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The Hijra (???????) is the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad

Muhammad Patronymic#Arabic Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib , is the founder of the Major religious groups of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a Rasul and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets....
 and his followers to the city of Medina
Medina

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad....
 in 622 (Common Era
Common Era

Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used in the Western world, and also internationally, for numbering the year part of the calendar date....
). Alternate spellings of this Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 word in the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. It evolved from the western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumae alphabet, and was initially developed by the Ancient Romes to write the Latin....
 are Hijrah, or Hegira in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
.

eptember 622, Muhammad and his followers emigrated to the city of Yathrib, 320 km north of Mecca
Mecca

Mecca , also spelled Makkah , Makka is a city in Saudi Arabia. Home to the Masjid al-Haram, it is the holy city in Islam and plays an important role in the faith....
. Yathrib was soon renamed Madinat un-Nabi, literally "the City of the Prophet", but un-Nabi was soon dropped, so its name in English is Medina
Medina

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad....
, meaning "the city".






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The Hijra (???????) is the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad

Muhammad Patronymic#Arabic Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib , is the founder of the Major religious groups of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a Rasul and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets....
 and his followers to the city of Medina
Medina

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad....
 in 622 (Common Era
Common Era

Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used in the Western world, and also internationally, for numbering the year part of the calendar date....
). Alternate spellings of this Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 word in the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. It evolved from the western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumae alphabet, and was initially developed by the Ancient Romes to write the Latin....
 are Hijrah, or Hegira in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
.

Hijra of Muhammad

In September 622, Muhammad and his followers emigrated to the city of Yathrib, 320 km north of Mecca
Mecca

Mecca , also spelled Makkah , Makka is a city in Saudi Arabia. Home to the Masjid al-Haram, it is the holy city in Islam and plays an important role in the faith....
. Yathrib was soon renamed Madinat un-Nabi, literally "the City of the Prophet", but un-Nabi was soon dropped, so its name in English is Medina
Medina

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad....
, meaning "the city". The Muslim year during which the Hijra occurred was designated the first year of the Islamic calendar
Islamic calendar

The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar used to date events in many predominantly Muslim countries, and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days and festivals....
 by Umar
Umar

Umar , also known as Umar the Great or Omar the Great was a Muslim from the Banu Adi clan of the Quraysh Tribes of Arabia, and a sahaba of Muhammad....
 in 638 or 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.

  • 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'
      Quba Mosque

      The Quba Mosque just outside Medina, Saudi Arabia, is the first mosque ever built and the oldest mosque of Saudi Arabia. Its first stones were positioned by the prophet Muhammad on his hijra from the city of Mecca to Medina and the mosque was completed by his companions....
       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
Julian calendar

The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus....
. The lunar year is about 300/309 solar year. 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. The Muslim dates may be those recorded in the original Arabic calendar and their month names may not have been changed to account for the (probably three) intercalary months
Intercalation

Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months....
 inserted during the next nine years until intercalary months were prohibited during the year of Muhammad's last Hajj
Hajj

The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca . It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so....
 (AH 10).

First Hijra

Technically, the first Hijra occurred in 615 when a band of Muslims was 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
Islam in Ethiopia

According to the latest 1994 national census, Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615 ....
). Muhammad himself did not join this emigration. In that year, his followers fled Mecca's leading tribe, the Quraysh
Quraysh

Quraysh or Quraish was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam. It was the tribe to which the Islamic Prophet Muhammad belonged, as well as the tribe that led the initial opposition to his message....
, who sent emissaries to Axum to bring them back to Arabia. The nascent movement faced growing opposition and persecution. When Muhammad and his followers received an invitation from the people of Yathrib, they decided to leave Mecca.

See also

  • Battle of Badr
    Battle of Badr

    The Battle of Badr , fought March 17, 624 AD Hejaz region of western Arabia , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca....
  • Sira
    Sira

    Sirah Rasul Allah or Sirat Nabawiyya is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, from which most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived....
  • list of Islamic terms in Arabic
    List of Islamic terms in Arabic

    The following list consists of concepts that are derived from both Islamic culture and Arab tradition, which are expressed as words in the Arabic language....


External links