Muslims around the world to mark Hijri New Year tomorrow

Muslims around the world will mark the Hijri New Year tomorrow, writes the BH news agency Patria (NAP).

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the central observance of the Hijri New Year will be held in Sarajevo, Mostar and Tuzla.

The Islamic calendar, or Hijri calendar, is the calendar by which Muslims regulate their daily duties and holidays, and in many Islamic countries it is the official calendar, writes NAP.

It is a lunar calendar. It follows the phases of the moon. One full lunar cycle (the transformation from a new moon in the sky to a full moon and then back to a new moon) marks the passage of one month according to the calendar. One Hijri year has 354 or 355 days. Therefore, the day of the Hijri New Year never falls on the same day according to the Gregorian calendar (solar calendar) but cycles through all seasons.

The beginning of the Islamic calendar is taken as the Hijra, the migration of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Muslims from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, due to the persecution and pressures exerted upon them by the Meccan polytheists.

From the Hijra to the present day (2014), 1435 Hijri years have passed, writes NAP.