December 22, 2024

Since September 4, Muslims worldwide have entered the month marking the Prophet Muhammad’s birth. This “month of light and beauty” has faced criticism, especially in Saudi Arabia, advocating a “return to the purity of Islam,” said historian Daoud Riffi.

Muslims entered the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal on September 4, a time of special significance in Islam. It marks the birthday of Muhammad, born on the 12th day of this month in the Year of the Elephant (570 AD). Rabi’ al-Awwal is often called the “month of lights and beauty,” referencing the spiritual mysteries surrounding the prophetic figure.

For 30 days, Muslims worldwide commemorate Mawlid Al-Nabi, the Prophet’s birthday, akin to a grand memorial. It’s a time to remember him, reflect on his virtues, and sing his praises. While the Prophet has often been portrayed negatively in the West since the Middle Ages, for Muslims, he remains a figure of light and compassion. His birth is seen as a blessing for humanity, in accordance with the Quranic verse: “We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds” (Quran 21:107).

Mawlid: A time of remembrance, joy, and gratitude

Mawlid is a period of remembrance, joy, and gratitude. Medieval accounts of the first Mawlid celebrations in Arabia described visits to the Prophet’s birthplace. Symbolically, these pilgrims would retrace his steps, connecting with his earliest memories. Today, family homes (much like mosques) are decorated, scented with incense, and lit with candles. Feasts are held, gifts exchanged, and songs or stories about Muhammad’s life are shared. In mosques, daily gatherings feature readings of his biography, sayings (hadith), as well as chants and poems, often ancient, praising his virtues. The Quran says of him: “Indeed, you are of a great moral character” (Quran 68:4).

These popular and scholarly practices are driven by two key spiritual themes. The first is the ideal that every believer strives for: love for the Prophet, which is expressed through the imitation of his actions and, for the most devout, his spiritual states.

The second theme explains the first: the Prophet’s very essence is Light (a “Radiant Lamp,” Quran 33:46), a light that predates all creation. A hadith tells us that this light passed from “loins to loins” among prophets (a sign of their essential unity) until it was finally embodied in Muhammad. The illumination of homes and mosques during this month subtly reminds us of this “Muhammadan Light,” of which creation is a reflection, celebrated in many mystical texts: “You are the Sun, you are the full Moon; you are Light upon Light.”

Modern criticism and continued fervor

In the 20th century, the celebration of Mawlid came under criticism, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where the Wahhabi movement, advocating a “return to the purity of Islam,” viewed it as a blameworthy religious innovation and an excessive expression of love for the Prophet. However, these critiques have been unable to counter the rich scholarly tradition that has, for centuries, encouraged believers to observe these commemorations. Nor have they diminished the immense fervor—mystical, scholarly, and popular—fed by countless Quranic, prophetic, and poetic references:

“All creatures created after him, 

Are but drops of dew from the ocean of graces, 

His light is the purpose of every creature, 

The origin of being and also non-being.”

(The Conference of the Birds, Farid Al-Din Attar, translated by Leili Anvar, Ed. Diane de Selliers, 2023)

Daoud Riffi, who teaches Islam studies at the Lille Institute of Political Studies, is a historian and associate professor specializing in the history of Islamic thought, traditions and their modern interpretations. He is also a publisher at Tasnîm Editions and actively works as a consultant and trainer in his field.

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