Islamic New Year
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The Hijri New Year, also known as Islamic new year (Arabic: رأس السنة الهجرية Ras as-Sanah al-Hijriyah) is the day that marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. The first day of the year is observed on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar.
The event also commemorates the death of Mohammed’s grandson Imam Hussein who, along with his family and followers, was martyred in the battle of Karbala in 680 which took place on the tenth day of the month of Muharram. This is celebrated by Shia Muslims with public enactments of grief. Sunni Muslims celebrate the day according to the Sunnah of Mohammed. Finding some Jews fasting on this day, he enquired of them why they fasted. They replied that it was in honor of Moses. Mohammed then said that Islam honored Moses more highly and established a two day fast for Muharram. This fast was in effect before the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
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[edit] Date with respect to Gregorian calendar
Since the Islamic year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Islamic new year does not come on the same day of the Gregorian calendar every year (see Islamic calendar). While some Islamic organizations prefer determining the new month (and hence the new year) dates by local sighting of the moon,[1] most Islamic institutions and countries, including Saudi Arabia[2], follow astronomical calculations to determine future dates of the Islamic calendar.
There are various schemes for calculating the tabular Islamic calendar (i.e. not based on observation), which results in differences of typically one day between countries using such schemes, and in some instances up to two days. For example, the The Umm al-Qura Calendar used in Saudia Arabia was reformed several times in modern years. The current scheme has been introduced in AH 1423 (15 March 2002).[3]
The day in the Islamic calendar is defined to begin at sunset. For example, 1 Muharram 1432 was defined to correspond to 7 or 8 December 2010 in official calendars (depending on conutry). For an observation-based calendar. a sighting of the New Moon at sunset of 6 December would mean that 1 Muharram lasted from the moment of sunset of 6 December to the moment of sunset of 7 December, while in places where the New Moon was not sighted on 6 December, 1 Muharram would last from the moment of sunset of 7 December to the moment of sunset of 8 December. [4]
The following dates on the Gregorian calendar correspond to the Islamic new year:
| Islamic Year | Gregorian Date |
|---|---|
| 1430 AH | 28/29 December 2008 |
| 1431 AH | 17/18 December 2009 |
| 1432 AH | 7/8 December 2010 |
| 1433 AH | 26/27 November 2011 |
| 1434 AH | 14/15 November 2012 |
| 1435 AH | 4/5 November 2013 |
| 1436 AH | 24/25 October 2014 |
| 1437 AH | 13/14/15 October 2015 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Islamic Crescents' Observation Project
- ^ [1] Islamic Crescents' Observation Project: Saudi Dating System
- ^ Robert Harry van Gent, The Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia
- ^ Islamic Crescents' Observation Project, Visibility of Muharram Crescent 1432 AH; seen on 6 December in Algeria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
[edit] External links
- Hijri and Gregorian Calendar, Date Conversion on islamicfinder.org
- Islamic New Year (BBC Religion)
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