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Al Qasim Newsletter
In the Quest for More Knowledge
Muharram, 1431
Hijrah and the Hijri Calender
S
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unni Islam is based on appreciating and applying the foundational constructs
of Islam that were raised by the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad . Without
acknowledging the role of the Companions in the crystallization of Islamic edicts,
we would be bereft of any legible reading of revelation (wahy).
To this end, the testimony of Abdullah ibn Mas’ood on the profound knowledge of
the Sahaba and their divinely inspired role in establishing the Deen (Islam) can be
used as a maxim of Islamic ‘aqeedah and practice:
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“For Umar, the Hijra,
then, was divinely
ordained to become a
timeless feat. For Umar,
human acts were
measured – not against
the index of created time
– but against Eternal
Divine recognition of
those acts.”
“Whoever desires to establish a regular practice (of Deen), let him do so by
emulating those who have passed away (and not those who are alive). This is
because the living are not safe from trial. Those (who have passed away) are the
companions of the Muhammad . They were the best of this ummah (community);
the most kind of heart; the most profound in knowledge and the least finicky. Allah
selected them to be in the company of His prophet
and to establish His Deen. So
recognize their merit and follow them in their traces because, indeed, they were
upon a (path of) straight guidance.”
Ibn Mas’ood recognizes the value of following the paradigm of those who are our
predecessors. But along with that, he also emphasizes the need to value their
achievements and contributions to Islam. Indeed when we look into how the Muslim
Hijri calendar was enacted, we are inevitably forced to ask the question: at what
point of time in Muslim history did this enactment take place? Why did the
Muslim community not determine the year of their glorious beginning during the life
of the Prophet
and Abu Bakr? We all know that the Hijri calendar was fixed by
Umar during his rule with the unanimous approval of the Companions. From that
time on, Muslims have dated their history from the year when the Prophet
and
Abu Bakr made Hijrah. Muslims have never questioned the fact that neither the
Prophet Muhammad , nor his companion in the cave actually ever spoke of such a
system of dating for the Muslim ummah. So by appreciating and applying the Hijri
dating system, Muslims have acknowledged the role of the Companions in raising
one of the foundational constructs of Islam as we know it today, that is, the
convention of the Hijri calendar. Sunni Islam, therefore, is not only based on what
the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad dictated, but also what the Sahaba did as a
community.
December 25th, 2009
W
PAGE 2
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hen faced with the problem of choosing which event represented
beginning of the Muslim calendar, the Companions chose neither the
event of the Prophet’s birth in this world, nor the event of this departure
from this world. Similarly, they did not choose the event of the first
revelation. Instead, Umar saw that the Qu
Quran (in Surah al-Taubah)
while It speaks of time, It immediately follows it by speaking of the
story of the Hijrah. Umar through
gh this perspicaciou
perspicacious genius saw a
Divine connection and linked the concept of time with the event of the
Hijrah. He formally announced the beginning of the Muslim calendar
from the year of the Hijrah for which he received erudite
acknowledgement from his colleagues.
By acknowledging the Hijrah as the beginning of the Islamic calendar,
Umar appreciated the dedication and sacrifice of not only the Prophet ,
but also of his predecessor as caliph, Abu Bakr al
al-Siddiq. Allah had
already spoken of Abu Bakr’s contribution to Islam and revealed it in the
Final Divine Revelation for everyone to recite forever! Surat at-Taubah
v.40. Umar saw that as a precursor for him to also appreciate Abu Hijri Bakr’s contribution, and hence, enacted the
precedent for Muslims to express their appreciation for
convention of dating. By doing this, Umar set a prescriptive
the achievements of the only Companion
ion of the Prophet SAW in the Cave of Thaur. But this official enactment was only
possible during the time of Umar. Abu Bakr had to leave this world first – so that no one could accuse Abu Bakr of blowing
his own trumpet. Besides, Muslims were not in the habit of giving their peers lifetime achievement awards!
Ibn Mas’ood was – in the eyes of Umar himself - one of the greatest scholars of Islam. His depth of Islamic understanding
(fiqh) can be seen in the story of how the Hijri calendar was determined.
Ibn Mas’ood said: “Whoever desires to establish a regular practice (of Deen), let him do so by emulating those who have
passed away (and not those who are alive). This is because the living are not safe from trial…”.
Umar established a regular practice by acknowledging the act of not only the Prophet , but also of Abu Bakr – both of
whom came before him. Muslims have always held their predecessors in high esteem. Muslims never subscribed to a
theory of publically assassinating the characters of those who died before them. To this end, the Prophet
encouraged the
ummah: “Mention the good points of your deceased and refrain from mentioning their bad characteristics.”
The Quran informs us that those in Hell will practice the tradition of cursing each other
other:
“Whenever a community enters it (Hell), it (the community) will curse its fellow community.” (Surah al-‘Araaf)
al
No Islamic
theory would dare suggest to emulate the practices of those who might end up in Hell.
Ibn Mas’ood mentioned the good points of those who died before him with precise dexterity and magnanimity. Umar, by
enacting the year of the Hijrah as the beginning of the Muslim calendar, showed his appreciation for the
t two role models
before him. Muslims after Umar continue to follow the footsteps ooff the Sahaba by commemorating in Muharram the Muslim
New Year. Muslims never found a reason to suspect Umar’s motives behind his statutory declaration of the Hijrah as the
starting point of Muslim history. By celebrating the Hijri new year, Muslims appre
appreciate
ciate and apply a foundational construct
of Islam that was raised by the Companions.
December 25th, 2009
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
Al-Qasim provides a
forum for Scholars and
Student of Islamic
knowledge to express
their views on
Traditional theories and
principals.
D
eveloping and promoting a theory of time is almost a timeless achievement
in of
PAGE 3
itself. Philosophers, scientists and theologians have been at it since time immemorial.
When it was time for Muslims to expound their theory of time, Umar offered Muslims
a theory that cannot be rejected by those who read wahi (revelation). “The number of
months, in the Book of Allah,” the Quran says in Surah Taubah, verse 36, “is twelve
(months) (since) the day He created the heavens and the Earth. From amongst them
(the twelve), there are four (months) that are sacred…” This ayah gives us our theory
that time is created for the sake of regulating the affairs of the cosmos. It also informs
us that four months are sacred - from which Muharram is the first.
The Quran then goes on to mention the story of the Hijra of the Prophet
and Abu Bakr by highlighting the Prophet’s
reassuring Abu Bakr by saying to him: “Don’t grieve. (For) indeed Allah is with us…”
Umar read this story as an insight into the year from which the Divine wished Muslims to start counting their time as it
obviously is inserted immediately after the discussion of time.
For Umar, the Hijra, then, was divinely ordained to become a timeless feat. For Umar, human acts were measured – not
against the index of created time – but against Eternal Divine recognition of those acts. If the Divine has appreciated certain
acts, then Muslims also appreciate and apply them. These acts become Symbols of God (Sha’airullah). Indeed Haajar’s
Sa’ee between Safa and Marwa is read in this noor [spiritual light] also. Umar’s reading of Divine revelation is almost as
timeless as the event of Hijra itself.
Such was the genius of Umar. Such was the appreciation of the Companions for each other’s knowledge. And such should be
the flavor of intellectual brilliance and conduct that Muslims of today should seek to inculcate.
This was a Summary of a
pre-khutba talk given by
Shaykh Mohammad Amin
at MSI December 11th 2009.
Join us in Al Qasim’s quest for more
Knowledge!
December 25th, 2009