Rabiʽ al-Awwal (Arabic:رَبِيع ٱلْأَوَّل,romanized: Rabīʿ al-ʾAwwal,lit. 'The initial Rabi', also known asRabi' al-Ula (Arabic:رَبِيع ٱلْأُولَىٰ,romanized: Rabī‘ al-ʾŪlā,lit. 'The first Rabi'), orRabi' I) is the third month of theIslamic calendar. The nameRabī‘ al-awwal means "the first month orbeginning ofspring", referring to its position in thepre-Islamic Arabian calendar.
The word "Rabi" means "spring" and Al-awwal means "the first" in theArabic language, so "Rabi' al-awwal" means "the first spring" inArabic. The name seems to have to do with the celebratory events in the month, as spring marks the end of winter (a symbol of sadness) and consequently the start of happiness. As the Islamic calendar is a purelylunar calendar, the month naturally rotates over solar years, so Rabīʽ al-awwal can fall in spring or any other season. Therefore, the month cannot be related to the actual season of spring.[1]
And It's mentioned in the Arabic lexicons that Arabs add the word "month" to Rabi' al-Awwal,Rabi' al-Akhir andRamadan months only, and most of them allow adding the word "month" to the other months too.[2][3][4]
The history of this celebration goes back to the early days of Islam when some of theTabi‘un began to hold sessions in which poetry and songs composed to honour Muhammad were recited and sung to crowds in the major cities.[5] The celebration was continued either by theAbbasids and theFatimids. The Muslim generalGökböri, a deputy ofSaladin (r. 1174–1193), is believed to have been the first to publicly celebrate Mawlid, which he did in an impressive ceremony at theProphet's Mosque inMedina. TheOttomans underMurad III (r. 1574–1595) declared it anofficial holiday.
Celebrants holdmahfils on Mawlid in whichreligious poetry is recited in praise of Muhammad accompanied by a feast. Other customs affiliated with Mawlid are supererogatory fasting, Islamic music anddhikr. Most denominations ofIslam approve of the commemoration of Muhammad's birthday.
The Mawlid observance is generally approved of across the four Sunni schools of law, by mainstream Islamic scholarship and it is a recognized national holiday in most of the Muslim-majority countries of the world.
TheIslamic calendar is a purelylunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of anew moon is sighted. Since the Islamiclunar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than thesolar year, Rabī‘ al-Awwal migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Rabī‘ al-Awwal are as follows (based on theUmm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia[6]):
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