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Question: [O] Noble Shaykh, may Allaah grant you success. He says these days, it is common through modern means of communication to encourage people to seek forgiveness and repent at the end of the Hijree year, and to exchange congratulations on the arrival of the new year.
Response: All of this is an innovation. And there is no new year. There is no [new] year. This is just a conventional term. This is just a conventional term – it is not [really] a new year.
Every day, you could be completing a year of your life – every day, every month, every week [might mark the end of a year] depending on your birth date.
It is not restricted to, it is not restricted to the month of Muharram. Rather, this is [only] a matter of convention.
Umar رضي الله عنه consulted the companions because he would receive letters from his governors that had no dates on them, so he would not know when they were written.
So he consulted his companions. There was a Gregorian calendar available, but they did not want to imitate the Jews and Christians.
So their opinion was unanimous that it should be dated from the hijrah of the Messenger ﷺ [from Makkah to Madeenah], as it was the greatest event in Islaam. So they made it the start of the Hijree calendar for [public] interest and out of necessity.
Therefore, the Hijree year should not be singled out with congratulations, nor with supplications, nor with any special observances – yes, because nothing [authentic] has been reported about that.
So, it is an innovation.
Yes.
Translation originally published on 17 June, 2025.
