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Hijri to Gregorian Converter: The Easiest Way to Convert Islamic Dates
Converting Hijri (Islamic) years to Gregorian (Western) years can be tricky, but a simple approximation formula helps. This article explains the lunar Hijri calendar, provides an easy mathematical formula for conversion (Year Gregorian โ Year Hijri ร 0.97 + 622), and offers online tools for precise date transformations.
Many people, including myself, often find it challenging to quickly convert Hijri years into Western Gregorian notation, though a simple formula can provide a useful approximation for everyday needs.
This article clarifies the meaning of Hijri (ููุฌูุฑุฉ), explains the nature of the Islamic lunar calendar, and provides an easy formula to convert Hijri to Gregorian dates, alongside recommending reliable online conversion tools.
While there are online tools available, it’s helpful to know how to estimate it by hand.
Meaning of Hijri
The name ููุฌูุฑุฉ (hijrah) describes the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in June 622 CE. This also marks the beginning of the Islamic or (lunar) Hijri-calendar, so called ุงูุชูููููููู ุงูููุฌูุฑููู ุงููููู ูุฑููู
The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar and doesn’t follow a solยญar system like the Gregorian or Persian calendar.
Normally, in Arabic, it is marked by the letter ฺพ. It is written in the form that it has at the beginning of the word (ฺพ) โ and not the stand-alone form: ู.
I am not sure why; maybe so it is not confused with the number 5. The Gregorian or Christian calendar is marked by the Arabic letยญter ู meaning: ู ูููุงุฏููู, A.D.
So let us come back to our question:
Which (Gregorian) year is, for example, 1435 Hijri? First of all, one lunar year has about 354 days. A Gregorian year has 365 days; however, there are also leap years (366 days) which are also used as a correction faction.
Hence, if you want to find the correct corresponding date, it is nothing but trivial. There are many things to keep in mind.
The easiest way to convert dates is to use a corrective factor (354 diยญvided by 365) โ 0.97. If you remember that, you can quickly use it with your mobile calculator or even by a calculation on paper.
WATCH OUT: It will give you an approximate number (year). The result is not 100% correct, as indicated in the sign โ, but the result will be very close to the correct year.
A formula to convert the Hijri year to the Gregorian year and the other way around.
HIJRI TO GREGORIAN: If you want to convert a Hijri date to a Gregorian date, you need to multiply the original Hijri year by 0.97 and add 622:
Year Gregorian โ Year Hijri ร 0.97 + 622
GREGORIAN TO HIJRI: If you want to convert a Gregorian date to a Muslim date, you have to subtract 622 from the year and multiply it by 1.03:
Year Hijri โ (Year Gregorianโ 622) ร 1.03
In our example, the result is: 1435 x 0.97 + 622 = 2013.95
It is the year: 2014
Convert a Hijri/Gregorian date online
To convert a date, please enter it below in the abbreviated format dd-mm-yyy (day-month-year). For example, February 15, 2024 would be 15-02-2024. Please also enter the calendar format of the date. When you click the button, you will see the converted date as the result (i.e. the other format).
Note: We use the API from aladhan.com for the conversion.
Other tools to convert Hijri dates
Many websites offer tools to convert dates. I can recommend the following two:
- https://www.islamicfinder.org/islamic-date-converter/
- https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/
- https://www.muqawwim.com/
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- Inside the Arabic Language Academy’s Race to Finish Al-Muโjam Al-Kabeer
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Wanna cite this article?
Driรner, G. (2016, May 21). Hijri to Gregorian Converter: The Easiest Way to Convert Islamic Dates. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/islam/convert-hijri-date/
Published: May 21, 2016
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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Great explanation โ especially the reminder that the formula provides only an approximation. In practice, accurate Hijri โ Gregorian conversion depends on the calendar system used. In Saudi Arabia, the official reference is the Umm al-Qura calendar, which is widely used for government documents and official dates. Because of that, conversions based on Umm al-Qura are often more reliable when accuracy matters.
One example of a tool that performs conversion using the Umm al-Qura calendar is this Date Converter.
The above content is good & helpful… Thank you
When you want to update GCC country documents like ID, driving license, or business documents, we need to update the date to Arabic (Islamic date). Save the link below to easily convert dates to an Arabic calendar. Also, you can convert dates from Arabic to English.
Arabic date converter, Islamic date converter
https://islamicpdfkits.com/arabic-hijiri-date-converter/