Eid-e-Milad 2023: Date, history, and significance

The Shia community believes that on this day, the Prophet had chosen Hazrat Ali as his successor. The Sunni community, however, organises prayer meetings throughout the day. People also celebrate Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi by taking out large processions and by decorating their homes too.

According to legend, the Muslim ruler to first officially celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday was Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri. The Ottomans then declared it as an official holiday in 1588, known as Mevlid Kandil.

This day is now celebrated in almost all Islamic countries, apart from those with significant Muslim population such as Ethiopia, India, Turkey, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, France, Italy, Jordan, and Maldives, among others. Only in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, it is not an official public holiday and is forbidden.

On this day, some countries organise carnivals and large street processions while mosques and houses are decorated. People do charity and stories of Muhammad are narrated. Some scholars and poets also celebrate by reciting Qasida al-Burda Sharif, the famous poem by 13th-century Arabic Sufi Busiri.

In countries like India, relics of Muhammad are displayed after morning prayers in Jammu and Kashmir at Hazratbal Shrine. Grand religious meetings, rallies and parades, are also held in places like Hyderabad.

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