Mawlid

The Mawlid is an annual festival commemorating the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the traditional date of 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar.
The Muslim general Gökböri, a deputy of Saladin, is believed to have been the first to publicly celebrate Mawlid, which he did in an impressive ceremony at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. The Ottomans under Murad III declared it an official holiday.
Celebrants hold on Mawlid in which religious poetry is recited in praise of Muhammad accompanied by a feast. Other customs affiliated with Mawlid are supererogatory fasting, Music and.
The Mawlid observance is a recognized national holiday in most Muslim-majority countries of the world. It is generally approved by Shia Muslims as well as three Sunni schools of law, Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i. However, the Deobandi and Salafi movements and Hanbali school consider the Mawlid a reprehensible and prohibit its observance. Some denominations of Islam do not approve of the commemoration of Muhammad's birthday, as they claim that there is no evidence from the Prophet and his companions that supports this day.

Etymology

The term is derived from the Arabic root word, meaning "to give birth" or "descendant". Although it is a generic term for any day of birth, usually refers to the observance of the birthday of Muhammad. The day is also known as Mawlid al-Nabi and sometimes spelled Milad in some areas.
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".

Date

According to the majority of Sunni Muslims and most Shias, Muhammad was born on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal. Many Twelver Shia Muslims on the other hand assert that Muhammad was born on the 17th of Rabi' al-Awwal. 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. Nonetheless, others contend that the date of Muhammad's birth is unknown and is not definitively recorded in the Islamic traditions. The issue of the correct date of the Mawlid is recorded by Ibn Khallikan as constituting the first proven disagreement concerning the celebration.

History

The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588, known as Mevlid Kandil. 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.File:Mawlid an-Nabi SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam procession at Boulac Avenue in 1904 at Cairo, Egypt.jpg|thumb|Mawlid an-Nabi procession at Boulac Avenue in 1904 at Cairo, Egypt.
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM In een optocht te Yogyakarta wordt een gunungan gedragen ter gelegenheid van de 'Garebeg TMnr 10003399.jpg|thumb|The Garebeg festival celebrating Mawlid in Yogyakarta, Java Island, Indonesia.
In the early days of Islam, observation of Muhammad's birth as a holy day was usually arranged privately, and later was an increased number of visitors to the Mawlid house that was open for the whole day specifically for this celebration. 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 the crowds.
The early celebrations included elements of Sufi influence, with animal sacrifices and torchlight processions along with public sermons and a feast. The celebrations occurred during the day, in contrast to modern day observances, with the ruler playing a key role in the ceremonies. Emphasis was given to the Ahl al-Bayt with presentation of sermons and recitations of the Qur'an.
The exact origins of the Mawlid are difficult to trace. According to Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God, the significance of the event was established when Muhammad fasted on Monday, citing the reason for this was his birth on that day, and when Umar took into consideration Muhammad's birth as a possible starting time for the Islamic calendar. According to Festivals in World Religions, the Mawlid was first introduced by the Abbasids in Baghdad. It has been suggested that the Mawlid was first formalized by al-Khayzuran of the Abbasids. One of the earliest recorded Mawlid celebrations took place in the 8th century when al-Khayzuran, mother of Harun al-Rashid, invited people to pray, celebrate and rejoice at the site where Muhammad was born.
Ibn Jubayr, in 1183, writes that Muhammad's day of birth was celebrated every Monday of Rabi' al-Awwal at his birthplace, which had been converted priorly into a place of devotion under the Abbasids.
According to the hypothesis of Nico Kaptein of Leiden University, the Mawlid was initiated by the Fatimids. It has been stated, "The idea that the celebration of the mawlid originated with the Fatimid dynasty has today been almost universally accepted among both religious polemicists and secular scholars." Annemarie Schimmel also says that the tendency to celebrate the memory of Muhammad's day of birth on a larger and more festive scale emerged first in Egypt during the Fatimids. The Egyptian historian Maqrizi describes one such celebration held in 1122 as an occasion in which mainly scholars and religious establishments participated. They listened to sermons, distributed sweets, particularly honey, Muhammad's favourite and the poor received alms. This Shia origin is frequently noted by those Sunnis who oppose Mawlid. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, however, what the Fatimids did was simply a procession of court officials, which did not involve the public but was restricted to the court of the Fatimid caliph. Therefore, it has been concluded that the first Mawlid celebration which was a public festival was started by Sunnis in 1207 by Muẓaffar al-Dīn Gökburi.
It has been suggested that the celebration was introduced into the city Ceuta by Abu al-Abbas al-Azafi as a way of strengthening the Muslim community and to counteract Christian festivals.

Start of a public holiday

In 1207, the Turkic general Gökböri started the first annual public festival of the Mawlid in Erbil. Gökböri was the brother-in-law of Saladin and soon the festival began to spread across the Muslim world. Since Saladin and Gokburi were both Sufis the festival became increasingly popular among Sufi devotees which remains so till this day. The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588, known as Mevlid Kandil. It is a national holiday in most parts of the Muslim world except Saudi Arabia and Qatar which are officially Salafi.

Country

Status

Reference

Afghanistan

Observances

Where

Mawlid is celebrated in almost all Islamic countries, and in other countries that have a significant Muslim population, such as Ethiopia, India, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq, Iran, Maldives, Morocco, Jordan, Libya, Russia and Canada. Hari Maulaud Nabi is a public holiday in the Cocos Islands.
In the last decades of the late 20th century there has been a trend to "forbid or discredit" Mawlid because of the rise of Salafism.

Sunni celebration

The first Sunni mawlid celebration that we have a detailed description of was sponsored by Saladin's general, Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi and included the slaughtering of thousands of animals for a banquet which is believed to have cost 300,000 dirhams.
The presence of guests and the distribution of monetary gifts at mawlid festivals had an important social function as they symbolized "concretizing ties of patronage and dramatizing the benevolence of the ruler" and also held religious significance, as "issues of spending and feeding were pivotal both to the religious and social function of the celebration." Often organized in some countries by the Sunni Sufi orders, Mawlid is celebrated in a carnival manner, large street processions are held and homes or mosques are decorated. Charity and food is distributed, and stories about the life of Muhammad are narrated with recitation of poetry by children.
Scholars and poets celebrate by reciting Qaṣīda al-Burda Sharif, the famous poem by 13th-century Arabic Sufi Busiri. A general Mawlid appears as "a chaotic, incoherent spectacle, where numerous events happen simultaneously, all held together only by the common festive time and space". These celebrations are often considered an expression of the Sufi concept of the pre-existence of Muhammad. However, the main significance of these festivities is the expression of love for Muhammad.

Theological pros and cons

Early fatwas and criticisms of the mawlid have taken issue with the "possibility of coerced giving" as hosts often took monetary contributions from their guests for festival costs.
Jurists often conceptualized the observance of Muhammad's day of birth as a "form of reciprocation for God's bestowal of the Prophet Muhammad" as a way of justifying celebrations. According to this thought, the bestowal of such a gift required thanks, which came in the form of the celebration of the mawlid. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalini both expressed such ideas, specifically referencing the hadith about the Jews and the fast of ‘Ashura’, but broadening the conception of "thanks to God" to multiple forms of worship including prostration, fasting, almsgiving, and Qur’anic recitation. The only limitation Ibn Hajar places on forms of celebration is that they must be neutral under Shari’a.

By country

Yemen
In Yemen, Mawlid al-Nabi, the celebration of Muhammad's birthday, is one of the most significant events of the year and is home to the largest Mawlid gathering in the world. In cities like Sana'a and other major urban centers, millions of people gather to mark the occasion with religious ceremonies, poetry recitations, and large processions, creating a deeply spiritual atmosphere. The color green, the Prophet's favorite color, is prominently worn by many, symbolizing life, renewal, and a connection to his legacy. Streets, mosques, and homes are adorned with green decorations and lights, further enhancing the festive mood. The event is not only a religious observance but also a reflection of Yemen’s strong cultural and historical ties to the Prophet’s life and teachings.