Happy Holidays from around the world!

Mawlid al-Nabi

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This mosque helps symbolize the celebration of the birth of the prophet Muhammad’s birthday because pictures of the prophet are barred from the religion.

Mawlid al-Nabi is the Muslim celebration of the prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Because the actual date of Muhammad’s birth is unknown, the date of the celebration is on a different date every year. The Sunni and Shia Muslims disagree on the date of his birth. Sunni Muslims celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi on the 12th day of Rabi’ al-awwal, Dec. 11-12 this year, and Shia Muslims celebrate on the 17th day of Rabi’ al-awwal.

This holiday is mainly celebrated in mosques and in largely Islamic areas. Few branches of Islam argue that the holiday should not be celebrated because they feel it focuses on the human prophet too much and distracts from the divine source of revelation. Others believe that the holiday celebrates his way of life. Traditions of the holiday include singing songs, reading poetry, having large social gatherings, and fasting to honor the prophet. Some Muslims celebrate the birth of the prophet throughout the year in a celebration called Mevlut, because they believe that Muhammad is always there for guidance, and should be celebrated often. In some American Islamic communities, the children are taught about the character and the lifestyle of the prophet. They hear stories of his life and sometimes perform skits and plays about what they’ve learned.

There are no real symbols for the holiday because pictures of the prophet are barred. They do this to avoid the temptation of idol worship.