Why Muslims Still Use the Hijri Calendar
Ezz Al-Turkey
The Islamic Hijri calendar is used to determine important Islamic festivals and months, but for Muslims living in the modern world, the passing of days, months, and years is usually computed using the Western Gregorian calendar.
For Muslims to properly traverse both their secular and spiritual lives, they must be aware of the names of months, days, and years in both Islamic and Gregorian scripts, as well as when they occur.
Under the leadership of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the third caliph of the Muslim world, the Islamic Hijri calendar was devised to denote the start of the Muslim community's global prominence and to provide Islamic names to the months of a calendar year. The Hijri calendar's first year, which is equivalent to 622 A.D. in the Gregorian calendar, commemorates the year that the Muslim community left Mecca to establish a new life in Medina.
The Hijri calendar is a 12-month lunar calendar that starts each month at the beginning of a new moon cycle. A Hijri calendar year is, on average, 10–12 days shorter than a Gregorian calendar year. The number of days in each month fluctuates based on the moon's cycles. The Hijri calendar's Islamic names are written in Arabic. Four of the calendar's twelve months—Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and Safar—are regarded as holy, and fighting is forbidden by Islam during these times.
There are dates in the Islamic Hijri calendar that are seen to be particularly auspicious for Muslims to carry out good actions. These include the month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast nonstop from sunrise to sunset, and Dhul Hijjah, which is when Muslims usually go to Mecca for the Hajj.
Because of the heightened benefits that occur during these months and on festivals like Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Muslims attach particular significance to the Islamic names of the months and utilize them as inspiration for religious devotion and charitable giving. Muslims can make their charitable giving have the same effect as days, months, or even years of devotion by choosing the appropriate time. Every Hijri year, many Muslims take advantage of several chances to repent.