Islamic reckoning begins from the year 622, when the prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina (hijra, migration). The Prophet Muhammad arrived in Medina on the 12th day of the month Rabi’ al-awwal, the day that symbolizes the establishment of a Muslim society. The introduction of the Islamic numbering of years was decreed by the second Caliph Umar ibn al Khattab.
In Muslim countries, Hijra is a holiday. On that day children are told about the Prophet Muhammad travelling from Mecca to Medina.
