Happy New Year!

Happy New Year?! What?! In the middle of February??

You might think it's a belated New year greeting after I've been so long inactive in updating this Blog. No, I really mean it, but I actually meant to have a blessed year ahead after the coming of the new year of the Islamic new year calendar.

For those still not in the know yet, Muslims celebrate the new year on the Wednesay 10th February 2005. According to calculations, we're 1426 years beyond the time when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) migrated from Makkah to Madinah (both cities are in Saudi Arabia). And according to one MSA (muslim Students' Association) in an American University, "The Hijrah refers to the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Madinah. This journey took place in the twelfth year of his mission (622 CE). This is the beginning of the Muslim calendar. The word hijrah means to leave a place to seek sancturary or freedom from persecution or freedom of religion or any other purpose. Hijrah can also mean to leave a bad way of life for a good or more righteous way."

This migration is symbolic, not just in terms of the changes in the physical locations that the early Muslims have to experience, it also about the sacrifices that the early Muslim from Makkah have to make by leaving their families, wealth and properties, in order to preserve their identity and faith (Deen).It is also about the change in paradigm and strategy for the Muslims in safeguarding their faith and escaping the mounting persecution from the then-polytheist-domainated Meccans. It is the turning-point for the Muslims to shift from a position of being oppressed to a position where they were in a better position. Even then, they were not safe from being attacked by the Meccans in the 2nd year after the Migration. To know more about this, you may want to refer to http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/ihame/Sec2.htm .

The Muslim calendar is calculated based on the lunar cycles, so that makes the Muslim calendar year about 10-12 days short of the conventional Gregorian calendar year, which is based on the Earth's complete orbit around the Sun. So that's why the dates of Muslim celebrations like the 2 'Eids (known by Singaporeans as Hari Raya Puasa & Hari Raya Haji) keep on changing every year. Which also means that your birthday based on Muslim calendar is not the same for every conventional year. For example, someone who was born on 1st January 2000 will have a Muslim birth-date of 24th Ramadhan 1420H (Ramadhan is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar and also the fasting month for the Muslims). So his next birthday based on Muslim calendar's calculation will be 24th Ramadhan 1421H which fell on 21st december 2000! So he's got 2 birthdays in the same Gregorian year! Fun isn't it?

If you want to know about your birthday in the Muslim calendar, you may use the calculation in the following website: Gregorian-Hijrah Date Converter . You can try find out when's your next birthday going to be.

Consequently, because of the shorter duration of a Mulim calendar year, we tend to be older in terms of age (based on calculation of course). example for myself, as of today 17th February 2005 (or 8th Muharram 1426H) , I'm 25 years, 10 months & 2 days old based on Gregorian, but using Muslim calendar, I'm now 26 years, 7 months & 20 days, and my next 27th birthday will be in end of March 2005.
Gosh, I'm feeling so old now..... Why not try on your own and make comparisons with family members & friends?

On a more significant note, new year is also a time for self-reflection; to take stock of what had been done and achieved in the previous year, what's to be done and achieved for the following year. Lessons should be made out of mistakes done and efforts to be re-doubled to improve ourselves. The older we get, the nearer we are to the grave. Maybe that's why people make resolutions whenever new year's around. Hmm... What do I want to achieve by end of this year eh?