Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) birthday is commemorated by Muslims during the month of Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month of the Muslim calendar. It is marked as a public holiday in many Muslim countries around the world.
WE SENT THEE NOT, BUT AS A MERCY FOR ALL CREATURES: SURAT 21, VERSE 107
Holy Qur’an Translation by A. Yusuf Ali
Rabi al-Awwal, the third month of the Hijri calendar, is a significant month in the Islamic year because it was in this month that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born.
His life and teachings play a central role in our religion, it should be a time for Muslims to learn more about his message, and to honour his memory by striving to follow his path. This following is called the “Sunnah of the Prophet”
On the occasion of our Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid), here are a few basic facts about his Birthday:
The Prophet (PBUH) was most likely born on the 12th of the month of Rabi al-Awwal. Shia sects generally mark it on the 17th. We know he was born on a Monday. Muslims usually fast on Mondays because of this.
The year most likely was around 570CE in the Gregorian calendar, dubbed in Islamic traditions as “The Year of the Elephant”. Ultimately however, there is actually no irrevocable source about the exact date of his birth. This year the 12th of Rabia Awal coincides with Monday, October 18, 2021.
• Muhammad (PBUH) was born to a prominent tribe in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he lived until he fled to Yathrib (what later became Madina Munnawarah – City of Light) as he was relentlessly persecuted in Mecca. However, as it was a tribal society, people were probably moving around a lot and living in tents, the exact spot of his birth is actually unknown.
• Aminah’s Dreams: Aminah was the Prophet’s mother, and during her pregnancy, she reported several visions she had. Firstly, she related a vision in which she saw a light coming from her and extending all the way into Syria. This is interesting as it roughly corresponds to the spreading of Islam around the Prophet’s death (PBUH). Another one brought her the name “Muhammad,” which was unknown at that time. The name is derived from the root HAMADA meaning to praise in Arabic. Another derivation is Ahmad, also mentioned in the Qur’an.
• His father, (Abdullah) passed away before he was born. He had left on a caravan trip to Palestine but had fallen ill on the route home. The caravan returned without him ad he never got to see his son. Aminah remained under the care of her father-in-law, (Adbul Muttalib), but she too passed soon after, leaving Muhammad (PBUH) an orphan at the age of six.
• One tradition, which is not verifiable, the prophet Moses narrated to his people that another prophet was to come after him. He mentioned that when the prophet would be born, there would be a certain star in the heavens to serve as a sign. One Jewish scholar, gazing at the stars on the night of the Prophet’s birth, noted one star which he had never seen before, and that he recognized as the one which Moses had promised, marked the birth of a new Prophet.
The history of this celebration goes back to the early days of Islam when some of the Tabi‘un (successors or followers) began to hold sessions in which poetry and songs composed to honour our Prophet (PBUH) were recited and sung to the crowds. It has been said that the first Muslim ruler to officially celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in an impressive ceremony was Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri (d. 630/1233).
The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588, known as Mevlid Kandil. The Arabic term is Mawlid.
Most denominations of Islam celebrate the Prophet’s birthday; however, with the emergence of Wahhabism-Salafism, Deobandism and Ahl-iHadith, some Muslims began to consider the Mawlid as an illicit religious innovation (bid'ah or bidat). Mawlid is recognized as a national holiday in most of the Muslim-majority countries of the world with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Some non-Muslim majority countries with large Muslim populations such as India also recognize it as a public holiday. The bottom line is that Muslim Communities are very DIVERSE and celebrate in different ways. Mostly the objective is to Honour the Memory and spread goodness like feeding the hungry in the Society. People cook and serve the homeless in the name of the Prophet (this is one of their ways of honouring