The Celebration of the Birth of the Prophet (al-Mawlid al-Nabawî): Glimpses of a Non-canonical Muslim Holiday

This article presents an overview of the celebration of the birth of the Prophet (al-Mawlid al-Nabawi), a festival that appeared in Sunni Islam in the thirteenth century. As a non-canonical holiday, the Mawlid is accepted by the majority of Muslim clerics as a legitimate custom (sunna) while a minority, who adhere to a literalist reading of the founding texts of Islam, the Quran and the Prophetic traditions, criticize its legal basis or the devotional and festive practices that take place during its celebration. The Mawlid is a public holiday in most Muslim countries (outside Wahhabi Saudi Arabia); the candles and electric lights that are lit in private houses and mosques reference the central theme of the narrative of the Prophet's birth that is declaimed or sung on this occasion: that of the pre-existence of the light of the Prophet (nur muhammadi) from which God created the world."