THE MOSLEM NEW YEAR

The Moslem (Hijriyah) New Year is always celebrated by Moslems on 1 Muharram each year. We can also call it the Islamic New Year. Hijriyah year is taken from Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Madinah. Muhammad’s migration (Hijrah) is Allah’s optional. It has already become Allah’s determination and hokum (Al Quran, Al Ahzab: 38 & 62). Propher Muhammad’s Hijrah is determined as the beginning of Islamic tarikh (Hijriyah year) because His Hijrah has great meaning of the development of Islamic religious proselytizing. Also, after he had moved to Madinah, the Islamic religious proselytizing began to reach the brilliance. Before Hijrah, Islamic people was a community who is oppressed and tortured by non Moslems. After Hijrah, Moslems have the powerful position and have been been formed Islamic country which has regulation, the leader, and law. Therefore, it is hoped, that event will be reminded by Moslems in every year about how his and his friends making sacrifice in upholding Islam. In Addition, Cyril Glasse explained that the calculation of hijriyah year bases the month calculation of the beginning of appearing the moon light. The calculation is started when the sun sets on the last day before Muharram.

The Islamic calendar was introduced by the close companion of the Prophet, Umar Bin Khatab. During his leadership of the Moslems community, in approximately 632 A.D., he consulted with advisors in order to come to a decision regarding the various dating systems used at that time. It was agreed that the most appropriate reference point for the Islamic Calendar was the Hijrah, since it was important turning point for the Moslems community. After 16 years of the emigration event from Mecca to Madinah (formerly known as Yastrib), Umar Bin Khatab perpetuated this event as the name of Islamic calendar, including miracle that reinforce the mission of attribute of a messenger of Allah as the porter of mercy for the entire world. (rahmatan lil ‘alamin, Al Anbiya: 107). On the other word, years are counted since Hijrah, which is when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madinah (approximately July 622 A.D.), all Moslems also decide it as Islamic calendar and 1 Muharram is decided as the beginning of the Islamic New Year. Also, after that emigration event, the Moslem community is able to organize and establish the first real Moslem with social, political, and economic independence. Life in Madinah allowed the Moslems to mature and strengthen, and people developed an entire society based on Islamic principles.

Actually, Hijrah as Allah’s optional never end. It is expressed by Muhammad Al-Khatib through the story of someone who comes to Prophet Muhammad and said, ” Prophet Muhammad, I have recently visited a group of people who opine that Hijrah has already ended. Prophet Muhammad answered, “Actually, hijrah will never end so that there is no stopping of repent and forswear until the sun rise from the west.

In celebrating the Islamic New Year, 1 Muharram 1429 that exactly coincides with January 10, 2008, it is full of ritual and cultural nuances. The various programs are hold according to the tradition or the program that is hold in contemporary styles nowadays. Moslems generally celebrate the Islamic New Year that is different from non Moslems who celebrate their new year. We have our own style to welcome it such as doing muasabah, reciting and study Al Quran together, doing Tahajud pray and zikir together etc.

My own small village (Klaten) also has tradition when celebrating it. The community in my village celebrates it by reciting Al Quran (pengajian) and zikir together in mosque after Isak pray. Before doing it, after Isak exactly, the community walks around on the edge of my village by bringing torch that the fire light made from bamboo while they may not speak anything when do it, but they read zikir in the heart. I my self always participated to this program when I was still live there. Beside it, in the night of Islamic New Year, some of people in my village or the villages around my village, especially youngsters usually go to Parangtritis beach to welcome it. However, I never follow to go to this beach in the night of Islamic New year because I will be better to celebrate it with all my family and neighbors by zikir in mosque and then we eat together.

Many Moslems celebrate the hijriyah New Year by doing something with fun and wastefully because they welcome it only by making their selves happy and satisfied but they never care with the other people especially poor people. What a pity, they do not have the changing in every hijriyah new year, they still have the bad attitude and behavior. Let alone, having more piousness is never wanted by them. Whereas, their age decreases every second, minutes, hour, day etc.

When people meet the changing of year, they wish much of hope. The New Year is wished giving us the improvement and luck. Because of that, we must do introspection of all what we have already done. We must evaluate and consider them. We must choose all of the good deeds that we remain to defend and increase the amount of it. On the contrary, we must leave all the useless acts either for ourselves or people around us. Human who never does introspection is the same as wild animal that released from the snare. He will run so fast and jump strongly without paying attention if that will endanger him again. This human will behave without thinking and considering that he will be fallen in the same place and mourn his behavior repeatedly. What a pity, if every year, he must fall and fall again in the same problem.

All in all, my conclusion and suggestion in relation to the reality are as a Moslem, we are better to welcome the Hijriyah New Year by doing and improving deeds in the previous years. Hopefully, we are always be the servant of Allah who obey His commands by doing all the obligations and go far from all of the prohibitions. Allah commanded that human is His servant who has duty to do religious service. If in the previous year, we still often do various lack, we must improve our selves for perfection. Therefore, let’s fill our life by doing many good deeds, study hard, do religious diligently, work sincerely, socialize to the other people and create something etc. The human age decreases day by day so that we must make useful of our rest live as good as possible because we do not know when we die, human’s death is Allah’s secret and there is a good aphorism: the hand of clock will never change the direction. The important point is we must change our pattern of mind in order to be able to live basing on the Al Quran and Hadist. Therefore, we must improve self continually forever as long as we are still given chance to live in this world.

References

Departemen Agama RI, 2002, Al Quran dan terjemahannya, Jakarta: CV. Pustaka Agung Harapan.

www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0402/21/opini/869440.htm

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