Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi greeted the Egyptian people and the Muslim world on Monday for the advent of a new Hijri year, 1443.

“This glorious occasion has embodied the meanings of struggle for the sake of the homeland and patience in the face of affliction and life’s hardship,” El-Sisi said in a tweet.

The president prayed to God to protect the Egyptian people and the country and for the whole world to enjoy further security and stability.

Monday marks the first day of Muharram 1443, the first month of the Islamic calendar, during which Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia, a journey known as the Hijra.

The Egyptian government has announced that Thursday 12 August will be a paid holiday for public and private sector employees instead of Monday. This comes as per a governmental decision last year to grant Thursdays as a day off in cases where national holidays fall on weekdays.

The president’s spouse, Intisar El-Sisi, also hailed the occasion in a Facebook post, saying: “[The day] in which the noblest meanings in terms of sincerity of intention, determination, sacrifice, and loyalty to the homeland are manifested.”