoon Asar prayer, then one for the new year after Maghrib, when the Hijri date changes, and mosques hold talks on the meaning of hijrah. In Indonesia, where the day is called Tahun Baru Islam, many neighbourhoods hold torch-lit processions (pawai obor) on the eve, singing sholawat.
Did you know
- The Prophet's migration took place in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, but when the calendar was fixed, the year was set to begin with Muharram.
- Malaysia marks the day with a national ceremony that names a Tokoh Maal Hijrah, a figure honoured for service to Islam, alongside an international honouree.
- On the same night, the royal palace of Surakarta in Central Java greets 1 Suro, the Javanese new year, with a silent procession led by its sacred albino buffalo, known as Kyai Slamet.
The greeting
Salam Maal Hijrah
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