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Hijri era

Era in the Islamic calendar

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In the West, dates in the lunar Hijri calendar are denoted as AH (Latin: Anno Hegirae) or Hijri year (Arabic: سنة هجرية, romanized: sanat hijriyya, lit. 'in the year of the Hijra') in the style of the Christian (AD), Common (CE) and Jewish eras (AM) and can similarly be placed before (preferably) or after the date. In predominantly Muslim countries, it is also commonly abbreviated H ("Hijra") from its Arabic abbreviation hāʾ (هـ). Years prior to AH 1 are reckoned in English as BH ("Before the Hijra"), which follows the date. Dates in the solar Hijri calendar are denoted as SH. The current year since the Hijra is AH 1448 according to the lunar calendar and SH 1405 according to the solar calendar. The growing difference in numbering of currently 42–43 years arises because a lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar year.

The solar Hijri year corresponds closely with the Gregorian, but its year begins on the March equinox rather than on 1 January, so the era offset toggles between 622 years for almost three months and 621 years for over nine months. The beginning of the lunar Hijri year, on the other hand, moves earlier by at least ten days each solar year, because twelve lunar months amount to only 354 or 355 days.

The current Gregorian year 2026 CE corresponds to the Persian years SH 1404 – 1405 and to the Islamic years AH 1447 – 1448; conversely, SH 1405 and AH 1448 correspond to 2026 – 2027 CE. Some solar years cover a full lunar year and some days of adjacent years on both ends, e.g. 1976, 2008 and 2041 CE or 1380 SH. In 2034 CE, the solar and lunar Hijri years will begin within two days of each other.

Definition

The Hijri era is calculated according to the Islamic lunar calendar, whose epoch (first year) is the year of Muhammad's Hijrah, and begins on the first day of the month of Muharram (equivalent to the Julian calendar date of July 16, 622 CE).

The date of the Hijrah itself did not form the Islamic New Year. Instead, the system continues the earlier ordering of the months, with the Hijrah occurring around the 8th day of Rabi al-Awwal, 66 days into the first year.

Shia view

Unlike Sunnis, Twelver Shias start the Hijri year with the month of the Hijra, Rabi' al-Awwal, rejecting that Muharram is the start of a new year. As a result of this, the dates of some events are described differently by one year. For example, Shias state that the Muharram-transpiring battle of Karbala occurred 60 years after the Hijra, while Sunnis state it to have occurred 61 years after.

In Shia Islam, the calendar year is entirely determined by solar observation or calculation. The first day of the new year is determined by the moment of the Northern hemisphere spring equinox. Therefore, the difference between lunar and solar Hijri era counts has grown to 42–43 years now.

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Coordinated Universal TimePrimary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and timeRadarObject detection system using radio wavesGlobal Positioning SystemAmerican satellite-based radio navigation serviceGregorian calendarInternationally accepted civil calendarJulian calendarSolar calendarIslamic calendarLunar calendar used by most Muslims