Dear Brothers and Sisters! Dear compatriots!

 Al-Salam alaikum wa wa rahmatullahi barakyatuhu! Peace be upon you and mercy of Allah!

The coming month for us, Muslims, is special and is called in Arabic al-Rabi Awwal, which means the beginning of spring.

This month contains a day of joy, grace and hope for the believers.

The celebration of the birth of Allah's Messenger - Mawlid - is commemorated on the Muslim Lunar calendar on the night of the 12th of the month Rabi-ul-Awal. A more accurate name of the holiday is  "Mawlid an-Nabi" - "the birth of the Prophet." The holiday is timed to the date of death of the Prophet - 12th Rabi al-Awal, for death, according to Islam, it is not nothing but a birth to eternal life.

This night is the most valuable for us after the Night of Predestination (Al Qadr). Those who in these days and the Night pray and thank Allah, sins are forgiven. In the month of Mawlid a great blessing is reading, listening, presentation of miraculous events of that night in which our Prophet was born. By this time the teachings of Allah to previous peoples was forgotten and distorted, all the countries of the world were covered by the savagery and violence.

The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad was the harbinger of the arrival of the true faith - Islam. The birth of Muhammad began to celebrate only 300 years after the arrival of Islam. Because the exact date of Muhammad's birth is unknown, Mawlid was timed to the day of his death, which affects the character of the celebration. The most pious action during all the days of celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad could be a visit of the grave of the Messenger of Allah in Medina to pray at his mosque. Not all can afford this, but everyone should read prayers dedicated to Muhammad in the mosques and at home. "Praise be to Allah for having given us a prophet who brought us from darkness to light, given what we had. God bless him and welcome. " By these or similar words Muslims praise Prophet.

Participation in the Mawlid requires a certain behavior. It is important to have sincere intention (niyat). Any impious thoughts should be discarded. Going to the Mawlid, it is necessary to perform the ritual ablution and anoint permissible perfumes. At the celebration of Mawlid you should turn away from the routine fuss: life's challenges, desires, doubts. The month of giving the eternal life to the Prophet may be for us a Month of the Muslim call. The celebration of Mawlid does not cancel the execution of the Muslim duties to perform prayer, fasting and other obligations. Holding Majlis of the Mawlid month must not coincide with the time of the prayer.

God bless us to do good deeds!

Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin

The Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council