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Mawlid al-Nabi is a celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. The day is fixed at the 12th day of the month of Rabi al-Awwal in the Muslim calendar. Muhammad was born about 570 CE and passed away in 632 CE. During his life, he established Islam as a religion and, in doing so, replaced tribal loyalty with equality among all Muslims.
The Mawlid al-Nabi has its roots in the practice of Muhammad himself. He would fast every Monday because he was born on this day. The vast majority of Muslims celebrate the Mawlid with great fervour. Processions are held, homes are decorated, delicious food is prepared and distributed and stories about the life of Muhammad are related by learned people of Islam, poems are sung by Muslim children, and public musical performances of the story of the Muhammad's birth. The latter is one of the principle religious genres of Muslim music, and may be considered part of the larger genre madih nabawi reserved for praise of the Prophet and his family (Touma 1996, p.158).
A typical musical performance features a skilled solo maqam singer assisted by a chorus of eight to sixteen men. The chorus sings in unison and new verse of poetry and prayers or blessings for the audience are added in set spots of the text. In North Africa it resembles ma'luf or andalusi nubah, in Egypt the dur, in Syria the muwashshah, and in Iraq the maqam al'iraqi. (ibid, p.159)
Source
- Habib Hassan Touma (1996). The Music fo the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340888.
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