The Hijrah refers to the migration of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Companions from Makkah to Madinah after thirteen years of persecution by the Quraysh. The departure is traditionally placed in the month of Safar, with arrival in Madinah in early Rabi’ al-Awwal in 622 CE. This event is so foundational that the Hijri calendar itself begins from the year of the Hijrah.

The Qur’an records the protection of Allah during the journey, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr hid in the cave of Thawr: “If you do not aid the Prophet, Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out… when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.'” (Surah at-Tawbah 9:40).

The Hijrah was not flight; it was a strategic and divinely-sanctioned move. In Madinah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) established the first Muslim community, drafted the Constitution of Madinah, and built the masjid that became the heart of Islamic civilization. The Companions who migrated are honored in the Qur’an as al-Muhajirun (the Migrants), and those who received them in Madinah as al-Ansar (the Helpers).

The choice of the Hijrah as the calendar’s starting point, made under the second caliph Umar, signals its importance: the calendar does not begin with the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or the first revelation, but with the establishment of the Muslim community as a polity in Madinah. This emphasizes the social and communal dimension of Islam.

The Hijrah is not marked by specific worship rites; rather, it is remembered through reflection, through the Qur’an’s references to the Muhajirun, and through hadith collections such as those of Sahih al-Bukhari, which preserves the detailed narrative of the journey.