Mawlid
Mawlid (Arabic: مَولِد), also known as Eid-e-Milad an-Nabi (Arabic: عید ميلاد النبي, romanized: ʿīd mīlad an-nabī, lit. 'feast of the birth of the prophet'), is an observance of the day when the Islamic prophet Muhammad is reported to have been born. It is commemorated in Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. 12th Rabi' al-awwal is the accepted date among most of the Sunni scholars, while some Shi'a scholars regard 17th Rabi' al-awwal as the accepted date.
This article is about Mawlid. For other uses, see Mawlid (disambiguation).Mawlid
Adherents of mainstream Sunni Islam, Shia Islam and various other Islamic denominations
Commemoration of the birth of Muhammad
12 Rabi' al-awwal
once every Hijri year
The history of this celebration goes back to the early days of Islam when some of the Tabi‘un began to hold sessions in which poetry and songs composed to honour Muhammad were recited and sung to crowds in the major cities.[2] The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588,[3]
known as Mevlid Kandil.[4]
The term Mawlid is also used in some parts of the world, such as Egypt, as a generic term for the birthday celebrations of other historical religious figures such as Sufi saints.[5]
Most denominations of Islam approve of the commemoration of Muhammad's birthday;[6][7]
The Mawlid observance is generally approved of across the four Sunni schools of law, Shi'ism, and by mainstream Islamic scholarship.[8]
Mawlid is recognized as a national holiday in most of the Muslim-majority countries of the world except Saudi Arabia and Qatar which are officially Salafi.[9][10][11]
Some denominations including Wahhabism, Deobandism and the Ahmadiyya disapprove its commemoration.[12]
Etymology[edit]
Mawlid is derived from the Arabic root word ولد, meaning to give birth, bear a child, descendant.[13] In contemporary usage, Mawlid refers to the observance of the day of birth of Muhammad.[14] Along with being referred to as the celebration of the birth of Muhammad, the term Mawlid refers to the 'text especially composed for and recited at Muhammad's nativity celebration' or "a text recited or sung on that day".[15] The term Mawlid is also used in some parts of the world, such as Egypt, as a generic term for the day someone was born celebrations of other historical religious figures such as Sufi saints.[5]
Date[edit]
According to the majority of Sunni Muslims and some Shi'as, Muhammad was born on the 12th of Rabi' al-awwal.[16][17][18][19] Many Twelver Shia Muslims on the other hand assert that Muhammad was born on the 17th of Rabi' al-awwal.[16][17][20] It stands as a matter of ikhtilaf or disagreement since prominent Shia scholars such as Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, Ibn Babawayh, and Zayn al-Din al-Juba'i al-'Amili have affirmed the date of the 12th of Rabi' al-Awal.[21][22] Nonetheless, others contend that the date of Muhammad's birth is unknown and is not definitively recorded in the Islamic traditions.[23][24][25][26] The issue of the correct date of the Mawlid is recorded by Ibn Khallikan as constituting the first proven disagreement concerning the celebration.[27]
