The Hijri year (AH anno hegirae) is the year-numbering system (or Calendar era) used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra (هِجْرَة), or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ. The year 2012 corresponds to the Islamic years 1433–1434 AH.

In the actual year when the migration took place, there was already a functioning Lunar calendar with named months. However, this calendar did not number the years, so for example, the year Prophet Muhammad and Ammar ibn Yasir were born was called "The Year of the Elephant".

That year was named "The permission to travel". Seventeen years later, that year was chosen as the year to start counting from: first year of Hijra, 1 Anno Hegirae or 1 AH. The first day of 1 AH corresponds to July 16, 622 CE in the Julian Calendar, denoted as "1 Muharram 1 AH".

The Hijra is celebrated annually on the 8th day of Rabi I, about 66 days after the 1st of Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year. Many writers confuse the first day of the year of the Hijra with the date of the migration to Medina itself, erroneously stating that the Hijra occurred on 1 Muharram AH 1 (or July 16, 622 CE),^{[citation needed]} rather than during September and October 622 CE.

Sami Yusuf is a British singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist musician of Azerbaijan origin.

In 2003 Yusuf released his first album "Al-Mu`allim" at the age of 23, selling over two million copies. Following the release of his second album "My Ummah" in 2005, Yusuf was heralded as "Islam's Biggest Rock Star" by Time magazine for his success in attracting a relatively young fan base from diverse regions across the world, many of whom were of Muslim backgrounds. Yusuf has sold over 9 million albums. In October 2010, following a five-year hiatus, Yusuf’s third official album "Wherever You Are" was launched, manifesting his self-coined genre “Spiritique”. Yusuf is involved in humanitarian initiatives, supporting, among others, Islamic Relief and Save the Children.