Below is a sample Khutba (Friday Sermon) that Khateebs around the world can use to emphasize the importance of adopting the Hijri calendar for Muslims. It highlights key points that Khateebs can elaborate on and customize according to the local context. Note: The standard openings and closings of a Khutba are not included, assuming that Khateebs are familiar with these elements.

Introduction

Allah SWT says in the Quran: “God decrees that there are twelve months- ordained in God’s Book on the Day when He created the heavens and earth- four months of which are sacred: this is the correct calculation. Do not wrong your souls in these months- though you may fight the idolaters at any time, if they first fight you- remember that God is with those who are mindful of Him.” (9:36)

• Many of us may have memorized the names of the Islamic months when we were kids, or taught our own children the song that lists out all the Islamic months. 
• Over time though, we forget – How many of us can confidently list the 12 Islamic months in order, the 4 sacred months, and also which month it is?
• This is because aside from a few important dates like Ramadan, Eid, Arafah, and Ashurah – the Islamic calendar doesn’t play much of a role in our lives other than as a cultural artifact

Reconnecting ourselves with the Islamic calendar can be a way of also reconnecting ourselves to Allah and following the sunnah of the Prophet (s). 

Following the Islamic calendar is a form of worship, and facilitates worship

Allah says in the Quran: “He is the One Who made the sun a radiant source and the moon a reflected light, with precisely ordained phases, so that you may know the number of years and calculation ˹of time˺. Allah did not create all this except for a purpose (haqq). He makes the signs clear for people of knowledge”. (10:5)

Expounding on ḥaqq, al-Qurṭubī (d. 671 AH) states: “Allah did not intend to create the moon except with wisdom and accuracy, as a means to display His creation and wisdom, as evidence for His will and knowledge, and to reward all those who follow it.” Ibn ʿAṭīyah (d. 541 AH) defined al-dīn al-qayyim as “the law of God and following it.” Thus, the scholars did not view use of the Islamic calendar merely as a tool to measure time, but also as a form of worship.

• We usually find ourselves making good preparations for Ramadan. When it comes to the fasting of Arafah or Ashurah however, many times we are caught completely off guard that those important days are coming. It’s usually not until the Juma before if the khateeb mentions it that we then quickly make plans to fast on those days. 
• Reconnecting with the Islamic calendar allows us to plan for those days and other important events like the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah the same way we might plan for important holidays or breaks on the Gregorian calendar. 
• Simply knowing when the sacred months are can help us earn more good deeds when we make the intention of doing more because of being in a sacred month. Ibn Abbas (ra) said, ‘In all (twelve) months, Allah then chose four out of these months and made them sacred, emphasising their sanctity, making sinning in them greater, in addition to multiplying the rewards of righteous deeds during them’. [Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
• The Prophet (ﷺ) gave a sermon during his hajj and said: Time has completed a cycle and assumed the form of the day when Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year contains twelve months of which four are sacred, three of them consecutive, viz. Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram and also Rajab of Mudar which comes between Jumadah and Sha’ban.
• While Ramadan has special blessing, it is not the only month in which there is extra barakah. Reconnecting ourselves to the Islamic calendar equips us to seek that. 

Following the Islamic calendar allows us to fulfill sunnah actions we might otherwise ignore

• The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to command us to fast the days of the white (nights): thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the month. He said: This is like keeping perpetual fast. We can only follow this sunnah consistently if we are following the Islamic calendar.
• It is a sunnah to go out and look for the new moon for the month, and there is even a dua associated with it – At the sight of the new moon (of the lunar month), the Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: “Allahumma ahillahu ‘alaina bil-amni wal-iman, was-salamati wal-Islam, Rabbi wa Rabbuk-Allah, Hilalu rushdin wa khairin (O Allah, let this moon appear on us with security and Iman; with safety and Islam. (O moon!) Your Rubb and mine is Allah. May this moon be bringing guidance and good).”
• Tracking the monthly cycles of the moon (and thus the Islamic calendar) also gives us the ability to truly practice upon the ayaat of the Qur’an that push us to reflect on the cycles of the moon, and how perfectly they move in orbit. 

Distancing us from an Islamic identity is a trick of Shaytan to misguide

Of the characteristics of those who are misguided are, “Those who prefer the life of this world over the life to come, who turn others from God’s way, trying to make it crooked: such people have gone far astray.” (14:3)

• One of Shaytan’s biggest tricks is to make people feel that anything aligned to guidance is somehow backwards, or unsophisticated (i.e. to make it appear crooked). 
• Alignment to a Gregorian calendar can be considered easier, and even more conducive to business. We should stop and ask ourselves why we are willing to accept another calendar as superior, or willing to compromise to make it easier for others rather than the other way around. 
• We look to convenience but we ignore the cost – what are the consequences of following a Gregorian calendar? It forces us into a consumer mentality that encourage us to constantly spend to mark occasions – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Prime Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and on and on. 
• Contrast that with the impact of following a calendar that forces you to consider your acts of worship, when to increase your fasting, when to increase your good deeds, when to increase your recitation of the Qur’an, when to plan for Hajj, and so on. 
• It may seem like a small act, but following an Islamic calendar in our personal lives is a way to reject the secular and reclaim the Divine. 

Conclusion

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Know that whoever revives a tradition from my Sunnah if it has died out after me, he will have a reward like those who act upon it without diminishing any of their rewards. Whoever innovates a misguided heresy not pleasing to Allah and His messenger, he will have a sin like those who act upon it without diminishing any of the people’s burdens.”

• While some may ask what’s the point, or if it is even worth the hassle, we should know that there is immense reward in reviving any sunnah of the Messenger (s). 
• We can reconnect ourselves to the Islamic calendar in numerous ways – putting one up in the house, changing our phone display to show a Hijri calendar, or even going out regularly to look for the new moon each month. 
• When we reconnect ourselves, our families, and our communities to the Islamic calendar, we all can play a role in reviving this special sunnah of the Prophet (s). 

Acknowledgement: You can follow Omar’s work at http://ibnabeeomar.substack.com. To invite him to conduct Khateeb and public speaking training in your community please visit https://www.ibnabeeomar.com/speaking

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