What is the Hijrah? Why does the Islamic calendar start there?
In 622 CE, the Prophet ﷺ emigrated from Makkah to Madinah. The Muslim calendar begins not from his birth, not from the first revelation, but from that journey — because that is when the Muslim community became a people with a home.
10 passages from 6 books in the library
The Hijrah is the Prophet's ﷺ emigration from Makkah to Madinah, when, as the passages put it, he "arrived in the blessed city of Medina, the abode of migration." The Muslim calendar begins from this journey because it marks when the community became a people with a home. Its deeper meaning is intention: the Prophet ﷺ taught that "whoever's migration is to Allah and His messenger" has migrated truly, while "whoever's migration was for worldly gains" attains only that. The classical scholars thus read the Hijrah as both a historical founding and a turning of the heart toward Allah.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 6 books by Ibn Battuta, Imam al-Ghazali, and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"peace and blessings be upon him, arrived in the blessed city of Medina, the abode of migration,"
-
"Among the residents of the noble city of Medina was Abu Muhammad al-Shurawi, one of the benefactors,"
-
"some companions from Medina to Syria and passed away on the way in a wilderness lacking habitation"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"his migration is to Allah and his messenger, and whoever's migration was for worldly gains"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
-
"the prophets and messengers. His birthplace is in Mecca, his migration to Teba, Medina,"
-
"620 years by the lunar calendar, equating to 600 by the solar calendar, and Allah"
-
"Muhammad, the seal of the prophets, also prayed towards it for 16 or 17 months after his migration"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"His birthplace is Mecca, his migration to Medina, and his dominion in Sham, girding"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"He met the emir of Mecca Abu Numai and the emir of Medina Mansur ibn Jamaz and traveled through India and China."
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
-
"peace and blessings be upon him, arrived in Medina and found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura."
Want a different angle?
Type your question below — JM Scholar will ground its answer in the same sources.