What is Hijrah?
{{about|the movement of Muhammad|other uses|Hijra}} {{Islam}} '''Hijra''' (هِجْرَة), or withdrawal, is the word that is used for the movement of [[Muhammad]] and most of his followers from [[Mecca]] to [[Medina]] in 622. The Hijra marks the beginning of the [[Islamic calendar]]. Alternate spellings of this [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word in the [[Latin alphabet]] are '''Hijrah''', or '''Hegira''' in [[Latin]]. <ref>To be precise, the first Hijra was in 615 when a band of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to the [[Kingdom of Axum]], which was ruled by a Christian king (see [[Islam in Ethiopia]]). Muhammad himself did not join this emigration. In that year, his followers fled Mecca's leading tribe, the [[Quraysh]], who sent emissaries to Axum to bring them back to Arabia. The nascent movement faced growing opposition and persecution. When Muhammad and his followers received an invitation from the people of [[Yathrib]], they decided to leave Mecca.</ref> == Chronology of the Hijra == *Day 1: Thursday 26 Safar AH 1, [[9 September]] [[622]] **Left home in Mecca. Stayed three days in the Cave of Thawr near Mecca. *Day 5: Monday 1 Rabi' I AH 1, [[13 September]] [[622]] **Left the environs of Mecca. Traveled to the region of Yathrib. *Day 12: Monday 8 Rabi' I AH 1, [[20 September]] [[622]] **Arrived at Quba' near Medina. *Day 16: Friday 12 Rabi' I AH 1, [[24 September]] [[622]] **First visit to Medina for Friday prayers. *Day 26: Monday 22 Rabi' I AH 1, [[4 October]] [[622]] **Moved from Quba' to Medina. The Muslim dates are in the Islamic calendar extended back in time. The Western dates are in the [[Julian calendar]]. The Hijra is celebrated annually on 8&nbsp;Rabi'&nbsp;I, about 66 days after 1&nbsp;Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year. Many writers confuse the first day of the year of the Hijra with the Hijra itself, erroneously stating that the Hijra occurred on 1&nbsp;Muharram AH&nbsp;1 or [[16 July]] [[622]].<ref>All dates given above may have occurred about