Al-Hijra, the Islamic New Year, is the first day of the month of Muharram. New Year's Day is used to remind Muslims of the Hiraj or migration, of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.

The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. Each numbered year is designated either H for Hijira or AH for Al-Hijira.

Islamic New Year is based on the revolutions of the Moon. The word Muharram also means respect. It is more of a cultural event than a New Year celebration. People welcome the New Year with peace and prayers.

Muslims celebrate Islamic New Year's Day (Al-Hijra) in very different manner from other celebrations. Muslims gather in mosques and offer special prayers and listen to special readings from the Koran.

New Year celebrated by Muslims is not a gala affair rather it's a quite and sober celebration. People gather in mosques and dargahs to offer special prayers. Muslims celebrate this day to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad. The most important part is to tell the hijra (Muhammad's flight from Medina to Mecca). This story is also broadcast on radio. Maal Hijra or the Islamic New Year is spent on reflecting how one's leading his or her life and their own mortality.

The most recent trend of exchanging New Year cards and gifts have been witnessed in many Muslim communities. However, Shia Muslims do not take part in New Year activities. They commemorate the Battle of Karbala and observe it as a month of mourning. This commemoration ends on the tenth day of Muharram called Ashurah. Similarly, Sunni Muslims do not take part in the New Year traditions as on this day first Caliph Abu Bakr died.

Remembrance of Muharram has become an important day for the Shias. People enact the scenes of the Battle of Karbala in mosques. At some places, people clad in black dresses. They recite sorrowful poems in the memory of the martyrdom of Imran Hussain. Many males beat their chests or walk barefoot over the burning coal to remember the sufferings of Hussain. Loud cries of congregation can be heard which reflects their inability to save Hussain from the torture and brutalities.

Later, food and other things of survival are distributed to the poor. The first nine days of Muharram are spent in making an exact copy of martyr's tomb with bamboo and paper. On the tenth day, Ashura, processions are carried out through the streets with the beautifully embellished tombs. A horse leads the procession relating to Hussain's horse.

Muharram is also observed by Dawoodi Bohras in the same way as Shias. They practice prayers on the sayings of the present dawah of Bohras, Mohammed Burhanuddin. On the tenth day of Muharrum, they pray for Husayn till the namaz. When the namaz ends, Husayn is considered shahid by Yazid. It is also close to the day of resurrection because it said in a book that this world will one day come to an end on Friday 10th of Muharram.

Fasting differs among the Muslim groupings. Shia Muslims stop eating and drinking during sunlight hours and do not eat until late afternoon. Sunni Muslims also fast during Muharram for the first ten days of Muharram, just the tenth day or on both the ninth and tenth days, the exact term depending on the individual.

The Islamic New Year is a public holiday in places such as India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates. It is not a nationwide public holiday in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States.

Islamic businesses and organizations may have altered opening hours and there may be some congestion around mosques, particularly in the evening and at night.