The Biography of the Prophet

happening and the angelic stranger, he replied, “By God, he appears to be the same man of
the Quraysh whom they are prowling after.”
They continued their journey with the guide until they reached Quba in the vicinity of Madi-
nah. This was on Monday, the 12th day of Rabi ul-Awwal. (24th September, 622 A.D.) A new
era was indeed commencing, because it was from the start of this year that the Islamic
calendar of Hijrah took its humble beginnings!