Daijiworld News Network - Mangalore (GA) - pics - Dayanand Kukkaje

Mangalore, Apr 11: While the Jain brethren are celebrating Mahaveer Jayanti on Tuesday April 11, Muslim community is celebrating Eid-Miladunnabi on the same day.

The festival of Eid-Miladunnabi is also popularly known as Barah Wafat - the twelfth day. The day commemorates the birth and also the death of Prophet. Bara Wafat falls on the twelfth day of the third month Rabi-ul-Awwal in September/October. Here, Barah or twelve, stands for the twelve days of the Prophets sickness.

The celebrations of birthday are subdued as the day also happens to be the death anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. The day is marked by holding religious discourses, reading the Holy book of Quran and giving alms to the poor.

Prophet Mohammed was born in 571 A.D on April 12th, in Mecca in Arabia. Circa 610 AD, Prophet is said to have gained revelations from Allah through the angel Gabriel that he was His Messenger. In 622 AD Mohammed along with his followers went to Medina.

This flight from Mecca to Medina is known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Islamic era. By 630 AD, Islam came to be accepted as a religion and Muhammad as ruler by a large number of people. However, in 632 A.D. Muhammad led the pilgrimage to Mecca, preached his farewell sermon and died soon after.

The Muslim brethren are celebrating Eid-Miladunnabi on Tuesday April 11.  Since the summer vacations have already begun and children are free at home, the feast has received new colour.  Moreover, Tuesday is also a public holiday in view of Mahaveer Jayanti.  So in most of the homes, the entire family is swinging in festal mood.

As usual, the Muslim brethren took a procession in the Bunder area on Tuesday morning.  City mayor K Ashraf too participated in the procession.  Children were found pegging for sweets while older ones kept themselves busy passing on a hug of peace and love.