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The years are first divided into groups of eight, and each of these eight years has its proper Arabic letter (harah thōn); the numerical value of this letter is the cypher of that year. As the order of sequence of the 8 year-letters is invariable, we need only know the letter of the preceeding, to arrive at that of the current year; and even without this the letter may be calculated from the year of the Hijrah.
The twelve months have each their letter in like manner, and the numerical value of that letter is the cypher of its month. If we add the cypher of a given year to that of a certain month, the sum of the two gives us the clue to the day of the week which is the first day of that month in the year in question.
To apply this clue, we start with the day of the week with which the cycle or series of years begins. Now as this day recedes one place in every 120 years according to a necessary adjustment in the system, there are seven different ways of counting, called after the days of the week which respectively begin the cycles, Ahadiyyah, Ithnainiyyah, Thalathiyyah, Arbaʿiyyah, Khamsiyyah, Jumʿiyyah, Sabtiyyah. The cycles beginning with Wednesday or Thursday are now usually employed in different parts of the Archipelago.
In Acheh the Arbaʿiyyah (Wednesday) method is that most in use.
The cycle of 8 years is as follows:
| 1. | Aléh | (ا) | numerical value | 1. |
| 2. | Hé | (ه) | 5. | |
| 3. | Jim. | (ج) | 3. | |
| 4. | Zòë | (ز) | 7. | |
| 5. | Day away | (د) | 4. | |
| 6. | Ba (Ww) | (ب) | 2. | |
| 7. | Wèë | (و) | 5. | |
| 8. | Day akhé | (د | 4. |
The calculation for finding the letter of a Hijrah year consists in dividing the number representing the year by 8 and counting off the year-letters in the above order, beginning with Wèë, to the number of the remainder. Thus the year 1309 divided by 8 leaves 5; counting
Stuart met with in a Sumatran almanac (Tijdschrift v. h. Batav. Genootschap XX p. 209). But none of the Calendars given in the last mentioned article entirely agrees with the Malay-Achehnese calendars. Such an agreement may be presumed to be probable in the case of that mentioned by Newbold, for the Achehnese derive their Malay lore principally from the Straits. Newbold, however, gives no particular whence this might be decided.
