The Danger of Deviating from the Hijri Calendar
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When the Muslims increased in number and spread across the earth, and their transactions and circumstances changed from the initial state, they needed to establish a calendar to follow. This occurred during the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).So some of them said: We begin the year in Rabi' al-Awwal because it is the month in which the revelation was first sent down to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and because it is the month in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated and arrived in Madinah, establishing the state and the community. However, the opinion settled on making Muharram the first month of the year because it is when people finish the Hajj season and depart from it.
As we know, Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. Thus, the Muslims would have completed this great pillar and rested afterward, especially in the past when they were exhausted from traveling to Makkah and returning from it. They saw that the year should begin in the month of Muharram. This is a successful and sound opinion. It is not befitting for us, the Muslims, to turn away from it to the calendar of the disbelieving nation, which bases its timing on imaginary months that have no basis and are merely conventional. Furthermore, we should not consider the Gregorian years, because we have the Hijri years, which are a symbol of our honor, strength, and dignity.
We regret that some people today, who are a minority, have begun dating by the Gregorian calendar and have deviated from their Islamic Hijri calendar, which was established by the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and upon which the Muslims agreed. We have not found any scholar who dated events in the past by the Gregorian calendar; rather, they dated them by the Hijri calendar. For example, "he assumed the caliphate in such-and-such year of the Hijra," or "such-and-such scholar was born in such-and-such year and died in such-and-such year," or "such-and-such event occurred in such-and-such year," all by the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).Meaning: from the Hijrah, the scholar so-and-so was born in such-and-such a year and died in such-and-such a year, such-and-such an event occurred in such-and-such a year, using the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and in these books today, when a person finishes a composition, he writes: I finished composing it on such-and-such a day, in such-and-such a month of such-and-such a year, all in the Hijri calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar entered among the Muslims when the Christians colonized the lands of the Muslims in the Levant, Egypt, and Iraq, and they gained dominance and control; because custom, nature, and the innate disposition dictate that the conquered imitate the conqueror. For this reason, they adopted this calendar. But this state—Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as a state—has established its calendar, as in the issued system of governance, to be the Hijri calendar. This is undoubtedly better, but we regret that some people have abandoned this and have begun dating by the Gregorian calendar, even though the state's system stipulates that its calendar is the Hijri one, and indeed the system of the Muslim community has been so since this calendar was established in the era of 'Umar until this day.
So we ask Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to grant us and you the ability to follow our righteous predecessors in creed, methodology, morals, etiquette, and dealings. Indeed, He is capable of all things.
As we know, Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. Thus, the Muslims would have completed this great pillar and rested afterward, especially in the past when they were exhausted from traveling to Makkah and returning from it. They saw that the year should begin in the month of Muharram. This is a successful and sound opinion. It is not befitting for us, the Muslims, to turn away from it to the calendar of the disbelieving nation, which bases its timing on imaginary months that have no basis and are merely conventional. Furthermore, we should not consider the Gregorian years, because we have the Hijri years, which are a symbol of our honor, strength, and dignity.
We regret that some people today, who are a minority, have begun dating by the Gregorian calendar and have deviated from their Islamic Hijri calendar, which was established by the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and upon which the Muslims agreed. We have not found any scholar who dated events in the past by the Gregorian calendar; rather, they dated them by the Hijri calendar. For example, "he assumed the caliphate in such-and-such year of the Hijra," or "such-and-such scholar was born in such-and-such year and died in such-and-such year," or "such-and-such event occurred in such-and-such year," all by the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).Meaning: from the Hijrah, the scholar so-and-so was born in such-and-such a year and died in such-and-such a year, such-and-such an event occurred in such-and-such a year, using the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and in these books today, when a person finishes a composition, he writes: I finished composing it on such-and-such a day, in such-and-such a month of such-and-such a year, all in the Hijri calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar entered among the Muslims when the Christians colonized the lands of the Muslims in the Levant, Egypt, and Iraq, and they gained dominance and control; because custom, nature, and the innate disposition dictate that the conquered imitate the conqueror. For this reason, they adopted this calendar. But this state—Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as a state—has established its calendar, as in the issued system of governance, to be the Hijri calendar. This is undoubtedly better, but we regret that some people have abandoned this and have begun dating by the Gregorian calendar, even though the state's system stipulates that its calendar is the Hijri one, and indeed the system of the Muslim community has been so since this calendar was established in the era of 'Umar until this day.
So we ask Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to grant us and you the ability to follow our righteous predecessors in creed, methodology, morals, etiquette, and dealings. Indeed, He is capable of all things.