hegira

 

or Hejira (both: hĭjī'rə, hĕj'ərə) [Ar.,=Hijra=breaking off of relations], the departure of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca in Sept., 622. Muhammad was a monotheist and preached against the polytheism of the Meccan religion. This aroused the hostility of the merchant leaders of his native city, who derived much of their wealth from pilgrimages to Mecca and its surrounding cities. Forced to flee from his enemies, Muhammad went to Yathrib (later renamed Medina), where he became ruler. The Muslim era is dated from the first day (July 16, 622, in the Western calendar) of the lunar year in which the Hegira took place, and the abbreviation A.H. is used with that year (A.H. 1) and subsequent years.

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The Hijra (هِجْرَة), or withdrawal, is the emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word in the Latin alphabet are Hijrah, or Hegira in Latin.

Technically the first Hijra occurred in 615, when a band of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to the Kingdom of Axum, which was ruled by a Christian king (see Islam in Ethiopia). Muhammad himself did not join this emigration. In that year, his followers were fleeing from Mecca's leading tribe, the Quraysh, who sent emissaries to bring them back to Arabia, but the King of Axum protected Muhammad's followers. Since then, Muhammad instructed his followers who came to Axum, to respect and protect Axum as well as live in peace with its Christians.

Not many more in Mecca were willing to listen to the teachings Muhammad was preaching and their opposition and persecution kept growing. After receiving invitation from the people of Yathrib for him and his followers, they decided to emigrate from Mecca.

He and his followers emigrated to the city of Yathrib, 320 km north of Mecca, in September 622. Yathrib was soon renamed Madinat un-Nabi, the City of the Prophet, Medina in English. The Muslim year during which the Hijra occurred was designated the first year of the Islamic calendar by Umar in 638, 17 AH (anno hegirae = "in the year of the hijra"). In the following chronology the city will be referred to as Medina, and the region surrounding it as Yathrib.

Chronology of the second Hijra

• Day 1: Thursday 26 Safar AH 1, 9 September 622
  • Left home in Mecca. Stayed three days in the Cave of Thawr near Mecca.
• Day 5: Monday 1 Rabi' I AH 1, 13 September 622
  • Left the environs of Mecca. Traveled to the region of Yathrib.
• Day 12: Monday 8 Rabi' I AH 1, 20 September 622
  • Arrived at Quba' near Medina.
• Day 16: Friday 12 Rabi' I AH 1, 24 September 622
  • First visit to Medina for Friday prayers.
• Day 26: Monday 22 Rabi' I AH 1, 4 October 622
  • Moved from Quba' to Medina.

The Muslim dates are in the Islamic calendar extended back in time. The Western dates are in the Julian calendar. The Hijra is celebrated annually on 8 Rabi' I, about 66 days after 1 Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year. Many writers confuse the first day of the year of the Hijra with the Hijra itself, erroneously stating that the Hijra occurred on 1 Muharram AH 1 or 16 July 622.

All dates given above may have occurred about 89 days (three lunar months) earlier in the Julian calendar. The calendar conversions quoted above may not have been corrected by early Muslims for the intercalary months (probably three) which had been inserted in the lunar calendar between the year of the Hijra and the year of Muhammad's last Hajj (AH 10), when intercalary months were forbidden.

See also

• Battle of Badr
• Sira
• list of Islamic terms in Arabic

References

• F. A. Shamsi, "The Date of Hijrah", Islamic Studies 23 (1984): 189-224, 289-323.

External links

• IslamiCity.com article on the Hijrah
• Articles, audios on the Hijrah

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