HAPPY NEW YEAR 1431

The Islamic new year (1^st Muharram 1431) fell on Friday, exactly 1 week before 1^st January 2010.

Muslims consider this day to commemorate the Hijrah or emigration of Muhammad to Madinah city.

Unlike the New Year celebrations of other cultures, the Islamic New Year is celebrated quietly. Prayers are offered and readings from Quran are done throughout the day. Muslims do not traditionally celebrate the starting of a new year but they take time to reflect upon human mortality. The most important aspect of the Islamic New Year is the narration of the story of the Flight to Madinah.

The Islamic calendar was first introduced by the close companion of the Prophet saw, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab. During his leadership of the Muslim community, in approximately 638 A.D., he consulted with his advisors in order to come to a decision regarding the various dating systems used at that time. It was agreed that the most appropriate reference point for the Islamiccalendar was the Hijrah, since it was an important turning point for the Muslim community. After the emigration to Madinah (formerly known as Yathrib), the Muslims were able to organize and establish the first real Muslim "community," with social, political, and economic independence. Life in Madinah allowed the Muslim community to mature and strengthen, and the people developed an entire society based on Islamic principles.

The Islamic year has twelve months that are based on a lunar cycle. Allah swt says in the Quran:

"The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year) - so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth...." (9:36).

"It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory, and the moon to be a light of beauty, and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count of time. Allah did not create this except in truth and righteousness. And He explains His signs in detail, for those who understand" (10:5).

And in his final sermon before his death, the Prophet Muhammad saw said, among other things, "With Allah the months aretwelve; four of them are holy; three of these are successive and one occurssingly between the months of Jamaadil and Sha'ban."

Islamic months begin at sunset of the first day, the day when the lunar crescent is visually sighted. The lunar year is approximately 354 days long, so the months rotate backward through the seasons and are not fixed to the Gregorian calendar. The months of the Islamic year are:

1. Muharram ("Forbidden" - it is one of the four months during which it is forbidden to wage war or fight)

2. Safar ("Empty" or "Yellow")

3. Rabiul Awal ("First spring")

4. Rabiul Thani/Akhir ("Second spring")

5. Jamaadil Awal ("First freeze")

6. Jamaadil Thani/Akhir ("Second freeze")

7. Rajab ("To respect" - this is another holy month when fighting is prohibited)

8. Sha'ban ("To spread and distribute")

9. Ramadhan ("Parched thirst" - this is the month of daytime fasting)

10. Shawwal ("To be light and vigorous")

11. Dzulkaedah ("The month of rest" - another month when no warfare or fighting is allowed)

12. Dzulhijjah ("The month of Hajj" - this is the month of the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, again when no warfare or fighting is allowed)

To all my Muslim brothers and sisters, Happy New Year – May we always be in the protection of Allah swt.