The question often hangs in the air a bit awkwardly: “Do you know the date? No, I mean the Hijri date?” More often than not, the response from students and parents is a sheepish “No.” I’ve even posed this question to a renowned Islamic scholar, who, to his surprise, was not only mistaken about the month but also two years off the correct Hijri year!
My aim isn’t to embarrass anyone, but rather to encourage Muslims to reconnect with the Hijri calendar—a sacred timekeeping system ordained by Allah (swt). As the Quran states in Surat At-Tawbah (9:36):
“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves or others during them…”
This verse underscores the divine significance of the Hijri calendar and how it is unique from any other calendar.
My own journey to embrace the Hijri calendar began two years ago, sparked by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad’s lecture, “The Sacred Nature of The Islamic Calendar.” Around the same time, I discovered the #GoHijri movement by The Productive Muslim Company. Inspired, I purchased a Hijri calendar for my office and started using it in my daily life. I sent an email to Br. Mohammad Faris suggesting that we promote the GoHijri movement in Islamic Schools. He responded enthusiastically and proposed the development of a “GoHijri” lesson plan for educators and parents.
The Islamic Curriculum Initiative was the perfect platform for this project. Eighteen educators from the Global Association of Islamic Schools joined forces to develop an engaging lesson plan, structured around a three-step framework: “Engage, Examine, Act.” (You can download the free lesson plan here). The lesson plan includes four goals:
P.S. For more resources related to the Hijri Calendar, see here: https://gohijri.org/resources/
