Prophet's Birthday

The Prophet Muhammed was born in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia that is revered as holy by Muslims. ©iStockphoto.com/Aidar Ayazbayev

What do people do?

In the Islamic world, there is some controversy over the celebration of Muhammed's birthday. Some scholars see it as an event worthy of praise, while others view the celebration of birthdays as contradictory to Islamic law.  Both sides cite hadith (books of Islamic law) and events from Muhammed's life in support of their views.

In some countries, Mawlid, or Milad, is celebrated with large scale street parades and homes and mosques are decorated. In addition, food and charity are distributed and children read poems to illustrate events in the life of Muhammed. Mawlid is celebrated in this way in a number of communities across the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. However, many Muslims in these countries do not celebrate on this day or mark it by taking extra time to read the Koran. Muhammed is said to have been born on a Monday and some scholars see fasting during the hours of daylight on Mondays as another way to celebrate his birth.

Public life

Mawlid is a public holiday in many Islamic countries but not in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada. Nearly all schools, stores, businesses and organizations are open. Islamic schools, stores, businesses and organizations may be closed for part or all of the day, according to local custom. Public transit systems operate to their regular schedule.

Background

Muhammed was born in Mecca, now in Saudi Arabia, in the year 570 of the Gregorian calendar. The precise date of his birth is unclear. However, Sunni Muslims observe Muhammed's birthday on the 12th day of the Islamic month of Rabi' al-awwal, while Shi'a Muslims mark it on the 17th of this month. The 17th day of the month of Rabi' al-awwal is the anniversary of the birth of the sixth Shi'a iman, Ja'far al-Sadiq.

In Egypt and Sudan, the term Mawlid is used to refer to the birthdays of both Muhammed and local Sufi saints. The birthdays of approximately 3000 Sufi saints are marked or celebrated. Some are large scale celebrations, which attract visitors from a range of countries. The most notable is the celebration of the birthday of Ahmed el-Bedawi, who lived in around 700 years ago and is believed to be buried under the Mosque of Sheikh el-Said Ahmed el-Bedawi. It attracts about three million visitors who sleep in the mosque and in tents set up in the streets surrounding it.

The word Mawlid, or Milad, depending on the method of transliteration used, comes from the Arabic word for birth and usually refers to the anniversary of the birth of Muhammed. This observance is also known as Mevlid Serif in Turkish, Mawlūd Sharīf in Urdu and Maulidur-Rasūl in Malay.

Prophet's Birthday Observances

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