Mawlid al-Nabi 2027

Also called and spelled: Eid Milad-un-Nabi, 12 Rabi ul Awwal, Barah Wafat, the Mawlid, Eid Milad un Nabi, 12 Rabi ul Awwal, Milad-un-Nabi, Mawlid un Nabi, Barawafat.

The 12th of Rabi al-Awwal is the date most Muslims in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh remember as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It is known as Eid Milad-un-Nabi or the Mawlid, and in Pakistan it is a public holiday marked with naats, Seerah gatherings, lights and processions. It is also an occasion on which Muslims hold different views, and this page sets out what is agreed and what is debated.

When was the Prophet (ﷺ) born?

The Prophet (ﷺ) was born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant, around 570 or 571 CE, the year Abraha's army marched on the Kaaba. On the day of the week there is no doubt: asked about fasting on Mondays, he said, "That is the day I was born, and the day revelation came to me" (Sahih Muslim 1162).

The exact date is less certain. The 12th of Rabi al-Awwal is the best known opinion, reported by Ibn Ishaq. Other early scholars gave the 2nd, 8th, 9th or 10th, and some later astronomical calculations point to the 9th. The 12th of Rabi al-Awwal is also widely reported as the day the Prophet (ﷺ) passed away in 11 AH, which is why some in South Asia call the day Barah Wafat, "the twelfth, the passing".

How the day is marked in Pakistan and India

• Naat and Seerah gatherings in mosques and homes, where the life of the Prophet (ﷺ) is told and poems in his praise are recited.
• Processions (juloos) in many cities, with green flags, banners and recitations.
• Lights and decorations on mosques, streets and homes in the days before the 12th.
• Food and charity: many families cook and distribute food and give sadaqah in the Prophet's (ﷺ) name.
• Public holiday: 12 Rabi al-Awwal is a public holiday in Pakistan, and a gazetted holiday in India and Bangladesh as well.

The scholarly views

The Companions did not hold a yearly birthday celebration, and that fact is the starting point for both sides.

• Those who hold gatherings, including the Barelvi tradition and many scholars before it, regard a Mawlid as a good practice when it is about remembering the Prophet (ﷺ), reciting the Quran, sending salawat, telling the Seerah and feeding people. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti wrote a treatise defending such gatherings. The first well-known public Mawlid was held in Erbil by its ruler Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri in the early 13th century.
• Those who do not, including many Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith scholars, say that fixing a yearly celebration as a religious act is an innovation, because the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Companions did not do it, and that love for him is shown by following his Sunnah every day.

Scholars on both sides agree on some limits: no music, mixing or extravagance that the Shariah forbids, and no exaggeration that raises the Prophet (ﷺ) above the station Allah gave him. They also agree that the best way to honour him is to learn his life and follow it.

What every Muslim can do

1. Read the Seerah. A short biography such as "Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtum" (The Sealed Nectar) takes a few evenings.
2. Send salawat. "Whoever sends one salawat upon me, Allah sends ten upon him" (Sahih Muslim 408).
3. Fast on Mondays, the day he was born, as he did.
4. Revive one Sunnah in your daily life: the miswak, a smile, a greeting of salam to people you do not know.
5. Teach children one story from his life each night of Rabi al-Awwal.

Durood Ibrahimi

The salawat the Prophet (ﷺ) taught his Companions, recited in every prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 3370):

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ

"O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious."

Mawlid al-Nabi 2027 date by country

The Gregorian date of Mawlid al-Nabi depends on whether a country follows its own moon sighting or the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia.

Mawlid al-Nabi dates for the next five years

Like every Islamic date, Mawlid al-Nabi comes about 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. Dates are expected by the calendar and confirmed by moon sighting.