An innovation created by idlers: the spread of Mawlid celebrations in the

Mamlk period - Yahya Nurgat

The Mawlid al-Nab (Prophets Mawlid) spread widely in the Mamlk period
because of a wide range of often interconnected factors. The first Mawlid was
celebrated under the Shi'ite Fimid dynasty in 1123 as part of a calendar of
celebrations which included the birthdays of the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophets
family) and the ruler. The celebration of the caliphs mawlid alongside that of
the Prophet and his family gave the Fimid ruler political and spiritual
legitimacy, as did the distribution of sweets and charity to the public. The ruler
would also lead visits to the shrines of prominent descendants of the Prophet.
By the late 1100s, celebrations of the Prophets birthday had become common
amongst Muslims in the Near East based on a theme of thanking God for the
blessings of the Prophet.1 It is unknown whether the Mawlid continued to be a
state celebration with the fall of the Fimids or if it had simply gained sufficient
acceptance amongst the population to survive the return to Sunn rule.2 In any
case, state celebrations of the Mawlid under the Mamlks began in the rule of
Baybars, with celebrations held in an intricately decorated large tent costing
30,000 dinrs. The Sultan invited the caliph, the four chief qs, the
muqaddam alf amrs and the Qur'n readers, and at the end of the prayers
and recitations sumptuous food was served.3 Under the Mamlks, Fimid style
state ceremonies continued, but celebrations became more domestic
occasions focusing on private devotional practice.4
The Mawlid al-Nab spread widely in the Mamlk period because it took on
important socio-cultural, political, and religious functions. For Muslim scholars in
the Mamlk period, the reasons for popular celebration of the Mawlid could
only be to do with spirituality or entertainment. We see this in their fatwas,
sources which provide us with a unique insight into the dynamics of the Mawlid.
One such scholar is Taq al-Dn Ibn Taymiyya, who despite ruling that the
Mawlid al-Nab was a reprehensible devotional innovation, recognised that
some people observed the Mawlid out of a desire to show their love for the
1

As summarised by Brown. See Brown, Jonathan A. C., Muhammad: a very short introduction (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2011) pp.120-121
2
Katz, Marion, The birth of the Prophet Muhammad: devotional piety in Sunni Islam (London: Routledge, 2006)
p.1
3
Schimmel, Annemarie, Some glimpses of the Religious Life in Egypt during the Later Mamluk Period, Islamic
Studies 4 (1965) p.371
4
Katz, Birth p.3

Prophet and thus deserved a reward for their good intentions.5 Thus, from Ibn
Taymiyyas perspective, the Mawlid was a mode of pious expression for at least
some people, though this raises the question of what he felt motivated the rest.
He suggested that some observed the Mawlid out of a desire to imitate the
Christian celebration of Jesus birthday on Christmas. Yet Ibn Taymiyya also
acknowledged the emotional and psychological elements involved for those
who observed the Prophets Mawlid as an expression of piety; he urged that
they should not be admonished unless a substitute normative practice was
provided for them through which they could channel their piety. 6 Other
scholars were not so balanced in their approach; the Mlik jurist Tj al-Dn alFkihn (d.1334) described the Mawlid as an innovation created by idlers
and by the vain desires to which the gluttons abandon themselves. Ibn al-jj
(d.1336) focused on the performance of singers accompanied by percussive
instruments which they use for musical sessions. 7 For these scholars, the
celebration was not a pious expression but an opportunity to overturn the
social order and engage in normally prohibited actions. Others disagreed;
scholars such as the Damascene Shfi' 'Abd al-Ramn Ab Shma (d.1268),
Ibn Rajab al-anbal (1392) and Jall al-Dn al-Suy also denounced practices
such as the taking of hashish and the playing of music accompanied by
dancing. However, they condoned or encouraged the Mawlid on the basis
that it was a form of reciprocation and thanks for Gods bestowal of the
Prophet, with Ab Shma citing the pious works and alms-giving which took
place on the occasion.8 It was after the tenth century that the idea of giving
thanks shifted from simply obeying divine command to one of reciprocity,9 and
this certainly played a central role in the unprecedented popularity achieved
by the Mawlid. Psychologically, the idea of favours requiring reciprocation was
of great importance to the scholars as well as the masses.10 This spiritual force
propelled the Mawlid into an occasion observed at each level of society, with
the Prophet conceptualised as a gift and the Mawlid and its many features as
a form of thanks. The giving of money and reading of sra texts was then
expected to continue the cycle of divine gifts and human reciprocity. 11
Overall, the reasons for the widespread appeal of the Mawlid went beyond
the scholars dichotomy of either spirituality or entertainment. However, both

Ukeles, Raquel, The Sensitive Puritan? Revisiting Ibn Taymiyya's Approach to Law and Spirituality in Light of
20th century Debates on Mawlid al-Nabi, in Yossef Rapoport & Shahab Ahmed (ed.), Ibn Taymiyya and his
Times (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) p.320
6
Ibid. pp.324-325
7
Ibid. pp.328-330
8
Ibid. pp.328-330
9
Katz, Birth p.66
10
Ibid. pp.63-66
11
Ibid. p.67

factors did play a part, even if they did so in more complex ways than scholars
imagined or acknowledged.
The development of the Prophets Mawlid appears to bear some similarity to
the development in Christianity from the fourth century onwards of different
festivals commemorating individual events in the life of Jesus and of his mother
Mary. The difference was that this one occasion encompassed all the
momentous events in the life of Muammad. This was owing to some
uncertainty over dates, but its side-effect was to enhance this day, making it
more special. In this context, the formulation of the Mawlid was from one
aspect a profound spiritual development in the Islamic tradition, summarised
by Katz as a process in which Sunn devotionalism transitioned from sacred
points distributed in space to powerful moments distributed in time. 12 This
transition was already underway in the time of Ibn Jubayr (d. 1217); the
Prophets birthplace remained a sacred space but was opened for special
access on Mondays in the month of the Prophets birth. The word mawlid itself
shifted from meaning birthplace in the time of Ibn Jubayr to referring to the
time of birth by the Mamlk period. This reflected the extension of the blessing
of the Prophets birth from a unique geographical location to a universally
recurring time, making it available to ordinary Muslims in all regions of the world
who would not otherwise be able to undertake the pilgrimage to the sacred
space itself.13 In addition to the spiritual opportunities offered by the Mawlid,
the occasion of the Prophets birth offered an alternative route to salvation.
The same theme can be detected across the Abrahamic tradition, in which all
religions share a conception of life as a process of unrepeatable actions. In this
respect, the Mawlid has similarities to the festival of Yom Kippur and the
sacrament of confession. The various Mawlid texts that were developed reveal
the connection between celebrating the Prophets birth and individual
salvation.14 The Mawlid thus gained widespread popularity as an additional
means of attaining closeness to God and as an alternative route to salvation,
especially for those whose dedication was lacking in the other months of the
year.
Since the Islamic calendar offered
sanctioned canonical festivals, the
festivals also represented a popular
development is better understood in
12

Ibid. p.166
Ibid. p.166
14
Ibid. pp.167-168
13

only two official and prophetically

widespread thirst for supplementary
desire for variety and diversion. This
the context of another occasion that

spread widely in the Mamlk period; that of the saints mawlid. Modern
scholars generally accept that these mawlids, or saint days, first appeared in
Egypt in the early thirteenth century. 15 This corresponds with three other
developments in the first half of the thirteenth century; the emergence of
ziyrat al-qubr (visiting graves) as an organised group activity occurring on
specified days, the mass followings which the f orders began attracting,16
and the veneration of living saints.17 The saint days seem to be an extension of
these three developments. After all, we know that living shaykhs were
venerated by ordinary people; the blind Cairene shaykh Ab Zakariyy' Yay
al-anfr was frequented by so many visitors that he retreated to a zwiya
outside of Cairo. When he died, 50,000 people attended his funeral. Great
numbers would also flock to welcome Ab'l-Naj al-Fww when he was
visiting Cairo.18 Thus, the veneration of deceased f shaykhs was seen as a
natural continuation of the veneration of living saints. This began with the
funeral of the shaykh, an event that was an opportunity to prove that the saint
continued to be venerated. Mass crowds attended the funerals and tried to
get near the coffins of numerous shaykhs in addition to al-anfr, such as
usayn al-Jk in 1337 and 'Umar al-Bbn in 1463.19 The saint days also appear
to be an extension of organised tomb visitation; the difference was that these
mawlids were specially allocated, particular days on which important saints
would be commemorated by large, informal public gatherings. Whereas
ziyra consisted of guided tours of cemeteries, the saints mawlids were more
festive observances held around the tomb of the saint in question. They could
sometimes span several days and nights each year and involved rhythmic
dancing, processions, dhikr, recitation of the Qur'n, recounting stories of the
saints life, and a variety of additional public attractions and entertainment.20
Finally, the saint days spread widely because they were organised by the f
orders, whose membership levels were rising exponentially. However, whilst
these three developments definitely played a role in giving the saint days their
popularity, the saint days were also a distinct activity which combined the
commemoration of a saint with a great deal of entertainment. In addition to
the entertainment value of these mawlids, factors such as royal patronage
and Coptic and Ancient Egyptian antecedents also played a role in a making
the saint days an occasion with such wide appeal.
15

Taylor, Christopher S., The Ziyra, in Christopher S. Taylor, In the vicinity of the righteous: ziyara and the
veneration of Muslim saints in late medieval Egypt (Leiden: Brill, 1998) p.65
16
Ibid. p.63
17
Shoshan, Boaz, Popular Culture in Medieval Cairo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) pp.10-11
18
Ibid. p.11
19
Ibid. p.21
20
Taylor 'Ziyra' pp.64-65

The Prophets Mawlid and the saints mawlids were different in two important
ways; firstly, the Prophets Mawlid was established prior to the saint days, and
secondly, its observance was by no means limited to observance by fs but
rather it was a state festival financed by the government.21 Yet the saint days
managed to achieve a level of popularity which matched that of the
Prophets Mawlid.22 One reason for this was that even though these mawlids
were not a state occasion, they became part of the religion and culture of the
elite, and thus attained the same prestige as the Prophets mawlid. The
phenomenon of organised ziyras, f orders, and veneration of saints meant
that Sufism in the Mamlk period was no longer an abstract doctrine or the
preserve of mystics but an important part of the socio-religious structure and of
congregational life. The f orders especially influenced the Mamlk ruling and
scholarly elite and received support from the Mamlk authorities. 23 From a
cultural perspective, whilst the saints mawlid began as a popular form, it
became enhanced in cultural value as the elite began to participate, as
opposed to the masses reacting to the initiative of rulers and the elite, as was
the case for other celebrations.24 For example, the mawlid at an of Amad
al-Badaw was the biggest important popular gathering celebrated by
dignitaries. In 1462, the wife of Sultan Khushqadm, Shukr By, participated in
the festival with her entourage. Sultan Qyit By ordered the enlargement of
the tomb in 1483. Al-Nsir participated in the night celebration of Shaykh Ism'il
al-Inbb. 25 The mawlid of Sayyida Nafsa, hosted by the caliph in her
mausoleum, acquired much popularity and came to be called the caliphs
mawlid.26 The fact that the saints mawlids were more local affairs makes it
remarkable that they attracted such high-level patronage. Unlike the
Prophets Mawlid, Sultans appeared to patronise such mawlids more from a
position of personal piety than political legitimacy. In any case, the end result
was that the saint days became a common cultural domain27 shared and
celebrated together by the common people and the elite.

21

Hallenberg, Helena, The Sultan Who Loved Sufis: How Qaytbay Endowed a Shrine Complex in Dasq,
Mamlk Studies Review 4 (2000) p.158
22
The mawlid of Amad al-Badaw at ana was said by late Mamlk observers to draw more people than even
the Prophets Mawlid or more than the ajj pilgrimage. See Shoshan Popular Culture p.17
23
Ibid. p.11
24
Ibid. p.76
25
Ibid. p.77
26
Ohtoshi, Tetsuya, Tasawwuf as Reflected in the Ziyra Books and the Cairo Cemeteries, in Richard
McGregor and Adam Sabra (ed.), Le dveloppement du soufisme en gypte lpoque mamlouke (Cairo:
Institut Franais d'Archologie Orientale, 2006) p.315
27
Shoshan Popular Culture p.78

Numerous chroniclers report that the saints mawlids were host to a range of
immoral and corrupt practices. Ibn Iys reported every year that people of
Blq surpassed all limits in noise and joy on the festival of Ism'il al-Inbb, a
pupil of al-Badaw. The celebrations took place on an island opposite Blq
under more than 500 tents.28 It was reported of a mawlid held there in 1389
that innumerable women, children and corrupt people gathered, so on the
next morning, 150 empty wine jars were scattered in the field.29 It was also
reported that many women attended and that there were sexual orgies. 30
Shoshan agrees that the religious dimensions of some of the saint days were
questionable. 31 Perhaps the most popular mawlid, that of al-Badaw, was
ordered to be discontinued in 1447 because of the scandalous behaviour
involved, though it was alleged that the sultan was influenced in his decision
by followers of another f shaykh, Muammad al-Ghamr. Al-Badaws
followers pressured for the ban to be lifted, which it was the following year.
Shaykh Muammad al-Shinw (d.1525) later abolished some of the more
frenzied practices involved in al-Badaws mawlid and a procession with
musical instruments to the shaykhs grave, organising dhikr sessions instead.32
Al-Sha'rn reports that in the first half of the sixteenth century, mawlid
participants would occasionally tire of Qur'nic recitation and someone might
cry out Enough of the Qur'n! Let us hear something enjoyable! Let us have
some singing and music! He also reports that shadow plays would form part
of the mawlid entertainment.33 Thus, there is no doubt that one of the reasons
the saints mawlids gained so much popularity was because of the escape
they provided from the rules and regulations of everyday life. f settings
appear to be a common denominator in the corruption of mawlid practices
in Mamlk Egypt; immoral practices spread to the Mawlid al-Nab, with f
shaykhs performing nocturnal celebrations of the occasion at their zwiyas in
the presence of large crowds. On occasion, and not without criticism, wine
was consumed and women were present, which raises the question of how
much of the religious aspect remained. 34 As Shoshan reminds us,
entertainment and celebration in medieval Cairo was an escape from
economic hardship, political oppression and frequent death.35 For those who

28

Schimmel 'Glimpses' p.372

Ohtoshi, Tasawwuf' p.315
30
Shoshan Popular Culture p.17
31
Ibid. p.17
32
Ibid. p.17
33
Ibid. pp.17-18
34
Shoshan, Boaz, Mawlid, in Josef W. Meri (ed.), Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia (New York;
London: Routledge, 2006) pp.255-256
35
Shoshan Popular Culture p.6
29

wanted more festivals in which they could break rules and social conventions
surrounding alcohol, women and dancing, the saints mawlids and sometimes
even the Prophets Mawlid provided such an opportunity.
The Prophets Mawlid spread widely in the Mamlk period because it
performed an important social and political function for rulers. The sultan would
invite guests and distribute largess, with the aim of concretising ties of
patronage and dramatising the benevolence of the ruler. 36 The Prophets
Mawlid thus served to consolidate and legitimise power relationships. For
instance, Ibn al-Jazar estimates the cost of the Mawlid al-Nab festival held by
the Mamlk Sultan al-hir Barqq in 1383 at around 10,000 mithqls of gold,
with expenses including gifts bestowed on Qur'n reciters and other
participants, robes of honour, food, drink, and incense.37 In addition, as part of
the great festivities and generosity the people of Cairo were accustomed to
under the Mamlks, the Mamlk army would give colourful parades with
equestrian exercises. The Egyptians were known to miss these displays when
the Ottomans took over and did not continue them.38 In the Mamlk period,
the sultans spending on the Mawlid al-Nab reflected a model of pious
expenditure similar to looking after pilgrims or ransoming prisoners of war.39 The
Prophets Mawlid also served an important social and political function for f
orders. In fact, Francisco Rodriguez-Manas has speculated that rulers were
inspired by f festivities. 40 What we can be sure of is that the sometimes
competing f orders and Mamlk rulers enhanced their legitimacy and
prestige through food and spending. In addition to grand banquets hosted by
sultans and prominent f shaykhs, the Mawlid al-Nab would also occur in a
private home within a spiritual setting and with a simple meal. 41 Here, the
Prophets Mawlid served an important social function for ordinary people too.
Fatwas both for and against the Mawlid point to its social aspects; the serving
of food and spending of money on participants was pivotal both to the
religious and social function of the celebration. Scholars such as Ibn alabbkh, who died in 1178-79 but was being cited by scholars as late as in
1536, emphasised the reward of private spending. 42 However, whereas
accepting an invite to a private Mawlid and giving a gift to the host could
36

Katz, Birth p.67

Ibid. p.67
38
Winter, Michael, Attitudes toward the Ottomans in Egyptian historiography during Ottoman rule, in Hugh
N. Kennedy (ed.), The Historiography of Islamic Egypt: (c.950 - 1800) (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2001) p.198
39
Katz, Birth pp.67-68
40
Ibid. p.101
41
Ibid. p.70
42
Ibid. p.68
37

cement social ties in the same way that giving gifts did in the Mamlk period,
not participating or donating to the host was equally seen as negative. The
latter is what is cited by Ibn al-jj in his argument against the Mawlid, but
something which is also alluded to by other fatwas and accounts from the
Mamlk period. 43 For instance, Ibn awq describes attending the Prophets
Mawlid at the house of a local confectioner in 1482. After the recitation, sweet
and savoury dishes were served and a neighbour gifted a large gilded candle
to the confectioner.44 Thus, material gifts and spiritual gain both played a role
as the Mawlid al-Nab became a popular means for solidifying social networks
in the Mamlk period.
Macpherson argues that the saints mawlids spread so widely because they
were in many cases a continuation of feasts held hundreds or even thousands
of years before the advent of Islam. For instance, the mawlid of al-Badaw is
regarded by many Egyptologists as a revival of the Feast of Shoo, the God of
Sebennytus. In addition, the mawlid of Shaykh Ism'l did not follow the Islamic
calendar but was celebrated on or around the 10th of the Coptic month of
Bauna. On this date, ancient Egyptians watched for the mystic tear of Isis
believed to fall at that time and place into the river of Osiris.45 Macpherson
locates the source of the popularity of these celebrations firmly in the hearts
of the people, which led the leaders to integrate them into the Christian and
Islamic traditions. Macpherson also argues that whilst the practice of saint days
was informed by Ancient Egyptian and Coptic customs, the mawlid of alBadaw was the catalyst and template for all other saints mawlids. 46 AlBadaws fame in life spread beyond Egypt to North Africa, Mecca and Iraq,
so in death, his tomb at an was surrounded by pilgrims from all over the
Muslim world. The society and economy of an was boosted by these
crowds, and there was a social and festive feel to the occasion as well as the
air of sanctity.47 Thus, it only seemed natural to arrange a similar meeting at
the same time the next year. This description suggests a spiritual and festive
feel to the saints mawlid, with the local economy especially benefiting from
the crowds. Mawlids personally visited by Macpherson in the first half of the
twentieth century appear to show great continuity with those in the Mamlk
period. Many of them were also fairs, consisting of booths where fruit, toys and
sweets were sold and where visitors could enjoy camel and horse races and
43

Ibid. p.71
Ibid. p.72
45
Macpherson, Joseph W., The Moulids of Egypt. Egyptian Saints-Days, etc. [With plates.] (Cairo : N. M. Press,
1941) p.3
46
Ibid. p.30
47
Ibid. pp.30-31
44

sports. 48 Thus, the popularity of the saints mawlid was contributed to by its
historical antecedents. The saints tomb also served as a locus for important
spiritual, social and economic benefits.

The development of the Prophets Mawlid and of the saint days remarkably
mirrors similar developments in Catholicism. The early Christians kept Sunday as
a day of Eucharistic worship and from at least the second century they
celebrated the great annual feast of Easter, with the latter based on phases
of the moon and thus falling at different times of the year. Christmas was
another important feast first mentioned in the fourth century. Local churches
would also commemorate their martyrs on the anniversary of their deaths. This
triple pattern of weekly holy day, annual moveable feasts, and annual fixed
feasts formed the basic framework of Christian worship. 49 From its earliest
period, Islam had a weekly holy day on Friday and two fixed canonical festivals
of 'd. The Mawlid al-Nab was added in the twelfth century almost as an
additional canonical festival, celebrated as a state occasion and
commemorated by those at the highest echelons of government. In the first
half of the thirteenth century, or at the turn of Islams seventh century, the
saints mawlids made their way into Islams own liturgical year, giving a similar
pattern of weekly holy day, annual moveable feasts, and annual fixed feasts.
The French theologian William of Auxerre wrote in the early thirteenth century
that Christians celebrated the feasts of the saints because, as Bartlett
summarises, the saints are intercessors and examples; in honouring them we
honour God; and we are, in some sense, in community with them.50 These
factors can also be seen in the saints mawlids of the Mamlk period, with
similar themes of intercession and veneration. However just like the mawlids,
Christian saints days also had their critics; it is clear from the writings and
actions of prominent Catholics such as Saint Augustine and Saint Vincent Ferrer
that saints days could be celebrated in ways less than devout or solemn.
Fourth century critics lamented that people went straight from the service
commemorating a martyr to the pub. Another critic in sixth-century Gaul
complained that some feast-day participants simply wanted to damn
themselves and others by getting drunk, dancing, and singing disgraceful
songs.51 This reminds us of the mawlids of al-Badaw and his pupil al-Inbb,
both of which were known to attract scandalous behaviour. Augustine (35448

Ibid. p.35
Bartlett, Robert, 'Saints' Days,' in Robert Bartlett, Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and
Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation (Princeton University Press, 2013) p.113
50
Ibid. p.114
51
Ibid. p.136
49

430) criticised drunkenness and dancing at the shrines of martyrs, whilst Vincent
Ferrer (1350-1419) was known to insist that a thick rope separate male and
female listeners of his sermons. 52 The latter reflected suspicion of the
intermingling of the sexes even in a religious context. We find Mamlk
chroniclers voicing similar suspicions. Gratians Decretum, the standard canonlaw collection published in 1353, decried the immodest gambolling and
unseemly singing that the common people engaged in on feast days. 53
Bartlett concludes that Saints days could be an excuse for a party. 54 The
same is true for their Muslim equivalents.

The Prophets Mawlid and saints' mawlid spread widely in the Mamlk period
for a number of reasons. Many saw both occasions as important opportunities
to become closer to God and attain salvation, either by thanking Him for
bestowing the Prophet upon mankind or by invoking the intercession of a dead
saint. The former reflected new developments in scholarly and popular Islamic
belief centring on a reciprocal relationship with God and the latter reflected
the unprecedented popularity of the f orders and the veneration given to
living saints. The Prophets Mawlid may well have had a level of popularity prior
to the Mamlk period. However, its popularity was cemented under the
Mamlks as the occasion took on important social, cultural and political
functions. The Prophets Mawlid served to consolidate and legitimise power
relationships for the sultan, with even f orders enhancing their legitimacy
and prestige through food and spending. Ordinary people too solidified social
networks by hosting private celebrations. The saints' mawlids, despite being
more of a local, f occasion, reached similar levels of popularity to the state
occasion of the Mawlid al-Nab as they became part of the religion and
culture of the elite. This helped them gain prestige and funding. The saints'
mawlids in many cases also provided an opportunity for a reversal of the social
order and a free-rein from society's rules and conventions. As Ibn Taymiyya
argued, the Prophet's Mawlid provided an opportunity for an extra day of
celebration for some people. A view from above and beyond medieval Cairo
and Damascus also gives us a valuable insight. Many of the saints mawlids
became popular because they were in many cases a continuation of feasts
held hundreds or thousands of years before the Mamlk period. Once the
mawlid of al-Badaw began to be celebrated and the spiritual, social and
economic benefits were seen, other mawlids began to spread in the same
vein. The Prophets Mawlid and saints' days also bear remarkable similarity to
52

Ibid. p.136
Ibid. p.136
54
Ibid. p.136
53

similar developments in the Catholic liturgical calendar, allowing us to

compare how both traditions accommodated changes in religious belief and
popular demand. Both Muslim and Christian scholars distinguish between
spiritual believers and participants who saw the saints' days as an opportunity
for entertainment.
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