Al-Hijra, the Muslim New Years Day, begins at sundown

Al-Hijra, the first day of the month of Muharram, marks the beginning of the Islamic New Year.

Muhammed’s popularity was seen as threatening by the people in power in Mecca, and so Muhammad took his followers on a journey from Mecca to Medina in 622. This journey is called the Hijrah (migration) and the event was seen as so important for Islam that 622 is the year in which the Islamic calendar begins.