Happy Hijri Year 1447: Many Muslims are still refugees

Happy and blessed New Hijri Year 1446 to all Muslims in the world, especially to the Muslim refugees.

Today marks Muharram 1, 1447 AH.

Today is the start of the new Islamic Hijri Year 1447.

Our Islamic calendar started from 14 centuries when Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” and his companions, the early Muslims seek refuge and safety in Yathrib that became Islam’s first capital and state.

Midjourney imagining how the Muslims in Yatharb receving Prophet Muhammed "PBUH" 
and his companions in the style of American concept artist Mary Blair 

It was not the first time that early and first Muslims had to seek refuge in other city. Yes , early Muslims seek refuge in the Kingdom of Aksum in modern day Ethiopia under the rule of Nagashi/Nagasi/King Ashama in what known in the Islamic history the first Hijra.

Ahl al-Bayt, the Prophet’s own family, had to be refugees as they were persecuted, hunted, displaced, and martyred

Most of the major Abrahamic prophets — in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — experienced exile, forced migration, or were refugees at some point in their lives.

So I do not know how some people who call themselves as people of faith following Judaism , Christianity and Islam and yet are anti-refugees.

It kills me actually.

In some sad reality , today the largest refugee groups globally are still Muslim-majority populations.We are speaking about Palestinians, Syrians, Afghans, Sudanese , Yemenis, Rohingya and Uighurs.

As of 2024, the combined number of refugees and forcibly displaced people from major crisis zones includes approximately 5.9 million Palestinians registered with UNRWA, 6.8 million Syrian refugees (mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Europe), around 6.4 million Afghans (with large populations in Iran, Pakistan, and the West), nearly 1.9 million Sudanese displaced across Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, and others since the 2023 conflict, over 4.5 million Yemenis displaced internally or abroad, nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees, primarily in Bangladesh, and an estimated 1.5 million Uyghur exiles and diaspora members, mostly in Central Asia, Turkey, and Western countries. Together, these communities represent over 28 million forcibly displaced people — the human cost of war, persecution, and systemic injustice across the Islamic world.

Over 28 million forcibly displace people who are refugees , mostly Muslim refugees.

This is at time there are extremely rich Muslim countries that technically can control the energy prices

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain — along with Brunei, are among the wealthiest Muslim-majority nations in the world, largely due to their abundant energy resources, especially oil and natural gas.

The Muslim bloc within OPEC, comprising countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar (former OPEC member), Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, and Brunei, controls a significant share of the world’s oil wealth. Collectively, these nations account for over $300 billion annually in oil export revenues and hold the vast majority of OPEC’s proven oil reserves, estimated at more than 75% of global reserves.

United Nations refugee agencies are currently enduring a severe funding crisis that is hampering their ability to deliver life-saving assistance. UNHCR, which seeks around $10.6 billion in 2025 to aid 139 million displaced people worldwide, has secured only about 17–35% of that amount—with just $1.85 billion available by March, far short of its needs.

These cuts have led to the suspension of non-emergency healthcare, halted planned activities worth $300 million, and left roughly 20,000 refugees in Egypt without medical support.

In Sudan and Bangladesh, 12.8 million people are at risk of losing essential health interventions due to shrinking budgets.

Meanwhile, UNRWA is staring at a $200 million deficit threatening its core programs across Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It urgently requires $60 million per month just for staff payroll, and warns that without rapid new funding, it may have to make “unprecedented decisions” about scaling back or halting services.

Rich Muslim countries can solve this crisis so easily if they want to.

I am afraid that this is the time Prophet Muhammed “PBUH” prophesied 14 centuries ago.

“The nations will soon summon one another to attack you as people invite others to share their dish.” Prophet Mohammed ﷺ said
The companions asked: “Will that be because of our small numbers, O Messenger of Allah?”
He ﷺ said: “No, you will be numerous, but you will be like the froth (ghuthā’) on the surface of a torrent. Allah will remove fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and will cast 'wahn' into your hearts.”
They asked: “What is wahn, O Messenger of Allah?”
He replied: “Love of the world and hatred of death.”

Truly, the Messenger of God spoke the truth.

I know I should be more optimistic as a new year begins. I’m trying to stay hopeful that, inshallah, the year 1447 will be better — a year of positive change, just like Year 1 in Islam marked a new beginning. Inshallah it will be. Let’s pray it is.