The Prophet's Birthday

Mawlid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Birthday holiday in Sudan, commemorates the birth of the Prophet Muhammad on 12 Rabi al-Awwal. Public celebrations became deeply connected with Sudan's diverse Sufi orders, whose histories and networks developed over centuries. UNESCO inscribed Sudan's procession and Mawlid celebrations on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023, recognising knowledge transmitted through families, Sufi communities, performers and craftspeople.

A familiar urban form brings different tariqas to a Mawlid square, where temporary tents host recitation, religious teaching, hospitality, dhikr and madih poetry. A zaffa procession may carry the orders' banners with large drums before the gathering period. Participation and interpretation are not uniform: some Muslims favour quieter commemoration or object to Mawlid celebrations, and war and displacement have interrupted many established public spaces.

The Council of Ministers announced Tuesday, August 25, 2026, corresponding in its notice to 12 Rabi al-Awwal 1448, as the Mawlid holiday, with work resuming Wednesday, August 26 and banking hours to be regulated separately. The formal status described here comes from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers associated with Sudan's state administration. Since war began between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, territorial control, public administration and access to workplaces have been fragmented; an RSF-aligned parallel authority has also been announced for areas outside the central government's control. A government notice therefore establishes the intended state-service calendar where that administration operates, not proof of uniform closure by every private employer, school, bank or service across Sudan. The notices direct the Central Bank to regulate banking separately, and no reliable general rule was found that automatically substitutes every Friday- or Saturday-weekend holiday.