When Is Muslim New Year 2023: The Lunar Calendar’s first month, Muharram, will start in the evening on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, and end on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. It is important to know that this date is different in each country. That day was picked because it matches the expected sighting of the lunar crescent, which happens after the new moon in the month of Muharram.
This estimation of the time of the sighting, however, introduces error, leading to differences of up to two days in the exact start of the New Year. Geographical location affects this difference.
Muslims give the month of Muharram, which starts on July 30, a lot of importance. This special event happens once a year to celebrate the Islamic New Year and give people a chance to think and reflect.
Islamic New Year 2023: What Do Muslims Celebrate?
There are some differences between the Islamic New Year’s celebration and the usual ones that happen from December 31 to January 1. According to Muslims, the New Year doesn’t have a set date because they follow their own calendar tradition, which is full of religious and historical meaning.
The Hijrah, which was Prophet Muhammad’s trip from Mecca to Madinah in 622 AD, is remembered during the Islamic New Year, which also starts the Hijri New Year. Significant events in Muslim history happened during this time.
Immediately after the Hijrah, Prophet Muhammad said that Islam was a worldwide brotherhood with its own identity based on faith and ideology. Prophet’s trusted friend Umar ibn Al-Khattab later made the Hijra the most important date in the Islamic calendar.
Muslim calendar’s first month and second holiest month after Ramadan is Muharram, which starts with this important ceremony.
In Islam, the year 1445 starts on July 19, 2023, which is also the Islamic New Year. Using the lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the Earth’s rotation and revolution around the Sun, the Islamic New Year is celebrated on a different day each year.
Which Islamic New year is it?
The Islamic Calendar is set to 1445 on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, which means that the current year is 1444. Notably, the Islamic calendar started keeping track of years in the year 622. The Islamic year is about 11 days shorter than the Western year.
Muslims often refer to the Hijri year, which is written as AH and means “in the year of the Hijra.” For Muslims, Awal Muharram, which is also called the Hijri New Year, is a special day because it combines two important dates in the Islamic calendar.
In Islam, the day starts at sunset, according to the calendar. Due to the eleven or twelve-day shorter Islamic year, the Gregorian New Year is celebrated on a different day every year. Remind yourself that a new year means starting over as you reflect and celebrate today.
What is the Muslim new year called?
Starting on both the Islamic and lunar calendars, the Arabic New Year, also called Hijri New Year, lasts for 354 days. It all started in the year 622 according to the Gregorian calendar, when Prophet Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Medina.
Because the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Western calendar, the Hijri New Year is celebrated on a different day every year.
Millions of Muslims around the world celebrate Muharram, the month of remembering, with prayers and other traditions. A person’s name “Hijri” comes from the Arabic word “Hijra,” which means “migration.” As a tribute to the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 AD, the Islamic calendar was created.
Did Muslims celebrate the new year?
Participants in the Muslim New Year celebrate by doing a variety of meaningful activities that focus on reflection and remembering:
Personal Reflection and Meditation: The Islamic New Year is a time to think about oneself and reflect. While Muslims are fasting, they think about their personal growth, the past year, and their plans for the future.
Prayer and Fasting: A lot of Muslims avoid eating or drinking until the tenth day of Muharram and then gather with family and friends to pray. Through this spiritual practice, the community grows a stronger sense of commitment and belonging.
Honoring Ashura: Today is a celebration of the Battle of Karbala, which is also known as Ashura. A big battle took place on October 10, 680, or 661 AH on the Islamic calendar, between the soldiers of Yazid I, the second Umayyad caliph, and a smaller army led by Husayn Ibn Ali, who was the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Respecting Husayn Ibn Ali: On the anniversary of his death in the Battle of Karbala, people pay tribute to him on Ashura. Some Shia Muslims practice more extreme rituals, like slapping themselves, while Sunni Muslims honor the Prophet by singing.
History of Muslim New Year
Muslim beliefs led to religious persecution in the seventh century CE, especially in Mecca and nearby areas. Prophet Muhammad and his followers, who became known as the Hijra, moved to what is now called Medina in response. On this occasion, Muhammad wrote a Constitution outlining the rights and duties of Muslims. The Islamic New Year is a celebration of this important event in Islamic history.
On the first day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar year, Muslims all over the world celebrate a very important holiday. The entire month is holy, and the tenth day, Ashura, is a celebration of historical events like when Moses crossed the Red Sea and when Noah escaped from the Ark. Fasting during Ramadan is more solemn than celebrating Ashura.
The Shia Muslim community also remembers the death of Hussein, Muhammad’s grandson. Traditional chest-bashing processions are happening right now for Shia people in Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Lebanon, and Pakistan as part of funeral rites.
Do Muslims celebrate New Year’s Eve?
Celebrations of New Year’s Eve may be considered to be a sign of imitating non-Muslims that’s something Islam prohibits.
Laws, rules, and guidelines found in the Quran and Sunnah are very important in Islamic teachings. Others think that celebrating religious holidays that aren’t Islamic goes against these beliefs. Though many cultures hold New Year’s Eve in high regard, Islam does not celebrate it or acknowledge its cultural importance. Therefore, doing these things is against Islamic law.
Engaging in actions that go against Islamic principles is not allowed, and Muslims are encouraged to observe their own religious holidays. Upholding the principles of the Quran and Sunnah, keeping an Islamic way of life, and promoting unity are what are emphasized. This strategy makes sure that people put their faith first and stay away from anything that might make them less devoted to Islamic values.
Is it Muslim new year today?
The Islamic New Year — also known as the Arabic New Year or Hijri New Year — is the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. The first year of this calendar began in Gregorian CE 622 when the Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina with his companions.
In Islam, the Islamic New Year, which is also called the Arabic New Year or the Hijri New Year, starts the first month of the year, Muharram. It started in the Gregorian year 622 CE, at the same time that the Prophet Muhammad and his followers made the dramatic trip from Mecca to Medina. Each day begins at sunset on the Islamic calendar, which is 11–12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar. This is why the event happens on different dates every year.
Muslim communities all over the world celebrate the Islamic New Year with prayers and traditions. For Muslims, Muharram is the month of remembering and is very important. “Hijri” comes from the word “Hijra,” which means “migration.” That year, 622 AD, Prophet Muhammad went from Mecca to Medina and started the Islamic calendar. This time period is central to the Islamic calendar because it has spiritual and historical importance in Islamic history.
Do Muslims celebrate new year 2023?
The Islamic New Year, 1 Muharram 1445 Hijriah, falls on Wednesday (19/7/2023), while the Javanese New Year, 1 Sura 1957 (Jimawal), falls on Thursday (20/7/2023). Although both these calendars belong to the lunar calendar system, each calendar has its own rules.
A celebration of the beginning of the new lunar Hijri year, also called the Islamic New Year, the Hijri New Year changes the way years are counted. According to most Muslims around the world, the Islamic calendar starts on the first day of Muharram.
1445 is the first day of Muharram, and Saudi Arabia has declared July 19 to be the Islamic New Year. Today is going to be earlier than July 18, when the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah ends with the sighting of the crescent moon. Therefore, Saudi Arabia will celebrate the first day of Muharram on July 19, 2013. On July 20, India will celebrate the first day of Muharram. This date might be different depending on when the crescent moon can be seen in relation to the Islamic calendar.
Why don’t Muslims celebrate New Year?
According to most scholars, it is not permissible for Muslims to celebrate and greet on the Gregorian new year because it is considered an intimation of other religious beliefs and it’s not part of Islamic teachings. The Prophet Muhammad (PUBH) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”
Numerous Muslims are happy on New Year’s Day every year. People’s tweets, Facebook status updates, and even New Year’s Eve parties, especially in the West, show how excited they are. It’s unclear whether these celebrations are in line with Islamic teachings, even though they seem like harmless cultural practices that don’t have a clear religious meaning.
Our Muslim calendar has been used for 1400 years. To properly worship Allah, we must follow the lunar calendar, even if we have to switch to the Gregorian calendar sometimes for reasons outside of our control. Using the Hijri calendar, which was created by our dear friend Umar (peace be upon him), the Islamic New Year starts on the first of Muharram. We should think about whether our actions are in line with Islamic teachings and how important it is to pray at the exact times each day according to the lunar calendar.
Is Lunar New Year Islamic New Year?
The Islamic New Year (also called the Hijri New Year or 1 Muharram) is determined by the Islamic calendar, a purely lunar calendar that ignores the solar cycle that is used to reset lunisolar calendars. Lunar New Year celebrations in East and Central Asia, such as Chinese New Year, are based on a lunisolar calendar.
As a tribute to the historic Hijra, or journey from Mecca to Medina by Prophet Muhammad and his companions in 622 CE, the first day of the Islamic calendar is called the Islamic New Year. The Hijra is very important because it starts the Islamic calendar, which started with the birth of the Prophet Muhammad or the first revelation in 610 CE.
Prior to the Hijra, Muslims in Mecca were a small minority who were hated and persecuted by the city’s main groups. When Muhammad’s followers refused to believe that he was a prophet and that God was one, they faced problem. Although they were on their way to Christian Abyssinia, some Muslims found temporary shelter. According to the year 622 CE, Prophet Muhammad moved to Yathrib with about 200 followers.
The name of this place, Medinat an-Nabi, which means “City of the Prophet,” was quickly shortened to Medina. At Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad started the first Islamic community, he wrote down the rights and duties of every citizen in a book called the “Constitution of Medina.” This charter gave Muslims’ rights protection and explained how Muslims should interact with other religious groups.
People celebrate the Islamic New Year with great reverence because it remembers the historic journey of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Makkah to Madinah. A physical exodus and the founding of the first Islamic state happened at this time in history, making it a turning point in Islam. Being a beacon for the Muslim community, the day brings attention to the core beliefs of Islam and the unity of the Muslim community, or ummah.
Starting a new year gives Muslims a chance to learn more about their beliefs, which are what hold their community together. Spiritual and introspective thinking are encouraged during this time, which makes connections with Allah, the Almighty stronger. As believers begin this journey of self-discovery, the Islamic New Year becomes a symbol of rebirth. It gives them a chance to grow in their faith, ask for forgiveness, and get closer to the holy path. Fundamentally, the event isn’t just a way to celebrate the start of a new year; it’s a deep spiritual journey that strengthens the Muslim community’s beliefs and bonds them together.
