هجرة
hijra
Event
The departure of Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Mecca to Yathrib, later Medina; also the name of the Islamic lunar calendar, counted from July 622 CE.
What it means
The hijra is the migration of the Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him), from Mecca to Yathrib in 622 CE, after years of persecution. Yathrib became known as Madīnat al-Nabī, “the city of the Prophet”, and then simply as Medina. Many of his Companions had left before him. The Quran praises “those who believed, emigrated and struggled in the way of God” (2:218), and the first emigrants are called the Muhājirūn.
Caliph ʿUmar fixed the beginning of the Muslim era in the year of the hijra, so the lunar calendar is called the hijrī calendar, abbreviated AH. Its first year began with the month of Muharram, which fell in July 622 CE. The event marks the founding of the first Muslim community-state at Medina, and the date is a reminder of the sacrifice made for the faith.
Often misunderstood as
Called “the flight”, which suggests escape; the Arabic names a migration for the sake of faith and the founding of the community.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 46, listed as HIJRAH. The definition is restated here.