Dates and Origins of Mawlid

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Mawlid Dates in 2024, 2025 and 2026

Mawlid is celebrated at the following dates:

• Monday, September 16, 2024
• Friday, September 5, 2025
• Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Mawlid is an annual Muslim holiday on the twelfth day of Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar¹. It is a celebration of the Prophet Muhammed's birthday¹.

Origin

Muhammed was born to the Quraysh tribe in Mecca in the year of 570 AD². At the time, newborns of wealthy families were typically entrusted to country women². These women were regarded as being the purest and having the highest standard of Arabic². Therefore, Muhammed was given to a country woman named Halima Sa'dia upon birth². She, along with several others throughout his lifetime, raised the young Prophet².

Celebration

Mawlid was first celebrated in 11th century Egypt and has since spread throughout the entire world³. Although Muhammed's birthday is not actually debated, the legitimacy of the holiday itself has always been hotly contested³. Shi'ite Muslims believe that Islam was a perfect religion upon conception and any innovation or change to it directly contradicts the Quran⁴.

Many others believe that it is not permissible to celebrate the day because Muhammed did not direct his followers to do so⁵. Those who are against the holiday may even believe that those who do celebrate it are condemning themselves to hell⁵. For many Sunni Muslims, this special day consists of extra prayers, food, and merriment⁶. Depending on the community, there are large parades and many decorations for homes and mosques⁷. Children will also read poems and stories about the Prophet out loud to their parents⁷. Mawlid is a public holiday in most Islamic nations⁸.