The Prophet was born on the twelfth day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the third month of the Muslim year, in September / October. His death anniversary also falls on the same day, the word barah standing for the twelve days of the Prophet's sickness.

During these days, learned men deliver sermons in mosques, focussing on the life and noble deeds of the Prophet. In some parts of the country, a ceremony known as sandal rite is performed over the symbolic footprints of the Prophet engraved in stone. A representation of buraq, a horse on which the Prophet is believed to have ascended to heaven, is kept near the footprints and anointed with sandal paste or scented powder, and the house and casket containing these are elaborately decorated. Elegies or marsiyas are sung in memory of the last days of the Prophet. The twelfth day or the urs is observed quietly, in prayers and alms-giving.