Hijri era

The Hijri era (Arabic: التقويم الهجري, romanized: at-taqwīm al-hijrī) is the calendar era used to record dates in the Islamic world. Its epoch (start point of the era) is the year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina), in 622 CE. This event, known as the Hijrah, is commemorated in Islam for its role in the founding of the first Muslim community (ummah). Time in this era is measured by two principal calendars: the "Islamic" lunar Hijri calendar, which counts lunar years of 354 to 355 days, and the "Persian" solar Hijri calendar, which counts solar years of 365 to 366 days. In the West, dates in the lunar Hijri calendar are denoted as AH (Latin: Anno Hegirae) or Hijri year (Arabic: سنة هجرية, romanized: sanat hijriyya, lit. 'in the year of the Hijra') in the style of the Christian (AD), Common (CE) and Jewish eras (AM) and can similarly be placed before (preferably) or after the date. In predominantly Muslim countries, it is also commonly abbreviated H ("Hijra") from its Arabic abbreviation hāʾ (هـ). Years prior to AH 1 are reckoned in English as BH ("Before the Hijra"), which follows the date. Dates in the solar Hijri calendar are denoted as SH. The current year since the Hijra is AH 1448 according to the lunar calendar and SH 1405 according to the solar calendar. The growing difference in numbering of currently 42–43 years arises because a lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar year. The solar Hijri year corresponds closely with the Gregorian, but its year begins on the March equinox rather than on 1 January, so the era offset toggles between 622 years for almost three months and 621 years for over nine months. The beginning of the lunar...