Muslim traditions

Muslim traditions are found in nearly every country, from Morocco to Indonesia, and range from the five daily prayers and the Friday congregation to Ramadan, Eid, the hajj, Mawlid, Ashura and the customs of marriage, naming and burial. They share a core of belief and practice and take many local forms in food, dress, music and festivals. The calendar is lunar, so the dates move through the year. These pages describe Muslim traditions as those who keep them do, including local ones that differ between communities.

Prayer, Friday and the mosque

Muslims pray five times a day, facing Mecca, and gather for the Friday congregational prayer and sermon. Mosques are places of prayer, learning and community, and many hold meals in Ramadan. Cleanliness, modest dress and the removal of shoes are customary, and Quran recitation is a valued art. In many homes, the call to prayer sets the rhythm of the day, and children learn prayers from their parents and from a teacher.

Ramadan, Eid and the hajj

Ramadan, the month of fasting, is followed by Eid al-Fitr, and the hajj by Eid al-Adha. Both feasts are marked by prayer, new clothes, gifts and meals shared with family and the poor. The hajj draws about two million pilgrims to Mecca, and returning pilgrims are welcomed at home. Local customs, such as lanterns in Egypt, night markets in Indonesia and henna in South Asia, add colour to the occasions.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Muslim (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEid al-Fitrعيد الفطر The feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇷 Iran and 21 moreNowruzنوروز The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal

🇪🇬 Egypt and 6 moreMawlidمولد (Mawlid) An annual festival marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, marked by poetry, processions and feasts.Festival · Feasts and festival meals 🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 3 moreAs-salamu alaykumسَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ A traditional Arabic greeting of peace exchanged in daily life and prayerEtiquette

🇹🇷 TurkeyRamadan in Turkey A holy month of fasting, prayer, and community meals, observed across Turkey with unique local customs.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaIhramإِحْرَام A sacred state and simple dress that Muslims enter for Hajj and UmrahSpiritual

🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreIslamic marriageنِكَاح The sacred contract, agreement and wedding celebration forming an Islamic marriageRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals 🇲🇱 MaliMahrمهر A mandatory gift from the groom to the bride in Islamic marriages, serving as her financial security.Rite of passage 🇮🇳 Gwalior, India and 1 moreDhrupadध्रुवपद The foundational vocal and instrumental classical music tradition of northern IndiaPerformance

🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance

🇹🇷 Konya, Turkey and 4 moreMevlevi OrderMevlevilik A Sufi tradition from Konya known for its whirling ceremony and devotion to Rumi's teachings.Spiritual 🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals 🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi Arabia and 2 moreBay'ahبَيْعَة An Islamic oath of allegiance pledged to a ruler or spiritual guideCeremony

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGhazalغَزَل A short rhyming poem of love and parting, recited and sung from Arabia to South AsiaPerformance

🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreAndalusi classical musicطرب أندلسي A classical suite of vocal and instrumental music shared across North AfricaPerformance

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreKenduri A communal prayer meal and gathering shared across Indonesia, Malaysia and BruneiSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇰 Islamabad, Pakistan and 2 moreQawwaliقَوّالی Devotional Sufi singing from South Asia, led by hereditary parties at shrinesPerformance 🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreHamadsha A Moroccan possession rite kept by Muslim fraternities to cure affliction and restore social balance through music and dSpiritual

🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 3 morePersian gardenباغ ایرانی An ancient tradition of creating walled, geometric sanctuaries of shade and flowing waterCraft

🇮🇩 IndonesiaIsra and Mi'rajالإسراء والمعراج (al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj) An Islamic observance marking the prophet Muhammad’s night journey and ascent through the heavens.Spiritual

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreRite of passage A ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new statusRite of passage

🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreSamaSema (Turkish); سَماع (Persian) A Sufi rite of listening, music and turning, kept by Mevlevi and other Sufi ordersSpiritual

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMid-Sha'banنصف شعبان An Islamic night of prayer, remembrance, and seeking divine forgiveness.Spiritual

🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineChristmas in UkraineРіздво (Rizdvo) A Ukrainian Christmas celebration with a twelve-dish vegan supper on Christmas Eve and observance on January 6 or DecembFestival · Supper

🇮🇷 Tehran, IranTa'ziyehتعزیه A ritual drama from Iran that retells the Karbala mourning each MuharramSpiritual

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 morePahlevani and zurkhaneh ritualsآیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای A traditional Iranian martial art blending calisthenics, wrestling, music and ethicsGame

🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreLebaranHari Raya Lebaran Indonesia's festive season of homecoming, seeking forgiveness and shared feastsFestival · Breakfast

🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival

🇮🇩 IndonesiaSlametan A short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaSekatenꦱꦼꦏꦠꦺꦤ꧀ A week-long Javanese royal festival and market honouring the birth of the ProphetFestival

🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ A Bengali pre-wedding ceremony where turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groomRite of passage

🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreBaul traditionবাউল A Bengali devotional minstrel path uniting mystic poetry, music and dancePerformance 🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual

🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreTurbanدولبند (dolband) Cloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identityDress

🇧🇩 BangladeshEid prayersصلاة العيد The yearly festival prayer of the two Eids, offered in the morning by MuslimsSpiritual

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual

🇩🇿 Tiaret, Algeria and 1 moreMawsimموسم An annual regional festival and pilgrimage across Northwest AfricaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇶 Karbala, Iraq and 5 moreMuharramٱلْمُحَرَّم The sacred opening month of the Islamic year, observed through remembrance and fastingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame

🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual

🇮🇷 Mashhad, Iran and 7 moreIftarإفطار The sunset meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, eaten with family and communityTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreEid al-Ghadirعید الغدیر A Shia Muslim festival of prayer, gifts and shared meals, kept on 18 Dhu al-HijjahSpiritual

🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaUmrahعُمْرَة A pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims may make at most times of year, unlike the HajjSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreLangarਲੰਗਰ The free kitchen at a gurdwara, where all sit and eat together as equalsTable custom

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Sama: myself, Public domain, source
Kenduri: Andreasprasetya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Christmas in Ukraine: Halyna Kuchmanych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
Eid al-Fitr: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ghazal: Poem by Sa'di of Shiraz (13th century). 19th century manuscript, Public domain, source
Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Mevlevi Order: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ), CC BY 3.0, source
Pahlevani and zurkhaneh rituals: Hossein Khosravi, CC BY 4.0, source
Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Durbar festival: Omotayo Tajudeen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sekaten: Kembangraps, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Langar: Harisingh at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Qawwali: Saswat swarup mishra, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Muharram: Victor Armand Poirson, Public domain, source
Mawsim: Beghdadi Walid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Turban: pxhere, CC0, source
Ihram: United Press International, Public domain, source
Baul tradition: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
Ta'ziyeh: Payam Moein, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Islamic marriage: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Isra and Mi'raj: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Persian garden: dynamosquito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ramadan in Turkey: Wiki leylek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Umrah: The original uploader was Medineli at English Wikipedia ., CC0, source
Iftar: Shariful Islam (Masum), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Oil wrestling: No machine-readable author provided. Math34 assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
Eid al-Ghadir: khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Eid prayers: Azimronnie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mid-Sha'ban: sayyed shahab-o- din vajedi, CC BY 4.0, source
Lebaran: Nurudin Jauhari, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Rite of passage: Rogier van der Weyden, Public domain, source
Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Slametan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source