Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Islam

Mawlid

When is Mawlid in 2027, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad: how it is celebrated with poetry, gatherings and lights, its history since the Fatimids, and why some Muslims do not keep it.

Next date

Saturday, 14 August 2027

Begins at sunset the evening before.

Expected date (Umm al-Qura calendar); it may fall a day later where the month begins with the sighting of the moon. Many Shia Muslims celebrate on 17 Rabi al-Awwal, about 19 August.

In brief

  1. I.Mawlid, “birth”, celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, born in Mecca around 570.
  2. II.It is a public holiday in many Muslim countries, kept with gatherings, poetry in praise of the Prophet, sweets and charity.
  3. III.Public celebrations are first recorded at the Fatimid court in Cairo and spread widely from the 12th and 13th centuries.
  4. IV.Some Muslims, notably Salafis, do not celebrate it, because the Prophet’s companions did not.

Chapter I

What it celebrates

Muslim tradition holds that Muhammad was born in Mecca in the “Year of the Elephant”, around 570, and that he died in the same month of Rabi al-Awwal in 632. Mawlid celebrates his birth and, through it, his life and character, which Muslims see as the model of a life lived for God.

The first public celebrations on record took place at the court of the Fatimid caliphs in Cairo. Sunni rulers took them up from the 12th century; in 1207 Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri, ruler of Irbil, held a celebration famous for its splendour. Since then Mawlid has spread across the Muslim world, though scholars have long debated whether it is a praiseworthy custom or an innovation.

Chapter II

How it is kept

Families and communities gather in mosques and homes to recite the Qur’an, tell the story of the Prophet’s birth and life and sing poems in his praise. Among the best loved are the Burda, the “Mantle Ode” of the 13th-century Egyptian poet al-Busiri, and in Turkey the Mevlid of Süleyman Çelebi, written in 1409 and recited at many occasions besides the Prophet’s birthday.

Streets and mosques are hung with lights, sweets are shared, and food and money are given to the poor. Sufi orders hold gatherings of dhikr, the remembrance of God.

Chapter III

Around the world

In Egypt, sugar dolls and horsemen, halawet el-mulid, are sold in the days before the feast. In Pakistan and India, Eid Milad un-Nabi brings processions and illuminated buildings. In Indonesia, the Maulid is marked with communal meals, and in Morocco and Senegal with great gatherings of Sufi orders.

Questions people ask

Do all Muslims celebrate Mawlid?

No. Most Sunni and Shia Muslims honour the day, but some scholars, especially Salafi ones, regard it as an innovation (bid‘a) without basis in the practice of the Prophet and his companions. In Saudi Arabia it is not a public holiday.

Why do Sunni and Shia dates differ?

The sources disagree on the Prophet’s birthday. Most Sunnis keep the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal; many Shia keep the 17th. In Iran the days between them are celebrated as a Week of Unity.

Sources and further reading

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Mawlid”
  2. Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety (University of North Carolina Press, 1985)
  3. Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, as implemented in the Unicode CLDR calendars

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