The Hijri calendar is an Islamic calendar system based on the circulation of the moon which is also called the qamariyah calendar. Then how can the calendar based on the Hijri calendar based on the rotation of the month be made and what is it made for? let's look at the discussion below.
1. Muharram was originally not the "beginning" month of hijrah
The month of Allah Muharram is among the forbidden months, from Abi Bakroh – Radiyyallaahu 'Anhu –, from the Prophet -Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam-, he said: "Indeed, time has turned as it should, (it was determined) on the day Allah created the sky and earth. There are twelve months in a year, of which there are four noble months. Three of them in a row, namely Dzul Qa'dah, Dzul Hijjah, and Muharram. And the month of Rajab (which is exalted) Bani Mudhor which comes between Jumadil tsani and Sha'ban.' 1
So you can pay attention that the Prophet -Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam- has determined the month of Muharram, He did not put it in order at the beginning of the year nor at the end. And there is no argument that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam determined the beginning of the year or the end. He only reported that the number of months with Allah is 12 months.
What is stated in the word of Allaah Ta'ala: "Surely the number of months in sisj Allah is twelve months, (as) in Allah's decree when He created the heavens and the Earth, among which there were four forbidden months. That is the (statutory) of the straight religion, so do not wrong yourself in that (fourth month),"] 2
The above verses and hadith show that the number of months in the sight of Allah is 12 months without specifying the first and last. So we know that there is no beginning and end of the year from the existing months so that it can be said that this month is the beginning of the year and this month is the end of the year.
2. Due to the agreement of Ulama that the beginning of the year begins with the month of Muharram
First: If there is no good argument from the Qur'an and hadith regarding the determination of the beginning and end of the year, then where does the order come from?
The answer: that the beginning of the year begins with the month of Muharram (named the Hijri calendar), it is known from the custom of hadith scholars and history that the Prophet Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam migrated from the City of Mecca to the City of Medina in the month of Robi'ul Awwal in the 13th year of his prophethood, and entered the City of Medina on the night of 12 Robi'ul Awwal. 3
So of course His migration did not occur in the month of Muharram, so during the leadership of Umar Ibnul Khoththob -Rodiyyallaahu 'anhu- a calendar was made, and He and the other companions of the Prophet chose that the year (hijriah) start from the time when the Prophet's migration -Shallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam -.
Imam Al-Bukhoriy -Rohimahullaah- mentions in his Shohih book: Calendar chapter; when did they start the calendar?, then he narrated with his sanad from Sahl Ibn Sa'ad -Rodiyyallaahu 'anhu-, then he said: they did not count it from the prophethood of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam nor at the time of his death, they did not mention the beginning of the hijri calendar except from the time of his arrival to Medina.
Al-Hafizh Ibn Hajar said when explaining this history: they made the first year from the month of Robi'ul Awwal to Muharram because the Prophet's determination to migrate began in the month of Muharram, because the initiation took place in the middle of the month of Dzul Hijjah, this was because of the bidder atan was the beginning of his migration, and at that time the first month after he took bai'at and began to determine to move was the month of Muharram, so it was suitable to be used as the beginning of the year, and this is the strongest opinion in terms of the suitability of the month of Muharram as the beginning of the year. 4
Second: As for the reason for making the calendar: because Abu Musa Al-Asy'ariy – Rodiyyallaahu 'anhu- wrote a letter to Umar – Rodiyyallaahu 'anhu-: that we came to us with notes that have no date.
And in another narration that Umar Rodiyyallaahu 'anhu: when gathering friends, he said: actually the treasury has a lot of assets and we improve it without mentioning the time, so how can we be sure of this?
There are many opinions about this, then Umar said: make a calendar for the community so that they transact based on this, and when they become more certain about what they do in their transactions.
Then they agreed to make the calendar of the Islamic country from when the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam emigrated from Mecca to Medina, because the time of migration did not separate anyone, different from the time of his prophethood, because there was a dispute in this regard, and so did the time of birth He, as for the time of His death, it is not logically appropriate to be used as the beginning of the calendar. 5
From this we know that the Companions made a calendar again in a regulatory context, so they could distinguish between each year, not in the context of worship or reverence.
Notes
- Muttafaqun alaihi, bukhori: book of interpretation (4662), Muslim book of qiyamah (1679).
- Attabah 67.
- Bidayah wannihayah 188/3
- Fathul bari 270/8.
- Al i'lan bittaubikh, priest assakhowi (99).
Sunnah.
