The Hijri New Year 1442 began on Thursday, August 20

The Hijri New Year 1442 began on Thursday, August 20, with calendars across the world reading Muharram 1, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

The Islamic New Year—also known as the Arabic New Year — is the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. The first Islamic year began in AD 622, when the Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina.

In the Islamic calendar, days begin at sunset — and because the Islamic year is eleven to twelve days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Islamic New Year falls on a different day on the Gregorian calendar every year.  As meditations and celebrations mark this day,  remember that a New Year always means new beginnings.