Nation marks Eid-e-Miladunnabi with reverence and festivity

Bangladesh is observing Eid-e-Miladunnabi today, marking the birth and death anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, with the President and Prime Minister both issuing messages calling for a just, peaceful society built on the Prophet's teachings, as the nation marks the state holiday with religious programmes nationwide.

Born in 570 CE to the Quraysh clan of Mecca and passing at age 63 in 632 CE—after being orphaned by birth and losing his mother at six—the Prophet's life is commemorated as an epochal moment that dispelled the darkness of pre-Islamic ignorance with truth and justice. In his message, President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called on citizens to shun hatred, division, and injustice in favour of building a just society grounded in peace and equality, while Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's message similarly urged that individual, familial, social, and national life be shaped by justice, responsibility, and humane values. BNP's Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi issued a separate message and organised a prayer gathering at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters, while Jamaat-e-Islami and various other political, social, and religious organisations held their own programmes; the national flag was hoisted at government, semi-government, and educational institutions nationwide, with banners bearing the Kalima displayed across Dhaka's roads.

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President Alamgir inaugurated a fortnight-long programme at Baitul Mokarram National Mosque's eastern courtyard on Tuesday evening, presided over by Religious Affairs Minister Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaykobad, with sermons continuing through 8 September. The Islamic Foundation has also organised a Sirat souvenir publication, a calligraphy exhibition, and a month-long Islamic book fair, alongside recitation sessions, hamd-naat gatherings, a joint seminar with Bangladesh Betar, and poetry readings in the Prophet's honour, while organisations including Anjuman-e-Rahmania Moinia Maizbhandari held their traditional Jashne Julus processions. Per an inter-ministerial directive, educational institutions nationwide are holding discussion sessions, prayer gatherings, and cultural programmes on the Prophet's life, while all non-religious cultural events, jatra, jarigan, and fireworks have been banned for three days spanning the occasion to preserve its religious solemnity.