Mawlid#Observances

The term {{Transliteration|ar|Mawlid}} is derived from the Arabic root word {{Transliteration|ar|walad}}, meaning "to give birth" or "descendant".{{lang|ar|قاموس المنجد}} – Moungued Dictionary (paper), or online: [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/arabic/%25D9%2588%25D9%2584%25D8%25AF Webster's Arabic English Dictionary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212031920/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/arabic/%D9%88%D9%84%D8%AF|date=12 February 2009}} Although it is a generic term for any day of birth, {{Transliteration|ar|Mawlid}} usually refers to the observance of the birthday of Muhammad.[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mawlid Mawlid]. Reference.com

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".{{Sfn|Knappert|1988|pp=209–215}}

According to the majority of Sunni Muslims and most Shias, Muhammad was born on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4zYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22according+to+the+sunnis%22|title=Mahjubah|volume=16|year=1997|page=8}}{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIzknQEACAAJ|title=Mawlid Al-nabi: Celebration and Permissibility|publisher=Minhaj-ul-Quran Publications|page=25|author=Tahir ul Qadri|year=2014|isbn=9781908229144}}{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LeYpAQAAMAAJ|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World|author=John L. Esposito|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=121|isbn=978-0-19-506613-5 }} Many Twelver Shia Muslims on the other hand assert that Muhammad was born on the 17th of Rabi' al-Awwal.{{cite book |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sealed-Nectar-Biography-Prophet-Muhammad-ebook/dp/B00DOKDP46/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511971555&sr=8-3&keywords=sealed+nectar |title=The Sealed Nectar}} 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.{{citation |url= https://kadivar.com/17515/amp |title= روز میلاد پیامبر بازگشت به رای متقدم تشیع |author= Mohsen Kadivar |access-date= 21 December 2019 |archive-date= 21 December 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191221223240/https://kadivar.com/17515/amp/ |url-status= dead }}{{citation|url= https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/46772/ولادت-رسول-خدا-ص-در-دوازدهم-یا-هفدهم-ربیع-الاول/ |title= ولادت رسول خدا (ص) در دوازدهم یا هفدهم ربیع الاول؟ | author= Rasool Jafariyan}} Nonetheless, others contend that the date of Muhammad's birth is unknown and is not definitively recorded in the Islamic traditions.{{cite book|editor1-last=Sanjuán|editor1-first=Alejandro García|title=Till God Inherits the Earth: Islamic Pious Endowments in Al-Andalus (9–15th Centuries)|url=https://archive.org/details/tillgodinheritse00sanj_163|url-access=limited|date=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004153585|page=[https://archive.org/details/tillgodinheritse00sanj_163/page/n255 235]|edition=illustrated}}{{cite book|author1=Annemarie Schimmel|author-link1=Annemarie Schimmel|title=Deciphering the signs of God: a phenomenological approach to Islam|date=1994|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|page=69|edition=illustrated}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Eliade|editor1-first=Mircea|editor1-link=Mircea Eliade|title=The Encyclopedia of religion, Volume 9|date=1987|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780029098004|page=292|edition=illustrated}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Fitzpatrick|editor1-first=Coeli|editor2-last=Walker|editor2-first=Adam Hani|title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God [2 volumes]|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610691789|page=368|edition=illustrated}} The issue of the correct date of the Mawlid is recorded by Ibn Khallikan as constituting the first proven disagreement concerning the celebration.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=21}}

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.{{cite web |title=Islamic Supreme Council of America – Islamic Supreme Council of America |url=http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/spirituality/1--mawlid-an-nabi-celebration-of-prophet-muhammads-s-birthday.html}} The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588,{{Cite book |last=Shoup |first=John A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7Ups_zsbcC |title=Culture and Customs of Jordan |date=2007-01-01 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313336713 |page=35 |language=en}} known as Mevlid Kandil.Manuel Franzmann, Christel Gärtner, Nicole Köck Religiosität in der säkularisierten Welt: Theoretische und empirische Beiträge zur Säkularisierungsdebatte in der Religionssoziologie Springer-Verlag 2009 {{ISBN|978-3-531-90213-5}} page 351 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, Egypt.]]

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM In een optocht te Yogyakarta wordt een gunungan (ceremoniële rijstberg) gedragen ter gelegenheid van de 'Garebeg TMnr 10003399.jpg, 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.{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |title=Mawlid (a.), or Mawlud |url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/mawlid-a-or-mawlud-COM_0716 |author1=Fuchs, H. |author2=Knappert J. |editor=P. Bearman |editor2=T. Bianquis |editor3=C. E. Bosworth |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |issn=1573-3912}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Mawlid an-Nabi: Celebrating Prophet Muhammad's (s) Birthday |url=http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/spirituality/1--mawlid-an-nabi-celebration-of-prophet-muhammads-s-birthday.html |access-date=5 November 2018 |website=The Islamic Supreme Council of America |language=en-gb}}

The early celebrations included elements of Sufi influence, with animal sacrifices and torchlight processions along with public sermons and a feast.{{cite journal |last=Schussman |first=Aviva |year=1998 |title=The Legitimacy and Nature of Mawid al-Nabī: (analysis of a Fatwā) |journal=Islamic Law and Society |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=214–234 |doi=10.1163/1568519982599535}}{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | title=Mawlid |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc |year=2007 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9051530/mawlid}} The celebrations occurred during the day, in contrast to modern day observances, with the ruler playing a key role in the ceremonies.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=30}} Emphasis was given to the Ahl al-Bayt with presentation of sermons and recitations of the Qur'an.{{Citation|last=Zulkifli|title=The Madhhab|date=2013|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hgz34.11|work=The Struggle of the Shi‘is in Indonesia|pages=79–112|publisher=ANU Press|jstor=j.ctt5hgz34.11|isbn=978-1-925021-29-5|access-date=2020-10-28}}

The exact origins of the Mawlid are difficult to trace.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ|title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2014|pages=365–368|isbn=9781610691789}} 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.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d195AAAAMAAJ&q=mawlid+festival+abbasids|title=Festivals in World Religions|publisher=Longman|pages=230, 286|year=1986|isbn=9780582361966}} 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.{{Cite news|title=Birthday of Prophet Muhammad|url=https://nationaltoday.com/birthday-of-prophet-muhammad/|work=National Today|language=en}}{{cite book|title=Islam Its History, Teaching, and Practices|author=Solomon Alexander Nigosian|year=2004|publisher=Indiana University Press|page=127|isbn=9780253343154|language=en}}

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.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA335|title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought|page=335|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0691134840}}

According to the hypothesis of Nico Kaptein of Leiden University, the Mawlid was initiated by the Fatimids.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=2|ps=:On the basis of this data, Kaptein hypothesizes that the celebration of the mawlid was initiated by the Fatimid dynasty and spread to Syria and the Jazira by the time of its fall.}} 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."{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=3}} 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 (d. 1442) 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.{{Cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|title=And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-8078-4128-0|location=London|pages=145}} This Shia origin is frequently noted by those Sunnis who oppose Mawlid.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=113}} 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.{{citation|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mawlid|title=Mawlid|date=29 September 2023 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}} 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.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=50}}{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=67}}{{cite book |author=İbrahim Kafesoğlu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5VtAAAAMAAJ |title=A Short History of Turkish-Islamic States (excluding the Ottoman State) |year=1994 |publisher=Turkish Historical Society Printing House |isbn=9789751605719 |editor1=Erdoğan Merçil |page=184 |translator=Ahmet Edip Uysal |editor2=Hidayet Yavuz Nuhoğlu |display-editors=etal|author-link=İbrahim Kafesoğlu}}

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.{{sfnp|Kaptein|1991|loc=Mawlid, 3. In the Mag̲h̲rib.}}{{Cite encyclopedia|title=mawlid {{!}} Meaning, Importance, Celebration, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mawlid|access-date=2020-10-28|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}

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.{{Cite news|date=2020-10-28|title=Eid-e-Milad-Un-Nabi 2020: Date, history and importance|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/eid-e-milad-un-nabi-2020-date-history-and-importance-6906601/|access-date=2020-10-28|work=The Indian Express|language=en}} The Ottomans declared it an official holiday in 1588,{{Cite book |last=Shoup |first=John A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7Ups_zsbcC |title=Culture and Customs of Jordan |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313336713 |page=35 |language=en}} known as Mevlid Kandil.Manuel Franzmann, Christel Gärtner, Nicole Köck Religiosität in der säkularisierten Welt: Theoretische und empirische Beiträge zur Säkularisierungsdebatte in der Religionssoziologie Springer-Verlag 2009 {{ISBN|978-3-531-90213-5}} page 351 It is a national holiday in most parts of the Muslim world except Saudi Arabia and Qatar which are officially Salafi.{{cite book |last1=March |first1=Luke |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIjFBQAAQBAJ&dq=mawlid+wahhabi&pg=PA147 |title=Russia and Islam |date=24 June 2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136988998 |page=147 |accessdate=10 May 2015}}{{Cite book |last=Merkel |first=Udo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0ATBwAAQBAJ |title=Identity Discourses and Communities in International Events, Festivals and Spectacles |date=2015-02-11 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137394934 |page=203 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHb-640Gfa4C&q=mawlid%2520public%2520holiday&pg=PA169 |title=Java, Indonesia and Islam |date=2010-10-28 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9789400700567 |page=169 |language=en}}

{{main|#Permissibility}}

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{{cite web |url=http://www.islamdag.info/video/1127 |title=Mawlid celebration in Russia |publisher=Islamdag.info |access-date=20 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912231720/http://islamdag.info/video/1127 |archive-date=12 September 2011 |url-status=dead}} and Canada. Hari Maulaud Nabi is a public holiday in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.{{Cite web |date=27 July 2021 |title=Notice - Proclamation - Special Public & Bank Holidays 2022 Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands |url=https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/a33-2021-2022-public-holidays-cocos-keeling-islands.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101095635/https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/a33-2021-2022-public-holidays-cocos-keeling-islands.pdf |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts }}

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.{{cite book|author1=Reuven Firestone|title=An Introduction to Islam for Jews|date=2010|publisher=Jewish Publication Society|isbn=9780827610491|page=132|edition=revised}}{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=184}}

The first Sunni mawlid celebration that we have a detailed description of was sponsored by Saladin's general, Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi (Gökböri) and included the slaughtering of thousands of animals for a banquet which is believed to have cost 300,000 dirhams.{{sfn|Katz|2007|loc=Kindle Location 2069}}

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."{{sfn|Katz|2007}}{{pn|date=August 2022}} Often organized in some countries by the Sunni Sufi orders,{{Sfn|Knappert|1988|pp=209–215}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.festivalsinindia.net/barah-wafat/eid-ul-milad-rituals.html |title=Festivals in India |publisher=Festivals in India |access-date=20 November 2011}}{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071214154947/http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/04/02/top1.htm Pakistan Celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi with Religious Zeal, Fervor]}}. Pakistan Times. 2 April 2007. 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".{{cite journal|last=Schielke|first=Samuli|title=Habitus of the authentic, order of the rational: contesting saints' festivals in contemporary Egypt.|journal=Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies|year=2012|volume=12|issue=2}} These celebrations are often considered an expression of the Sufi concept of the pre-existence of Muhammad.{{Sfn|Knappert|1988|pp=209–215}} However, the main significance of these festivities is the expression of love for Muhammad.

{{main|#Permissibility}}

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.{{sfn|Katz|2007}}{{pn|date=August 2022}}

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.{{sfn|Katz|2007}}{{pn|date=August 2022}} 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 (1392 CE) and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalini (1449 CE) 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.{{sfn|Katz|2007}}{{pn|date=August 2022}} The only limitation Ibn Hajar places on forms of celebration is that they must be neutral under Shari’a.{{sfn|Katz|2007}}{{pn|date=August 2022}}

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.

File:International Mawlid Conference at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore by Minhaj-ul-Quran1.jpg, Lahore, Pakistan.]]

During Pakistan's Mawlid, the day starts with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and a 21-gun salute at the provincial capitals and religious hymns are sung during the day.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051104162648/http://pakistantimes.net/2005/04/21/top1.htm Pakistan with Muslims world-over celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi tomorrow]}}

File:Sekaten Yogyakarta 2011 1.JPG fair in Indonesia,[https://dawuhguru.co.id/bulan-maulid-memuat-nilai-nilai-dan-sejarah-penting-umat-islam/ Bulan Maulid Memuat Nilai Nilai dan Sejarah Penting Umat Islam], Dawuh Guru Media. Retrieved 16 December 2022. a week-long celebration of Mawlid.]]

In many parts of Indonesia, the celebration of the Mawlid al-nabi "seems to surpass in importance, liveliness, and splendour" the two official Islamic holidays of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.Herman Beck, [https://books.google.com/books?id=178X5n7zArwC&pg=PA262 Islamic purity at odds with Javanese identity: the Muhammadiyah and the celebration of Garebeg Maulud ritual in Yogyakarta], Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour, eds Jan Platvoet and K. van der Toorn, BRILL, 1995, pg 262

In Qayrawan, Tunisia, Muslims sing and chant hymns of praise to Muhammad, welcoming him in honor of his birth.{{cite journal |last=Speight |first=Marston |year=1980 |title=The nature of Christian and Muslim festivals |journal=The Muslim World |volume=70 |issue=3–4 |pages=260–266 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.1980.tb03417.x}} Also, generally in Tunisia, people usually prepare Assidat Zgougou to celebrate the Mawlid.[http://www.tunisia-live.net/2014/01/13/how-does-tunisia-celebrate-al-mawlid/ How Does Tunisia Celebrate Al Mawlid?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118225455/http://www.tunisia-live.net/2014/01/13/how-does-tunisia-celebrate-al-mawlid/ |date=18 January 2014 }} Tunisia Live

In Turkey, Mawlid is widely celebrated. It is referred to as Mevlid Kandili in Turkish, which means "the candle feast for the Prophet's day of birth".{{cite book | last=Schimmel | first=Annemarie | title=And Muhammad Is His Messenger The Veneration of Prophet in Islamic Piety | publisher=The University of North Carolina Press | year=1985 | isbn=0-8078-1639-6}} Traditional poems regarding Muhammad's life are recited both in public mosques and at home in the evening.Kenan Aksu Turkey: A Regional Power in the Making Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 18.07.2014 {{ISBN|9781443864534}} p. 231 The most celebrated of these is the Mawlid of Süleyman Çelebi.{{Cite journal |last=LEVENT |first=Sibel ÜST ERDEM & Ramazan BÖLÜK-Mehmet Burak ÇAKIN-Sema |title=Journal of Turkish Studies |url=https://turkishstudies.net/turkishstudies?mod=makale_ing_ozet&makale_id=21280 |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=turkishstudies.net |date=17 October 2019 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=389–418 |doi=10.7827/TurkishStudies.13040 |language=tr|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |title=The Mawlid |url=http://www.lastprophet.info/the-mawlid |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=Muhammad (pbuh) - Prophet of Islam |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630135723/https://lastprophet.info/the-mawlid |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=Süleyman Çelebi {{!}} Turkish poet {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suleyman-Celebi |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} Plenty of other mawlids were written in Ottoman times.{{Cite book |title=Mevlid Külliyyatı |publisher=Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları |year=2016 |isbn=978-975-19-6600-1 |edition=2nd |location=Ankara}}

File:Julus e Muhammadi on Mawlid un Nabi at Aligarh Muslim University, India.jpg

Among non-Muslim countries, India is noted for its Mawlid festivities.{{cite news |url=http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46394241.cms |title=Milad Celebrated |work=The Times of India |date=14 May 2003 |access-date=20 November 2011}} The relics of Muhammad are displayed after the morning prayers in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir at the Hazratbal Shrine, where night-long prayers are also held.[http://www.tajanews.com/noqnews/nnqview.php?ArtID=1159 TajaNews] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214093639/http://www.tajanews.com/noqnews/nnqview.php?ArtID=1159|date=14 December 2007}} Hyderabad Telangana is noted for its grand milad festivities. Religious meetings, night-long prayers, rallies, parades and decorations are made throughout the city, and schools declare holiday.{{Cite web|title=Celebrating the prophet: Religious nationalism and the politics of Milad-un-Nabi festivals in India|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260530903|access-date=2020-10-28|website=ResearchGate|language=en}}

According to Sahih Muslim, the prophet fasted on his own birthday, which is why some Muslims also observe that fact and fast the day.{{Cite web |last=Shah |first=Amjad |date=2020-10-26 |title=Did The Prophet (pbuh) Commemorate His Mawlid? |url=https://www.suffahfoundation.com/did-the-prophet-pbuh-commemorate-his-mawlid/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Suffah Foundation |language=en-GB}} File:Charminar during Miladunnabi.jpg

Along with being referred to as the celebration of the birth of Muhammad, the term Mawlid also refers to the 'text especially composed for and recited at Muhammad's nativity celebration' or "a text recited or sung on that day".{{Sfn|Knappert|1988|pp=209–215}} Such poems have been written in many languages, including Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish.Kenan Aksu Turkey: A Regional Power in the Making Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 18.07.2014 {{ISBN|9781443864534}} p. 231 These texts contain stories of the life of Muhammad, or at least some of the following chapters from his life, briefly summarized below:{{Sfn|Knappert|1988|pp=209–215}}

1. The Ancestors of Muhammad
2. The Conception of Muhammad
3. The Birth of Muhammad
4. Introduction of Halima
5. Life of Young Muhammad in Bedouins
6. Muhammad's orphanhood
7. Abu Talib's nephew's first caravan trip
8. Arrangement of Marriage between Muhammad and Khadija
9. Al-Isra'
10. Al-Mi'radj, or the Ascension to heaven
11. Al-Hira, first revelation
12. The first converts to Islam
13. The Hijra
14. Muhammad's death

These texts are only part of the ceremonies. There are many different ways that people celebrate Mawlid, depending on where they are from. There appears to be a cultural influence upon what kind of festivities are a part of the Mawlid celebration. In Indonesia, it is common the congregation recite Simthud Durar, especially among Arab Indonesians.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

File:Maulidi Day in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.jpg, Tanzania.]]

Among Muslim scholars, the legality of Mawlid "has been the subject of intense debate" and has been described as "perhaps one of the most polemical discussions in Islamic law".{{Cite web |last=Rabbani |first=Faraz |date=25 November 2010 |title=Innovation (Bid'a) and Celebrating the Prophet's Birthday (Mawlid) |url=http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2010/11/25/innovation-bida-and-celebrating-the-prophets-birthday-mawlid/ |access-date=26 January 2017 |website=SeekersHub.org |publisher= |quote=Again, if we follow the recourse that Allah Most High has given us: returning matters we’re not clear of to the people of knowledge, then we see that the mawlid, for example, has been carefully considered and generally approved of right across the four schools of mainstream Islamic law. In Singapore, it was a national holiday once, but it was removed from Singapore holidays to improve business competitiveness. If someone doesn’t feel comfortable with that, it is fine, but condemning a mainstream action approved by mainstream Islamic scholarship is the basis of division and contrary to established principles.}}{{Cite book |last1=McDowell |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urcyCnUurGMC |title=World Religions At Your Fingertips |last2=Brown |first2=Nathan Robert |date=2009-03-03 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781101014691 |page=106 |language=en}} Traditionally, most Sunni and nearly all of the Shia scholars have approved the celebration of Mawlid,{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=169}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/verdict.htm | title=Mawlid: The conservative view}}{{Cite web

| url = http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mawlid-al-nabi-celebrations-across-middle-east-1182362142

| title = Mawlid al-Nabi: Celebrations across the Middle East

| website = Middle East Eye

| access-date = 28 February 2016

}} while Salafi and Deobandi scholars oppose the celebration.[http://www.islamicpluralism.org/documents/shariah-law-islamist-ideology-western-europe.pdf A Guide to Shariah Law and Islamist Ideology in Western Europe 2007–2009], Centre for Islamic Pluralism (2009), p.84[https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/printer-friendly-summary-2009-03-13.html "True Commemoration of the blessed life of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)"], Al Islam Online{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBc9349sw4QC&q=wahabi+mawlid&pg=PA415 |title = Canada in Crisis (2): An Agenda for Survival of the Nation|isbn = 9781426933936|last1 = Battram|first1 = Robert A.|date = 22 July 2010| publisher=Trafford }}Observing Islam in Spain: Contemporary Politics and Social Dynamics BRILL, 09.05.2018 {{ISBN|9789004364998}} p. 101http://islamqa.info/en/249 Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid.{{Cite book |last=Moj |first=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Crg1DgAAQBAJ&dq=Milad+deobandi&pg=PA157 |title=The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies |date=March 2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-390-9 |language=en}}

Examples of historic Sunni scholars who permitted the Mawlid include the Shafi'i scholar Al-Suyuti (d 911 A.H.). He was a scholar who wrote a fatwa on the Mawlid, which became one of the most important texts on this issue.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=45}} Although he became famous outside of Egypt, he was caught in conflicts in Egypt his entire life.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=47}} For example, he believed that he was the most important scholar of his time, and that he should be regarded as a mujtahid (a scholar who independently interprets and develops the Law) and later as a mujaddid (a scholar who appears at end of a century to restore Islam).{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=47}} These claims made him the most controversial person of his time.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=47}} However, his fatwa may have received widespread approval and may not have provoked any conflicts.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=48}}

He stated that:

My answer is that the legal status of the observance of the Mawlid – as long as it just consists of a meeting together by the people, a recitation of apposite parts of the Qur'an, the recounting of transmitted accounts of the beginning of (the biography of) the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – and the wonders that took place during his birth, all of which is then followed by a banquet that is served to them and from which they eat-is a good innovation (bid'a hasana), for which one is rewarded because of the esteem shown for the position of the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – that is implicit in it, and because of the expression of joy and happiness on his – may God bless him and grant him peace – noble birth.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=49}}

In response to al-Fakihani, al-Suyuti said a few things. He said that "because a matter is not known it does not necessarily follow that the matter does not exist nor ever has existed."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=54}} He also said that a "learned and judicious ruler introduced it," in responding to al-Fakihani's statement that "on the contrary, it is a bida that was introduced by idlers... nor the pious scholars..."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=54}} Al-Suyuti also said in response to "Nor is it meritorious, because the essence of the meritorious is what the Law demands," that "the demands of meritorious are sometimes based on a text and sometimes on reasoning by analogy."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=54}} Al-Suyuti said that bidas are not restricted to forbidden or reprehensible, but also to the permitted, meritorious, or compulsory categories in response to al-Fakihani's statement that "according to the consensus of the Muslims innovation in religion is not permitted."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=55}} In response to al-Fakihani's statement that "This, not withstanding the fact that the month in which he… is born namely Rabi'I, is exactly the same as the one in which he died. Therefore, joy and happiness in this month are not any more appropriate than sadness in this month,"{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=54}} al-Suyuti said that "birth is the greatest benefaction which has ever befallen us, but his death the greatest calamity that has been visited upon us."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=57}} He said that the law allows the expression of gratitude for benefactions and that Muhammad had prescribed the sacrifice after the birth of a child because this would express gratitude and happiness for the newborn.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=57}} Indeed, al-Suyuti said that the principles of the law say it is right to express happiness at Muhammad's birth.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=57}}

The Shafi'i scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani ({{Died in|852 A.H.}}) too approved of the Mawlid{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=108}} and states that:

As for what is performed on the day of the Mawlid, one should limit oneself to what expresses thanks to God, such as the things that have already been mentioned: [Qur'anic] recitation, serving food, alms-giving, and recitation of praise [poems] about the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – and asceticism which motivate people to perform good deeds and act in view of the next world.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=64}}

The Damascene Shafi'i scholar Abu Shama ({{Died in|1268}}) (who was a teacher of Imam al-Nawawi ({{Died in|676 A.H.}})) also supports the celebration of the Mawlid.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=63}}{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|p=328}} The Maliki scholar Ibn al-Hajj ({{Died in|737 A.H.}}) also spoke positively of the observance of the Mawlid in his book al-Madhkal.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=58}} Al-Hajj addresses his thoughts on the paradoxical problem of misguided Mawlid observance when he says:

This is a night of exceeding virtue, and what follows from an increase in virtue is an increase in the thanks that it merits through the performance of acts of obedience and the like. [However], some people, instead of increasing thanks, have increased innovations on it.{{sfn|Katz|2007|loc=Kindle locations 1936–1940}}

Likewise, the Shafi'i Egyptian scholar Ibn Hajar al-Haytami ({{Died in|974 A.H.}}) was an avid supporter of the Mawlid and wrote a text in praise of it.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Nx8BAAAQBAJ|title=The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of al-Bajuri|last=Spevack|first=Aaron|date=9 September 2014|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9781438453729|page=77|language=en}} This was supported and commented on by the Egyptian scholar and former head of Al-Azhar University Ibrahim al-Bajuri and by the Hanafi Syrian Mufti Ibn Abidin.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=170}} Another Hanafi Mufti Ali al-Qari ({{Died in|1014 A.H.}}) too supported the celebration of the Mawlid and wrote a text on the subject{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=112}} as did the Moroccan Maliki scholar Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Kattānī ({{Died in|1345 A.H.}}).{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=102|ps=: "there is no doubt that the Prophet's (s) recompense to someone who does something for him will be better, more momentous, more copious, greater and more abundant than [that person's] action, because gifts correspond to the rank of those who give them and presents vary according to their bestowers; it is the custom of kings and dignitaries to recompense small things with the greatest of boons and the most splendid treasures, so what of the master of the kings of this world and the next?}} Ibn al-Jazari ({{Died in|833 A.H.}}), a Syrian Shafi'i scholar considers the celebration of the Mawlid to be a means of gaining Paradise.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=109|ps=: "If Abu Lahab, the unbeliever whose condemnation was revealed in the Qur'an, was rewarded (juziya) in hell for his joy on the night of the Prophet's birth, what is the case of a Muslim monotheist of the community of Muhammad the Prophet who delights in his birth and spends all that he can afford for love of him? By my life, his reward (jaza ') from the Beneficent God can only be that He graciously causes him to enter the gardens of bliss!"}}

In the Muslim world, the majority of Sunni Islamic scholars are in favor of the Mawlid.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=169}} "In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the celebration of the Prophet's (s) birthday and the recitation of mawlid texts were ubiquitous practices endorsed by the majority of mainstream Sunni scholars... by the modern period the celebration of the Mawlid was overwhelmingly accepted and practiced at all levels of religious education and authority. Prominent elite scholars continued to contribute to the development of the tradition." Examples include the former Grand Mufi of Egypt Ali Gomaa,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5USQgAACAAJ|title=Responding from the Tradition: One Hundred Contemporary Fatwas by the Grand Mufti of Egypt|last=Gomaa|first=Sheikh Ali|date=1 January 2011|publisher=Fons Vitae|isbn=9781891785443|language=en}} Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=253}}{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|p=322}} of Saudi Arabia, Yusuf al-Qaradawi[http://www.livingislam.org/n/mwld-qrd_e.html Shaykh Qardawi Approves of Celebrating Mawlid]. Yusuf Al-Qardawi.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sunnah.org/ibadaat/shaykh_qardawi_approves_of_celeb.htm|title=Shaykh Qardawi Approves of Celebrating Mawlid|website=www.sunnah.org|access-date=26 March 2016|archive-date=22 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222231059/http://www.sunnah.org/ibadaat/shaykh_qardawi_approves_of_celeb.htm|url-status=dead}} the primary scholar of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Habib Ali al-Jifri,[http://www.alhabibali.com/audioVideo_details/ln/en/avid/780]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIzknQEACAAJ|title=Mawlid Al-nabi: Celebration and Permissibility|last=Tahir-ul-Qadri|first=Dr Muhammad|date=1 May 2014|publisher=Minhaj-UL-Quran Publications|isbn=9781908229144|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Milad-un-Nabi-gets-colourful-elaborate/articleshow/50305110.cms|title=Milad-un-Nabi gets colourful, elaborate|website=The Times of India|date=24 December 2015 |access-date=26 March 2016}} Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy{{Cite news|url=http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/mass-moulood-celebrated-in-green-point-1633613|title=Mass Moulood celebrated in Green Point {{!}} IOL|website=IOL|access-date=3 June 2016}} of Syria, president of the Heritage and History Committee of the United Arab Emirates Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khazraji{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=203}} and Zaid Shakir, all of whom subscribe to Sunni Islam, have given their approval for the observance of Mawlid.

Salafism sects represented in Saudi Arabia and Qatar does not celebrate mawlid while Deobandi sect also forbids its observance though some of their scholars participate in Mawlid gatherings.

Established in 31 May 1866 in India, Wahabi/Salafi influenced Deoband Madarsa and its Deobandi sect consider Mawlid un Nabi as Biddah.https://www.darulifta-deoband.com/home/en/Innovations--Customs/4786

However, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, scholars wing of Deobandism celebrate Mawlid in Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh, India by bringing out

procession since 1913{{cite news | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/94750311.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst | title=Eid-Milad-un-Nabi: People take out procession in city | newspaper=The Times of India | date=10 October 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/kanpur-city-eid-miladunnabi-2022-procession-e-mohamdi-out-on-eid-miladunnabi-in-kanpur-lane-in-front-of-chandreshwar-hata-was-kept-empty-23128464.html | title=Eid Miladunnabi 2022: Kanpur में निकला जुलूस ए मोहम्मदी, चंद्रेश्वर हाता के सामने की लेन खाली, देखें तस्वीरें - Eid Miladunnabi 2022 Procession e Mohamdi out on Eid Miladunnabi in Kanpur lane in front of Chandreshwar Hata was kept empty }} and also takes part in Mawlid celebrations in Aligarh Muslim University which is organized ever year under Seerat Committee.{{cite web | url=https://amu.ac.in/news/2017/2/02/seerat-committee-amu-concludes-week-long-programme | title=Seerat Committee, AMU concludes week-long programme | February 02, 2017 }} One of the Deobandi scholar who regularly delivers mawlid speeches in Aligarh Muslim University, India Prof. Qasmi (Dean, Faculty of Theology, AMU) told that Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi functions have been organized at MAO College/Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) since the times of its founder.Sir Syed Ahmad Khan https://indiaeducationdiary.in/eid-milad-un-nabi-celebrated-at-aligarh-muslim-university-amu/

Taj al-Din al-Fakihani ({{Died in|1331}}), an Egyptian Maliki, considered Mawlid to be a blameworthy innovation that was either makruh or haram. Al-Fakihani said that there was no basis forvthis in the Book of God, nor in the sunnah of Muhammad, and that there was no observance of it on authority of scholars of the umma.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} He said that it was a "bida that was introduced by idlers, and a delight to which gluttons abandon themselves."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} He mentioned how the five legal categories included whether it is compulsory, meritorious, permitted, reprehensible, or forbidden.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} He said it was not compulsory, meritorious, or permitted, and therefore,vit was reprehensible or forbidden.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} He said that it was reprehensible when a person observed at their own expense without doing more at the gathering than to eat and abstain from doing anything sinful.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} The second condition of the category of forbidden, according to al-Fakihani, was when committing of transgressions entered into the practice,{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=52}} such as "singing–with full bellies–accompanied by instruments of idleness like drums and reed flutes, with the meeting of men with young boys and male persons with attractive women–either mixing with them or guarding them–, just like dancing by swinging and swaying, wallowing in lust and forgetting of the Day of Doom."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=53}} He also said, "And likewise the women, when they come together and there lend their high voices during the reciting with sighing and singing and thereby during the declaiming and reciting disobey the law and neglect His word: ‘Verily, your Lord is on a watchtower’ (Sura 89:14)."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=53}} He further said, "Nobody with civilized and courteous manners approves of this. It is only pleasing to people whose hearts are dead and do not contain few sins and offenses."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=53}} Finally, he said that the month when Muhammad was born was also the month in which he died, and so implied that joy and happiness in that month are not more appropriate than sadness in that month.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=54}}

Fellow Egyptian Maliki Ibn al-Haj al-Abdari also considered Mawlid as a blameworthy innovation that was either makruh or haram, who added that the celebration was never practiced by the Salaf.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=71}} However, Ibn al-Haj affirms the auspicious qualities of the month of the Mawlid in the most effusive terms.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=201}} and considers Muhammad's date of birth as a particularly blessed time of the year.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=65}} The Maliki scholar al-Shatibi considered Mawlid an illegitimate innovation.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=73}} The Andalusian jurist Abu 'Abd Allah al-Haffar ({{Died in|1408}}) opposed Mawlid, noting that had the Sahaba celebrated it then its exact date would not be a matter of uncertainty.{{sfn|Katz|2007|pp=159–160}} The former grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Baz, along with Hammud ibn 'Abd Allah al-Tuwayjiri ({{Died in|1992}}), another Saudi scholar, in their opposition also argued that there were many worthy occasions in Muhammad's life which he never commemorated, such as the revelation of the first verses of the Qur'an, the Night Journey and the hijra.{{sfn|Katz|2007|pp=203–204}}{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|p=322}}

The position of Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) on the Mawlid has been ambiguous. On the one hand, he considered that it was a reprehensible devotional innovation and criticised those who celebrated the Mawlid out of a desire to imitate the Christian celebration of Jesus's day of birth.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=117|ps=: "The rationale of expressing love for the Prophet was so compelling that it occasionally forced even opponents of the mawlid celebration to qualify their disapproval. Ibn Taymiya remarks that people may celebrate the mawlid either in order to emulate the Christians' celebration of Jesus's birthday, or "out of love (mahabba) and reverence (ta'zim) for the Prophet." Although the first motive is manifestly invalid, Ibn Taymiya acknowledges the latter intention as legitimate; one who acts on this motivation may be rewarded for his love and his effort, although not for the sinful religious innovation in itself."}}{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|pp=324–325|ps=: "At the same time, Ibn Taymiyya recognizes that people observe the mawlid for different reasons and should be recompessed [recompensed?] according to their intentions. Some, for example, observe the mawlid out of a desire to imitate the Christian celebration of Jesus's birthday on Christmas. This intention is reprehensible"}} On the other hand, he recognised that some observe Muhammad's day of birth out of a desire to show their love and reverence of him and thus deserve a great reward for their good intentions.{{sfn|Katz|2007|p=117|ps=: "The rationale of expressing love for the Prophet was so compelling that it occasionally forced even opponents of the mawlid celebration to qualify their disapproval. Ibn Taymiya remarks that people may celebrate the mawlid either in order to emulate the Christians' celebration of Jesus's birthday, or "out of love (mahabba) and reverence (ta'zim) for the Prophet." Although the first motive is manifestly invalid, Ibn Taymiya acknowledges the latter intention as legitimate; one who acts on this motivation may be rewarded for his love and his effort, although not for the sinful religious innovation in itself."}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tYyfAwAAQBAJ|title=Islamic Law in Theory: Studies on Jurisprudence in Honor of Bernard Weiss|date=9 May 2014|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004265196|language=en|quote=Not only does Ibn Taymiyyah recognize the pious elements within devotional innovations, but he asserts that sincere practitioners of these innovations merit a reward. As I argue elsewhere, Ibn Taymiyyah's paradoxical position stems from a practical awareness of the way that Muslims of his day engaged in devotional practices. Ibn Taymiyya states that: "There is no doubt that the one who performs these [innovated festivals], either because of his own interpretation and independent reasoning or his being a blind imitator (muqallid) of another, receives a reward for his good purpose and for the aspects of his acts that confirm with the lawful and he is forgiven for those aspects that fall under the scope of the innovated if his independent reasoning or blind obedience is pardonable."}}{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|p=320|ps=: "At the same time he recognized that some observe the Prophet's (s) birthday out of a desire to show their love of the Prophet and thus deserve a great reward for their good intentions."}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHb-640Gfa4C&q=Ibn%2520Taymiyya|title=Java, Indonesia and Islam|last=Woodward|first=Mark|date=28 October 2010|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789400700567|page=170|language=en|quote=The Mawlid is among the most commonly mentioned examples of praiseworthy innovation. This view is shared even by some of the most strident opponents of most other modalities of popular Islam. Ibn Taymiyyah, the Kurdish reformer who most Indonesian and other Islamists take as their spiritual ancestor and mentor, was subdued in his critique of the Mawlid. His position was that those who performed it with pious intent and out of love for the Prophet Muhammad (s) would be rewarded for their actions and forgiven any sin from bid'ah that they might incur.}} The Salafi writer Hamid al-Fiqi ({{Died in|1959}}) criticised Ibn Taymiyya for holding this view and stating that "How can they receive a reward for this when they are opposing the guidance of God's Messenger (pbuh)?".{{sfn|Ukeles|2010|p=322}}

Ibn al-Hajj (c. 1250/56-1336) praised carrying out ceremonies and expressions of gratitude during the festival but rejected the forbidden and objectionable matters that took place at it.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=58}} He objected to certain things, such as singers performing to the accompaniment of percussion instruments, pointing to their blameworthiness.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=58}} He asked about what connections there might have been between percussion instruments and the month of Muhammad's day of birth.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=58}} However, he said that it was right to honor and distinguish the day of birth because it showed respect for the month.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=59}} He also said that excellence lied in devotional acts.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=59}} Therefore, al-Hajj said that "the respect of this noble month should consist of additional righteous works, the giving of alms and other pious deeds. If anybody is not able to do so, let him then in any case avoid what is forbidden and reprehensible out of respect for this noble month."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=60}} He said that even though the Quran might be recited, the people actually were "longing for the most skilled adepts of folly and stimulating means to entertain the people," and said that this was "perverse".{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|pp=60-61}} Therefore, he did not condemn the Mawlid, but only "the forbidden and objectionable things which the Mawlid brings in its wake."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=61}} He did not disapprove of preparing a banquet and inviting people to participate.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=62}} In addition, Ibn al-Hajj also said that people observed the Mawlid not just from reasons of respect but also because they wanted to get back the silver they had given on other joyous occasions and festivals, and said that there were "evil aspects" attached to this.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=62}}

Skaykh al-Islam, Abu I-Fadl ibn Hajar, who was "the (greatest) hafiz of this time,"{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=63}} said that the legal status of the Mawlid was that it was a bida, which was not transmitted on the authority of one of the pious ancestors.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=63}} However, he said that it comprised both good things, as well as the reverse, and that if one strove for good things in practicing it and evaded bad things, the Mawlid was a good innovation, and if not, then not.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=63}} He said that the coming of Muhammad was a good benefaction and said that only the day ought to be observed.{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|pp=63-64}} He said that "it is necessary that one restricts oneself to that which expresses gratitude to God… namely by reciting the Quran, the giving of a banquet, almsgiving, declamations of some songs of praise for the Prophet and some ascetic songs of praise, which stimulate the hearts to do good and to make efforts to strive for the Hereafter."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=64}} He also said that the "sama and the entertainment and the like" may have been in line with the joyous nature of the day, but said that “what is forbidden or reprehensible, is, of course, prohibited. The same holds true for what is contrary to that which is regarded as the most appropriate."{{sfn|Kaptein|1993|p=64}}

{{Main|Urs}}

In some countries, such as Egypt and Sudan, Mawlid is used as a generic term for the celebration of the day of birth of local Sufi saints and not only restricted to the observance of the birth of Muhammad.{{sfn|Kaptein|1991}} Around 3,000 Mawlid celebrations are held each year. These festivals attract an international audience, with the largest one in Egypt attracting up to three million people honouring Ahmad al-Badawi, a local 13th-century Sufi saint.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/middle_east_egypt0s_biggest_moulid/html/2.stm |title=In pictures: Egypt's biggest moulid |work=BBC News |access-date=28 February 2016}}

File:Mawlid an-Nabawi SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam Celebrations in Cairo in 1878.jpg|Mawlid an-Nabawi celebrations in Cairo in 1878

File:Mawlid Celebrations in Ottoman Benghazi.jpg|The Ottoman flag is raised during Mawlid an-Nabi celebration of Mohammad's day of birth in 1896 in the field of municipal Libyan city of Benghazi

File:Собрание на празднике маулид в Керале (Индия). 25 апреля 2007.jpg|Mawlid celebration in 2007 in India

{{Portal|Islam}}

{{div col|colwidth=14em}}

• Bayt al-Mawlid, the house where Muhammad is believed to have been born
• Durood
• Hamd
• Haḍra
• Madih nabawi
• Mawsim
• Mehfil
• Na'at
• Mawlid al-Barzanjī
• Islamic poetry
• Mid-Sha'ban
• Tweeza
• Ya Muhammad

{{div col end}}

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• {{cite web|url=http://www.sunnirazvi.org/society/uk.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010225225841/http://www.sunnirazvi.org/society/uk.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2001 |title=United Kingdom |website=Sunni Razvi Society }}
• {{cite web|last=Bednikoff |first=Emilie |url=http://mrsp.mcgill.ca/reports/html/Salahouddine/index.htm |title=Montreal Religious Sites Project |publisher=Mrsp.mcgill.ca |access-date=20 November 2011}}
• {{cite web |url=http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?s=Mawlid |title=Muslim Media Network |publisher=Muslim Media Network |access-date=20 November 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715000028/http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?s=Mawlid |archive-date=15 July 2012 }}
• [http://www.mawlid.ca/events.htm Canadian Mawlid] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009225954/http://www.mawlid.ca/events.htm |date=9 October 2007 }}
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}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite journal |last=Knappert |first=J |year=1988 |title=The Mawlid |journal=Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica |volume=19 |pages=209–215}}
• {{EI2 |last=Kaptein |first=N. J. G. |title=Mawlid | volume = 6}}
• {{cite book | last = Kaptein | first =N. J. G. | title = Muḥammad's Birthday Festival: Early History in the Central Muslim Lands and Development in the Muslim West Until the 10th/16th Century | publisher = Brill | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-9-0040-9452-9 | url = {{Google Books|vSY97ikutQoC|plainurl=yes}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Katz |first=Marion Holmes |year=2007 |title=The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1359-8394-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/birthprophetmuha00katz |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite book |last=Ukeles |first=Raquel |year=2010 |chapter=The Sensitive Puritan? Revisiting Ibn Taymiyya's Approach to Law and Spirituality in Light of 20th-century Debates on the Prophet's Birthday (mawlid al-nabī). |title=Ibn Taymiyya and His Times |editor1=Youssef Rapport |editor2=Shahab Ahmed |pages=319–337 |place=Karachi |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199402069}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite book |last=Hagen |first=Gottfried |year=2014 |chapter=Mawlid (Ottoman) |title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.) |editor-first1=C. |editor-last1=Fitzpatrick |editor-first2=A. |editor-last2=Walker |location=Santa Barbara |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}
• {{cite book |last=Malik |first=Aftab Ahmed |title=The Broken Chain: Reflections Upon the Neglect of a Tradition |publisher=Amal Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-9540544-0-7}}
• {{cite book |last=Picken |first=Gavin |year=2014 |chapter=Mawlid |title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.) |editor-first1=C. |editor-last1=Fitzpatrick |editor-first2=A. |editor-last2=Walker |location=Santa Barbara |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}
• {{cite book |last=Tahir-ul-Qadri |first=Muhammad |year=2014 |title=Mawlid al-Nabi: Celebration and Permissibility |publisher=Minhaj-ul-Quran Publications |isbn=978-1908229144}}

{{wiktionary|mawlid}}

{{wikisource|The Birth of the Prophet}}

{{commons}}

• [http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/mawlid.htm Mawlid from the Encyclopedia of the Orient] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023513/http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/mawlid.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}
• [http://masud.co.uk/the-mawlid-the-conservative-view/ The Mawlid: The Conservative View]
• [http://masud.co.uk/the-mawlid-a-time-to-celebrate/ The Mawlid: A Time to Celebrate]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20181109115239/https://minorblast.com/eid-milad-un-nabi-images-download/ Eid Milad un Nabi Images]
• [https://www.festival-history.com/2020/10/prophet-muhammad.html/ Eid Mawlid Nabi: Celebrate]

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