This year’s celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad ( Peace be Upon Him) had a historical record of over 70,000 participants in Blantyre alone.
Business came to a standstill in the Commercial City with all roads busy making it difficult for cars and minibusses to pass through during the parade.
People from different districts around Blantyre such as Mulanje, Thyolo and Chiradzulu came to attend this well organized Ziyara Parade which was organized by the usual organizers At-tariqatul Qadriya Sunni Association (AQSA).
Although it started a little bit late, everything ended according to their plans. The parade started from Kanjedza Mosque along Grevillia Avenue to Illovo Round About then to Mpingwe Sports Club where the participants gathered.
Everyone was very excited and were singing different songs in praise of Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) all the way from Kanjedza mosque to Mpingwe Sports Club.
Though weather changed whereby it rained heavily, this never disturbed Muslims to finish their celebrations. Some people were soaked heavily.
โI have come here to celebrate the birth of our last Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) because he is the one who brought the truth to the world though others reject him and I will be here until the end of the ceremony though it is raining,โ said Sabiti Kangulero one of the participants from Mulanje.
This yearโs Milad has raised many questions to non Muslim community with some claiming that Muslims wanted to disrupt Christmas by celebrating this year’s Milad on 24th December.
But according to the organisers, the celebration follows the Islamic calendar.
“Each month in Islam,ย Calendar starts when the lunar crescent is first seen (by a human observerโs eye) after a new moon that is why the dates change every year. Therefore, it is impossible to have a permanent day for this celebration following secular calendar.
โIf you remember very well, last year we had the same event on 4th January, this year is today, next year maybe we will have this event in November depending on our calendar,โ said Ridwan Omar Ziyara Parade Media Spokesperson.
This is very important event to the Muslim community since it promotes unity among them. Muslims from different parts come to attend this event and different issues are discussed in order to promote Islam in the country.
โThis is a very important event to Islamic religion because in the process, we find solutions to some of the challenges that the Muslim community is facing in the country. Apart from that, we always celebrate by going to the rural areas where we give out special gifts to the needy like bicycles and sewing machines and chickens,โ said Sheikh Tariq Chmambi, Imaam for Kanjedza Mosque.
He further asked for unity and tolerance among people of different beliefs in the country in order to promote peace and development.
