Why the year of Hijrah was used to mark the
beginning of the Islamic Era, as opposed to other equally momentous events,
such as the year of the Prophet’s birth, or the start of his Prophethood
mission, or the conquest of Makkah?
One internet site has this to say:
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The incidents that are connected to the life of
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and that could have been
taken as the start of the calendar are four: his birth, the start of his
mission, his migration (Hijrah) and his death. They thought it was best to
start the calendar from the Hijrah, because in the case of his birth and the
start of his mission, there would be uncertainty with regard to the exact year.
As for the time of his death, they chose not to use it because remembering it
would renew their grief. So there was no choice left except the Hijrah.
The
same site quotes many other classical resources, but they are all amounting to
the same argument (1).
From the above
quotation, we get the impression that Umar and his companions decided to mark
the Era of Islam on the strong footing. They
wanted the Era to be based on certainty, not a mere guess. The year whereby the Prophet undertook the
journey from Makkah to Madinah was certain and well known, whereas the other
dates were more difficult to ascertain and probably less well known.
This, in itself, speaks
volumes about the Character of Islam and the Character of the earlier
Muslims. Islam is based on certainty,
and the earlier Muslims would rather not delve into speculation, as we the
later Muslims are wont to do.
But if we probe a little
deeper, we would notice something else.
The decision to
establish the Hijri Calendar was made around the fourth year of Umar’s
reign. Some said a year or two later. Whether it was on the fourth, fifth or sixth
year of Umar’s reign, it is a known fact that many of Muhammad’s contemporaries
were still alive.
His uncle, Abbas bin
Abdul Muttalib, was still around. So was
Hakim bin Hizam, the nephew of Prophet’s wife, Khadijah, who was the Prophet’s
close friend when they were young. Both
of these were born a few years before Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him,
was born. A few others were also alive,
aside from these two.
Should they consider the
birth of the Prophet to be of such great importance, and that the Islamic Era
must be based on that, it would have been more than possible to work out the
exact year. Many among the Companions
were smart people. Ali, for one, would
be more than capable to do the job, if it was entrusted to him. After all, this task would not have been more
difficult than the task of compiling the Quran, which had been ably handled by
Zayd bin Thabit.
Spartan though he was, as
the Caliph, Umar would not have exhausted any expenses for the task, if only
they deemed the year of the Prophet’s birth to be the indispensable element,
without which the Islamic Era would be defective.
That they didn’t undertake
such a seemingly simple task tells a lot about the Character of Islam, and the
Character of early Muslims.
Now, if the task of
dating the year of Prophet’s birth is not exactly insurmountable, then the
dating of the year of his Prophethood would have been much easier. It is well known that those who first joined
the fold of Islam were four: Abu Bakar as Siddiq, Khadijah Khuwaylid, Zayd
Haritha and Ali Abu Talib. They became
Muslims in a matter of days or at most, weeks.
Of these four, Ali was
still alive when the decision to establish the Calendar was made. We in fact know that Ali was living with the
Prophet before Revelation took place. The
Prophet had adopted him to reduce the burden of his uncle, Abu Talib, the
father of Ali, who was poor but had many mouths to feed. Tradition has it that Muhammad went to his
uncle, Abbas, with the proposal of adopting some of Abu Talib’s children. Muhammad took Ali, while Abbas took Ja’far,
the older brother of Ali.
Many others who joined
the fold of Islam during the earliest stage were still alive as well. Of the Ten Promised Paradise, nine of them were the early believers. Only Umar was the later convert. And of these great Companions, only Abu Bakar
had died, while the rest were still alive. Thus, if Umar and his companions had
deemed that the beginning of Prophet’s mission to be the indispensable
requirement for the Islamic Era, they would have chosen the year of prophetic
revelation to mark the Islamic Era. And the
task of dating it would have been rather easy.
That they didn’t
consider the beginning of Prophethood to be a must criteria also tell a lot
about the Character of Islam, and the Character of early Muslims.
To say that they resorted
to the year of Hijrah because they had no choice would be inaccurate.
As for the year of his
death, although the date was well known, it is obvious why it was not
considered as the beginning of Islamic Era.
Why would the death of the Prophet be marked as the beginning of Islamic
Era, when it was he who established it?
Other illustrious
events, such as the Battle of Badar and the Conquest of Makkah, moreover, could
have been selected. The Day of Badar is considered
a momentous event in the history of Islam.
The Prophet profusely supplicated for the victory, saying that if the
Muslims are annihilated, Islam would perish.
So is the Conquest of Makkah. It
marked the great victory of a “fugitive” who came back as a “conqueror.”
But that neither of
these was used to mark the Era of Islam does tell a lot about the Character of
Islam, and the Character of early Muslims.
The event of Hijrah was selected,
above all other momentous events, to mark the Islamic Era, and to establish the
Islamic Calendar known as Hijri Calendar, because it fits with the Character of
Islam as embodied in the Character of Early Muslims; namely, it is the Character
of Islam and the earlier Muslims that practicality takes precedent over
dogmatism. Great outcomes were nothing
but natural consequences of this Character.
Now, the conquest of
Makkah was an outcome of Hijrah. What it
marks is glory. Neither Islam nor early
Muslims consider “glory” to be consequential enough to mark the birth of an
era. Vanity is not part of Islam. The Day of Badar is also, to a large extent,
a mark of glory. There have been many
other glories during the times of the Prophet, if glories are to be taken into
considerations.
Neither was the year of
his birth, nor the start of his prophetic mission, appeared to fit the
bill. Each of these was wholly
determined by Allah. None involved human
intervention. Allah decided when the
Prophet was to be born, and when he was to assume his prophetic mission. All these happened not by choice, nor by any
human effort, but by God’s decree.
Thus, while there is
nothing to suggest that Umar and his companions had indulged in long
deliberations over the matter, it would also be naïve if we were to suggest
that the decision was made without some measure of deliberation. Ali was credited for making the
suggestion. As we know, it was not in
the nature of Ali to merely suggest without making persuasive case. He is noted for having a knack for making an
argument others cannot refute.
The earlier generation had
lived by the character of Islam, which put more emphasis on actions than on
idle talks, as we the later generation are fond of doing. “We hear and we obey,” that was their motto, which
was derived straight from the Quran.
Every Revelation was treated like a “circular” to be executed, not to be
debated, or to be treated like an intellectual treaty. Once they accepted Islam and understood what
it is for, their thinking was for the outcome, and their focus was for the best
means to achieve the result. Practicality is given precedent over
dogmatism.
End of Part 1.
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