The Islamic New Year and the Day of Ashura: The Story Behind Muharram

For much of the world, a new year arrives with fireworks and countdowns. The Islamic year opens differently. Its first month, Muharram, slips in without festivity — a month for remembrance rather than revelry. There is no command in Islam to celebrate the turning of the Hijri year; instead, the occasion invites a believer to look back, take stock, and renew their intentions for the road ahead.

The very name carries weight. Muharram means "forbidden" or "sacred," and it is one of the four sacred months Allah set apart at the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah… of these, four are sacred" (Quran 9:36). Those four — Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab — are months in which wrongdoing is graver and good deeds weightier, as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ named them in his Farewell Sermon (narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari).

Why the Calendar Begins with the Hijrah

One of the most telling facts about the Islamic calendar is where it starts counting. The Hijri era does not begin with the Prophet's birth, nor with the first revelation, nor with a great military victory. It begins with the Hijrah — the migration of the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE.

The calendar itself was not formalised in the Prophet's lifetime but during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab (around 17 AH / 638 CE). When the growing Muslim state needed a fixed system of dating, Umar consulted the senior Companions, and they agreed to count from the year of the Hijrah. The choice was deliberate: the migration was the moment a persecuted community became a society — the point at which Islam moved from private faith to a public order built on justice, brotherhood, and law. By anchoring time itself to the Hijrah, the Muslims declared that what matters is not where a thing begins but the moment it is established for the sake of Allah. Every date a Muslim writes is, in a quiet way, a reminder of sacrifice for one's faith.

The Sacred Month of Muharram

Muharram is not merely a marker on the calendar; it carries its own devotional weight. The Prophet ﷺ called it "the month of Allah," an attribution of honour given to no other month, and pointed to it as the best time for voluntary fasting in the entire year outside Ramadan: "The most excellent fast after Ramadan is God's month, al-Muharram, and the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night" (Sahih Muslim 1163a).

That single narration reframes the new year. Where many cultures mark the occasion with indulgence, the Prophet ﷺ pointed his community toward fasting and night prayer — toward drawing nearer to Allah rather than away. And within this sacred month sits one day above the rest: the tenth, known as Ashura.

The Day of Ashura and the Deliverance of Musa

The story of Ashura reaches back long before Islam, to one of the great deliverances in human history. Prophet Musa (Moses) and the Children of Israel were trapped between Pharaoh's pursuing army and the sea. At Allah's command, Musa struck the water with his staff, and it parted into two towering walls, opening a dry path for the believers to cross (Quran 20:77; 26:63). When Pharaoh and his soldiers followed them into the seabed, the walls collapsed: "And [recall] when We parted the sea for you and saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you were looking on" (Quran 2:50).

The Quran preserves Pharaoh's final moments with unforgettable detail. As the water overwhelmed him, the tyrant who had claimed to be a god cried out, "I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe" (Quran 10:90) — but faith offered only at the threshold of death came too late: "Now? And you had disobeyed [Him] before…" (10:91). His body, Allah declares, was left as a lasting warning: "So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign" (10:92).

This is the day of Ashura. When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ arrived in Madinah, he found the Jewish community fasting on it. He asked them why, and they answered that it was the day Allah rescued the Children of Israel from their enemy, so Musa fasted it in gratitude. The Prophet ﷺ replied, "We have more claim over Moses than you," and he fasted that day and instructed the Muslims to fast it as well (Sahih al-Bukhari 2004). The deliverance of Musa belongs to the whole lineage of prophethood — and so his gratitude became part of the Muslim's worship.

How the Prophet ﷺ Fasted Ashura

The fast of Ashura has a history that mirrors the early growth of the Muslim community. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that Ashura was observed even before Islam, and that the Prophet ﷺ ordered its fasting — until the fasting of Ramadan was made obligatory, after which he said, "He who wants to fast may fast, and he who does not want to fast may not" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1893). Ashura thus moved from an obligation to a treasured voluntary act.

And its reward is immense. The Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting the day of Ashura and answered that he hoped from Allah that "it expiates the sins of the preceding year" (Sahih Muslim 1162a) — an entire year's minor shortcomings wiped clean for a single day of fasting.

Late in his life, the Prophet ﷺ also taught his community to distinguish their practice. Told that the Jews and Christians revered the tenth, he said, "When the next year comes, God willing, we will fast the ninth [as well]" (Sahih Muslim 1134a). He passed away before that year arrived, but from his intention the scholars derived the recommendation to fast the ninth and tenth of Muharram together — fasting Tasu'a (the 9th) alongside Ashura (the 10th).

Lessons for Today

• The new year is for renewal, not noise. The Prophet ﷺ pointed to fasting and night prayer, not celebration. Muharram is an invitation to reset one's relationship with Allah.
• What we honour reveals what we value. A community that begins its calendar with a migration for faith — not a conquest or a coronation — measures time by sacrifice and sincerity.
• Gratitude is timeless. Musa fasted in thanks for deliverance; the Prophet ﷺ joined that gratitude across the centuries. Ashura teaches that thankfulness to Allah binds the believers of every age together.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Islamic New Year? It falls on the 1st of Muharram, the first month of the Hijri (lunar) calendar. Because the lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year, the Gregorian date shifts earlier each year and is confirmed by moon-sighting.

Is it required to celebrate the Islamic New Year? No. There is no prescribed celebration for the Hijri new year in Islam. It is a time for quiet reflection, gratitude, and renewing good intentions — not festivity.

What is the day of Ashura? Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram, the day Allah saved Prophet Musa and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh. The Prophet ﷺ fasted it and encouraged Muslims to do the same (Sahih al-Bukhari 2004).

What is the reward for fasting Ashura? The Prophet ﷺ taught that fasting Ashura is hoped to expiate the sins of the previous year (Sahih Muslim 1162a). It is recommended to also fast the ninth of Muharram (Tasu'a) along with it (Sahih Muslim 1134a).

Why does the Islamic calendar start from the Hijrah? The Companions, under the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, chose the Prophet's migration to Madinah as the calendar's starting point — marking the moment the Muslim community was established, rather than a birth or a battle.