1442

We are now entering the new Hijri year of 1442. The Hijri calendar is a lunar based calendar which has 354 or 355 days subdivided into 12 months. The daily time division is almost universal following the motion of the sun (relative to earth) and is sexagesimal in nature that is pre-Islamic. However the interesting point, in Islamic culture, the day begins at dusk. So we have indeed arrived at 1442 hours ago (not at twelve midnight). I do not really know the origin of this adoption but it was mentioned in the book "The Day Begins at Sunset: Perceptions of Time in the Islamic World" by Barbara Freyer Stowasser, that it is probably pre-Islamic in origin. It mentioned that ancient Egypt begins the day at dawn while Babylonians begins the day at dusk. The adoption of midnight as the beginning of the day is by the Romans (that gave the Julius calendar) and finally now adopted by Coordinated Universal Time. The book also dwells on many other aspects of the Hijri calendar. The book also mentions the Malaysian astronomer-physicist Mohammad Ilyas (author of "Astronomy of Islamic Times for the Twenty-First Century") who initiated the International Islamic Calendar Program.

So tomorrow will be a public holiday. I will be spending quality time with the family as well as catching up with some tasks. Salam Maal Hijrah to everyone.

May Allah grant us His Blessings and ease our path in this life and in the hereafter; in particular, shield us from the current pandemic.