The Beauty of Majlis Mawlid

 

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come.”

― Jelaluddin Rumi

Come again to the mawlid if one must know - Khalid

The totality of experiences, the spiritual energy of the majlis (event) mawlid must be experienced for one to be immersed in an amazing tapestry of senses that cannot be offered by anything except the mawlid itself.

The beauty of Mawlids refers to the special celebration and festive atmosphere surrounding the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in celebration of the Prophet's life and message.

The people who attend the majlis mawlid are decked in their best clean garments, scented with attar. The men generally in white while the women in dark coloured clothing. They prepare for the mawlid coming for mawlid after having a good dose of body cleansing. These rituals are done religiously and personally for both self and religious reasons.

The Sheikhs or Habibs are dressed even more impeccably. They are after all the main acts, like a Jedi master. Not only they recite the most, they share teachings and impart knowledge to people in the mawlid via sermon (tawsiyah) after the mawlid. 

The mawlid Ad Dibai'i, one of the more famous types of mawlids have qasidahs (Arabic poetry being sang) and is usually read/sang out with a team of hadrah (percussions), especially in Malaysia & Indonesia. 

During the mawlid, aromatic incense from bakhoor and attar with sweet smell is spread all around, creating a wonderful experience of the senses when combined with the choral readings of the qasidah and the musical background from the hadrah. A totally immersive experience for any attendee of the mawlid, even and especially newcomers.