CHAPTER 39: NOTABLE EVENTS AND OCCURRENCES OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE HIJRAH OF THE PROPHET
NOTABLE EVENTS AND OCCURRENCES OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE HIJRAH OF THE PROPHET
The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, agreed in the 16th, 17th or 18th year (of hijrah) during the reign of Umar to begin the history of Islam from the year of Hijrah. This was when the Commander of the faithful, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab received from Yemen a draft for some money between two men which was due in Sha’aban. Umar asked: “Which Sha’ban? Is it the Sha’ban of this year, of the previous or of the coming year?” So Umar convened an assembly of the Companions to seek their advice on establishing a calendar system by which the due dates of loans and other events shall be calculated.
Someone suggested that the Persian calendar should be adopted. After discussion, he disliked the proposal because the Roman calendar is based on the epochs of their kings, one after the other.
It was next considered whether the Roman calendar might be adopted. The Roman calendar was based on the epoch of King Alexander Ibn Feelibbus Al-Maqdooni. Again, Umar detested this idea. Someone suggested that the era should begin from the date of the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). Some suggested that it should begin from his death. Another suggested that it should begin from the date the Muslims migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah while another suggestion prefers the
date Allah’s Messenger died.
After much discussion, Umar tended toward the choice of the date of the Hijrah of Allah’s Messenger because of its popularity and fame and they all agreed with him on that.
Al-Bukhari related in his saheeh that Sahl Ibn Sa’d said: “The Prophet’s Companions did not take as a starting date for the Muslim calendar, the day, the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) had been sent as a Messenger or the day of his death, but the day of his arrival at Al-Madinah.”
Ibn Jareer related that Uthman Ibn Mihsan narrated that Ibn Abbas used to say concerning the statement of Allah: “By the dawn; By the ten nights (i.e. the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah)” “That is Al-Muharram, the outset of the year.
It is also related from Ubaid Ibn Umair that he said: Muharram is the month of Allah and it is the beginning of the year in which the House (Ka’bah) is draped and by which the people know the date…” meaning that they begin Islamic date from the year of Hijrah and they made the first month of the year to be Muharram according to what
is more popular among them. This is the opinion of the majority of Imams.
Suhaili and others also reported that Imam Malik said: “The first month of the Islamic year is the month of Rabee’ ul-Awwal for it is the month in which Allah’s Messenger migrated. “In another place, Suhaili adduced as evidence the statement of Allah: “mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety…” (At-Tawbah
[9]:108) i.e. on the first day Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) appeared in Madinah which is the first day of the Islamic calendar as agreed upon by the Companions that the first calendar year is the year of Hijrah. No doubt, this is more fitting in the opinion of Imam Malik, Allah have mercy on him. However, implementation runs contrary to his opinion because the first of the months of Arab was Muharram so it was made the year of the Hijrah the first year of Islam and they made Muharram its first month as is well known so that the order may not be confused. And Allah knows best.
We say, from Allah is the source of help, the year of the blessed Hijrah commenced while Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was resident in Makkah and the Ansar had given their second pledge of Aqabah and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) had permitted the Muslims to migrate
to Madinah. Subsequently, many of the Companions migrated to Madinah until no one who is capable of migrating remained except Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr waited so as to accompany him on the way as we mentioned earlier. Then he left in the manner we had extensively described earlier on while Ali Ibn Abi Talib stayed behind after the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) on his order to restore to their owners the property left in his care then he caught up with them at Quba. Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) arrived on Monday close to the time the sun declined from the zenith of the midday.
When the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) arrived Al-Madinah, the first place he stayed was the residence of Banu Amr Ibn ‘Awf at Quba as mentioned earlier. He stayed there according to a more popular opinion, for more than twenty nights and eighteen nights according to another opinion. Yet another opinion puts his
stay at about ten nights. Moosa Ibn ‘Uqbah said: he stayed for three nights. The most popular view according to Ibn Ishaq and others is that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) stayed with them at Quba from Monday till Friday. Within these different periods, he established the Mosque of Quba. Suhaili claimed
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) established it on the first day of his arrival at Quba and based his claim on the statement of Allah:
“Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on
piety.” (At-Tawbah [9]:108)
From the analysis of the statement, it is clear that what was established on the first day is the same honorable and praiseworthy mosque about which Allah revealed:
“Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure (i.e. who cleaned their private parts with dust [i.e. to be considered as soap) and water from urine and stools, after answering the call of nature].” (At-Tawbah[9]:108) As we have repeatedly mentioned in the Tafseer. We also mentioned the Hadith that is recorded in Saheeh Muslim that the mosque in question is rather the Mosque in Al-Madinah and the response to it.
We also mentioned the Hadith which is related by Imam Ahmad from Uwaim Ibn Sa’idah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) came to them in the Mosque of Quba and said: “Allah has commended you with a most beautiful praise concerning the purification in your mosque. So what is this purification to which you are used?” They responded: “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we do not know any other reason except that we noticed that our Jewish neighbors used to wash their backside after the call of nature and we washed our own backsides as they did.”
By Ibn Katheer
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