Mawlid (Milad an-Nabi) (Qur'anic Arabic: مَوْلِدُ النَبِيِّ‎ mawlid(u) (n-)nabiyy(i), “Birth of the Prophet” Standard Arabic: مولد النبي mawlid an-nabī, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic مولد , mawlid, múlid, mulud, milad among other vernacular pronunciations) is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar.^[1]

The term Mawlid is also used in some parts of the world, such as Egypt, as a generic term for the birthday celebrations of other historical religious figures such as Sufi saints.^[2] It is not a part of Islam as a faith, but rather a cultural practice.

(... from Wikipedia on 2010-03-07 08:35:40 )