Definition
The Prophet's ﷺ migration to Madīnah marked the start of the Islamic calendar. Linguistically: abandoning. Spiritually: leaving what Allah has forbidden.
Etymology & Root
From ه-ج-ر (h-j-r), 'to abandon, depart'. The hijrī calendar was established under ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, dated from the year of the Prophet's ﷺ hijrah (622 CE).
Usage in the Qur'an
'Indeed those who believed and emigrated and strove with their wealth and lives in the cause of Allah, and those who gave shelter and aided — they are allies of one another' (al-Anfāl 8:72). The Muhājirūn are praised throughout the Qur'an alongside the Anṣār.
Usage in the Sunnah
'The first part of the ḥadīth of ʿUmar' — 'Actions are by intentions… so whoever's hijrah was for Allah and His Messenger, his hijrah is for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever's hijrah was for some worldly thing or to marry a woman, his hijrah is to what he migrated for' (Bukhārī, Muslim — Nawawi 40 #1). 'Hijrah will not cease until repentance ceases, and repentance will not cease until the sun rises from the west' (Abū Dāwūd, ṣaḥīḥ).
Scholarly Notes
Three types: (1) hijrah of the body — from a land of disbelief or fitnah where one cannot practise Islam, to a land where one can; (2) hijrah of the heart — from shirk to tawḥīd, from bidʿah to Sunnah; (3) hijrah of the deed — from sin to obedience. The first 'closed' with the conquest of Makkah for that specific case, but the principle continues.
Practical Application
Make hijrah from sins you've fallen into — change phone, friends, neighbourhood if needed. Treat the new Hijrī year as an annual reset of intentions, not a celebration.
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Related Terms
More from General Terms
A non-Muslim under the protection of an Islamic state.
A narration of the Prophet's ﷺ words or actions.
Knowledge — particularly of the Sharī‘ah.
The Hereafter.
All praise belongs to Allah.
Scholars — heirs of the prophets.