Explaining the virtue of the month of Allah, Muharram, and what is prescribed in it.

Question:
There is no doubt that the month of Allah, Muharram, is a month with its own distinction and status, and with it this year begins. We ask of your excellence to explain the virtue of this month and what is prescribed in it, and also the virtue of the Day of 'Ashura?

Answer:
Answer: As for the beginning of the year, it is a conventional matter in the era of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When he established the Hijri calendar to organize the letters coming to him from his governors, letters would arrive and he would not know when they were issued or when they were written. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) established the calendar and made it begin from the month of Muharram because it is the month in which the pilgrims arrive and return to their homelands, and because it is the most beloved of the months to Allah after Ramadan, the month of Allah, Muharram. So the calendar began from Muharram, even though the Hijra occurred during the year; it took place during the year, but he (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to make it start from the beginning of Muharram, because it is a sacred month and because it is the time when the pilgrims arrive on their camels at their appointed time. So he began the Hijri year from the month of Muharram.