About Islamic New Year
The Islamic New Year is 1 Muharram, the first day of the Hijri calendar, which counts its years from the Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Many Sunni Muslims mark it quietly with prayer, while for Shia Muslims it opens the mourning of Muharram. In 2027, it is expected in India on Monday, 7 June 2027, depending on the sighting of the moon.
Few Muslims in India throw a party on 1 Muharram, and that is the first thing to know before you send a wish. The Hijri new year is a day for prayer and taking stock, and for a large part of the community it is also the first day of a month of grief.
Why the Islamic year starts with the Hijra
In 622 CE the Prophet Muhammad left Mecca, where his small community faced persecution, and moved to Yathrib, the oasis town later known as Medina. This move is the Hijra, Arabic for migration. Medina is where the first Muslim community began to live under its own rules, and Muslims count their years from that move. Years are written with "AH", short for the Latin *Anno Hegirae*, "in the year of the Hijra".
The calendar came later. Around 638 CE, some 17 years after the Hijra, the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, fixed the era after a complaint from his governor Abu Musa al-Ash'ari about how official letters were dated. The migration itself happened in Rabi al-Awwal, the third month, but the year was set to open with Muharram, which already began the Arab lunar year. So year 1 began on 16 July 622 in the Julian calendar, more than two months before the Prophet reached Medina.
Muharram is also one of the four sacred months, along with Rajab, Dhul Qa'dah and Dhul Hijjah. Its name means "forbidden" or "sacred", because fighting was banned in these months even before Islam. The Qur'an sets out the twelve-month year in one verse:
The number of the months with Allah is twelve months by Allah's ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth.
Why the date moves, and why India is often a day behind the Gulf
Hijri months follow the moon. Each has 29 or 30 days, so a Hijri year has 354 or 355 days, about 11 fewer than the solar year. That is why 1 Muharram arrives roughly 11 days earlier every year and passes through every season in about 33 years. Like every Islamic date, it begins at sunset: the evening before Monday, 7 June 2027 is already the first night of Muharram.
A new month starts when the thin crescent is seen after sunset on the 29th day of the old one. If no one sees it, the old month runs to 30 days. Saudi Arabia's official Umm al-Qura calendar works differently. Astronomers in Riyadh calculate it in advance for Mecca, and in most years the other Gulf states start the month on the same day. In India, bodies such as the Markazi Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee in New Delhi wait for an actual sighting, and the young moon is often visible here only a day later.
You can see this in 2026. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Oman began the year 1448 on Tuesday 16 June. India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka began it on Wednesday 17 June, after the crescent was seen on the evening of the 16th.
Working out the Hijri year. Because 33 lunar years take about 32 solar years, the Hijri count gains a year on the Gregorian every three decades or so. For now the rule is simple: the Hijri year that begins in 2027 is 2027 minus 578. The year 1448 AH, for example, began in June 2026. This rule holds up to 2040; in 2041 two Hijri years begin, one in January and one in December, and after that you subtract 577.
How Indian Muslims mark 1 Muharram
There is no fixed ritual for the Islamic New Year, and Muslims in India mark it in very different ways.
Many Sunni families treat it as a quiet day. Some pray for the year ahead, some hear a mosque sermon on the Hijra, and some begin voluntary fasts: a hadith in Sahih Muslim calls fasting in Muharram, "God's month", the best voluntary fasting after Ramadan. Scholars differ on greetings: the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin taught that one should not start a new year greeting but should reply kindly if greeted, while the British Fatwa Council holds that exchanging Hijri new year greetings is allowed. So a friend may answer with a prayer rather than "Same to you", and that is a warm reply.
For Shia Muslims, the evening the Muharram moon is seen opens the season of mourning for Imam Husayn, the Prophet's grandson, who was killed at Karbala on 10 Muharram. Many wear black, weddings are postponed or kept to a simple nikah without festivities, and nightly *majlis* gatherings begin. In Lucknow most Shia families bring their *taziya* home on the first or second day of the month. In Awadh the mourning period, *ayyam-e-aza*, lasts two months and eight days, a custom that spread in the mid-nineteenth century. Our page on Muharram and Ashura explains what happens through the first ten days.
Greetings and what they mean
You will see "Hijri Mubarak" on social media, but it is not a set phrase in Arabic or Urdu. The phrases below are the ones people actually use.
| Phrase | Language | Meaning | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kul 'am wa antum bikhair | Arabic | "May you be well every year" | Sunni friends and Arabic speakers; also used at Eid |
| Sana Hijriya sa'ida | Arabic | "A happy Hijri year" | Formal notes, contacts in the Gulf |
| 'Am Hijri mubarak | Arabic | "A blessed Hijri year" | Cards and short posts |
| Naya Islami saal mubarak | Urdu, Hindi | "Blessings on the new Islamic year" | Friends and family in India |
| Allah yeh saal khair-o-barkat wala banaye | Urdu | "May God make this year full of goodness and blessing" | Anyone who prefers a prayer to a greeting |
*Mubarak* means blessed. The usual reply to a prayer-style wish is "Ameen", "so be it".
What to write, and to whom
Lead with a prayer or a hope, not a celebration. "Blessed" and "peaceful" sit better than "happy", and two sentences are enough. For Shia colleagues, flexibility with evening meetings in the first ten days of Muharram will mean more than any card.
Naya Islami saal mubarak. May this year bring you barakah, good health and every dua answered.
Thinking of you as Muharram begins. May your majlis and prayers this month be accepted.
Wishing you a peaceful start to the new Hijri year. If you're fasting this month, tell me and we'll plan meetings around it.
Another Hijri year begins, and I am grateful for every one I have spent with you. May Allah keep us patient with each other and kind to everyone else.
Naya saal mubarak. Your duas carried me through the last year. Please keep me in them this year too.
Your new year started a day before ours, as usual. Kul 'am wa antum bikhair, and may the year be easy on you so far from home.
I learnt that the Hijri year counts from the Prophet's journey to Medina. Wishing you and your family a peaceful year ahead.
Ameen, and the same for you. May Allah make it a good and blessed year for all of us.
Do
- Use a neutral line such as "Wishing you a peaceful start to Muharram" if you don't know whether a friend is Shia or Sunni.
- Send it on the evening the moon is announced or the next morning, since Islamic days start at sunset.
- Check the local date; India often begins Muharram a day after Saudi Arabia.
Avoid
- Don't send "Happy New Year" to Shia friends or colleagues; they are entering a time of mourning.
- Don't add fireworks, party poppers or "Let's celebrate" to a 1 Muharram card.
- Don't confuse 1 Muharram with Ashura, the tenth day, which is for mourning and fasting, not new year wishes.
Milad-un-Nabi falls in Rabi al-Awwal, the month of the Hijra itself, and Eid al-Adha comes about three weeks before the new year. See them together on the calendar.
How to wish someone on Islamic New Year
A good wish for 1 Muharram is a short prayer for a blessed, peaceful year, not a party message. Many Sunni Muslims welcome "Naya Islami saal mubarak" or the Arabic "Kul 'am wa antum bikhair". For Shia Muslims the day begins the mourning for Imam Husayn, so leave out "Happy", festive emojis and fireworks, and simply acknowledge that Muharram has begun.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Urdu, Arabic + recipient language.
When is Islamic New Year in 2026 and 2027?
Islamic New Year is set by the Islamic lunar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 10 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027may vary by location
Frequently asked questions
When is Islamic New Year in 2027?
Islamic New Year 2027 falls on Monday, 7 June 2027, beginning at sunset the evening before. The exact date can vary by location and local calendar, so confirm with your community.
Can you say "Happy Islamic New Year"?
Many Sunni Muslims accept "Happy Islamic New Year", but a prayer such as "Wishing you a blessed and peaceful year" suits the day better. Avoid "Happy" with Shia Muslims, for whom 1 Muharram begins the mourning for Imam Husayn.
How do you say Happy Islamic New Year in Arabic?
The most common Arabic greeting is "Kul 'am wa antum bikhair", meaning "May you be well every year". Other phrases are "Sana Hijriya sa'ida", a happy Hijri year, and "'Am Hijri mubarak", a blessed Hijri year.
How do you say Islamic New Year wishes in Urdu?
In Urdu, the usual greeting is "Naya Islami saal mubarak", or "Hijri naya saal mubarak", meaning blessings on the new Islamic year. A prayer such as "Allah yeh saal khair-o-barkat wala banaye", "May God make this year full of goodness and blessing", works for almost anyone.
Which Hijri year begins in 2027?
The Hijri year that begins in 2027 is 2027 minus 578; this simple rule works for every year up to 2040. For example, 1448 AH began in June 2026.
Why is the Islamic New Year on a different date every year?
The Islamic calendar follows the moon, and its year of 354 or 355 days is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. So 1 Muharram moves about 11 days earlier in the Gregorian calendar each year.
Why does India mark the Islamic New Year a day after Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia's Umm al-Qura calendar is calculated in advance for Mecca, while Indian moon committees wait for the crescent to be seen locally. The new moon is often visible over India only a day later, so 1 Muharram in India often falls a day after the Gulf.
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