Mawlid al-Nabi, Arabic for the "birthday of the prophet", marks the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth.
While the day was not marked by the prophet himself, the occasion is celebrated in a majority of Muslim states, with a number of them designating it a national holiday.
Mawlid Al-Nabi is celebrated during the month of Rabiulawal, the third month of the Muslim calendar. Shi'a Muslims celebrate it five days later than Sunni Muslims.
For Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad is seen as an ethical and spiritual role model and commemorating his life is seen as another way of keeping his memory alive in the collective Muslim consciousness.
Muslims will spend Mawlid learning more about the prophet, and seeking ways to better themselves by learning about his teachings.
Many of the rituals take place in a communal context, with worshippers gathering in mosques and community centers.
Most denominations of Islam approve of the commemoration of Muhammad's birthday; however, many fundamentalists Muslims such as Wahh─übiyyah began to disapprove its commemoration, considering it an illicit religious innovation, possibly leading into sin. Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not recognize it as a national holiday.
Sunnis, who constitute the major branch of Islam, regard a mawlid celebration held in 1207 as the first mawlid festival. That occasion was organized by Muß║ôaffar al-D─½n G├kburi, brother-in-law of the Ayy┼½bid sultan Saladin, at Erbil, near Mosul (Iraq). It closely parallels the modern mawlid in form.
Muslim scholars, jurists, mystics, and poets began arriving as much as two months in advance. Two days before the formal mawlid, a large number of camels, sheep, and oxen were sacrificed. On the eve of mawlid, a torchlight procession passed through the town. On the morning of the mawlid, the faithful and the soldiery assembled in front of a specially erected pulpit to hear the sermon. The religious dignitaries were then honored with special robes, and all those attending were invited to feast at the prince's expense.
Is another name for Mawlid, and branches of Islam may celebrate it on different dates.
In some countries of the Middle East, Mawlid is celebrated in a carnival manner, large street processions are held and homes or mosques are decorated. Those observing Mawlid participate in charity events; food is distributed, and stories about the life of Muhammad are narrated with recitation of poetry by children.
Most Muslims celebrating the day will decorate their homes and attend communal meals, as well as speeches in mosques recounting the life of the prophet.