Muslim Festivals Celebrated in India

Muharram / Ashura

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar and considered to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. The tenth day of Muharram is the Day of Ashura, which to Shia Muslims is part of the Mourning of Muharram.

Ashura, which literally means the “Tenth” in Arabic, refers to the tenth day of Muharram. The festival is the day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.

Mawlid / Baarah Wafaat

Rabi’ al-awwal which is the third month of the Islamic calendar is considered as month of birth of prophet Muhammad. He was born on 12th day of this month. Muslims celebrate Mawlid on this day. However followers of Shia Islam consider the 17th day of this month as month of birth of Prophet Mohammed.

Shab-e-barat

The festival of the Shab-e-barat is based upon the faith of the Muslims that on this night, the almighty composes the fortunes of all humans for the approaching year by taking into accounting the feats committed by them in the yesteryear.

This festival is celebrated on the 13th or 14th day of Shaban, the 8th month of the Islamic Calender. This happens to be fifteen days before the beginning of Ramazan. Shab-e-Barat means the night of forgiveness or Day of Atonement.

People pray to god both in preparation for Ramazan and for the forgiveness of the sins committed by them. In Arabic, the day is called Lailatul Baraat, meaning the night of emancipation. Shab-e-Barat is also seen as a night of good luck and a common legend says that on this night the Prophet travels to each house and allays the ails of agony of humanity