Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Celebrations in Maldives – Maldivians celebrate the birth of the prophet

Birthday celebrations for Prophet Mohammad were recently held with great pomp and pageantry in the Maldives on 12th December. The Maldives archipelago, more commonly associated with the picture perfect Maldives hotel and resorts, like the Kandolhu Island Maldives, is also an Islamic country. The last Buddhist king of Maldives converted to Islam in the late 1100’s and since then, the country has grown into a majority Muslim nation. The Prophet’s birthday, which falls on the 12th day of ‘Rabee-ul-Awwal’, according to the Islamic Calendar, carries religious significance for many Muslims. A public holiday in the Maldives, it is traditionally marked with the singing of ‘Malood’, Arabic verses which praise the Prophet, followed by three days of eating special foods and celebrations. Even today, families offer special prayers and prepare special sweetmeats for the three day festival.