4-day weekend for Eid Al Fitr in UAE: Likely dates revealed

The first week of the holy month of Ramadan has flown through. As spirituality levels reach a high across the UAE, residents are already building up to Eid Al Fitr, one of the longest public holidays in this part of the world.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. The month after is Shawwal with Eid Al Fitr falling on the first day of Shawwal.

Now experts have unveiled the probable conclusion of Ramadan – and how long the Eid Al Fitr break could be.

Moon sighting date

The UAE's Moon-Sighting Committee will look for the Crescent on Ramadan 29, which coincides with Wednesday, March 18.

The length of the Eid holidays is usually dependent on the moon sighting. But this year people with a Saturday-Sunday weekend were expected to get a 4-day break irrespective of when the Moon is spotted.

Case 1: Moon observed on the night of March 18

If the crescent of a new moon is sighted in the evening sky on March 18:

• Eid Al Fitr: Thursday, March 19

• Public holiday: March 19-21 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

• Add the Sunday weekend, and they’d have a four-day break.

Case 2: The Moon is not observed on March 18

And if the Moon is not sighted, then it will be confirmed as Ramadan by completing 30 days:

• Eid Al Fitr: Friday, March 20

• The latest decree has declared the 30th day of Ramadan holiday too.

• Public holiday: March 19 to 22 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

• That also creates a four-day lag

Astronomy projections

'Based on the astronomical computations, we expect Ramadan to last for 30 days,' said Khadijah Ahmad, Operations Manager at Dubai Astronomy Group. If verified, Eid Al Fitr will be on Friday March 20.

This forecast matches the new prayer timings calendar for Prayer times in UAE published by the UAE's Islamic affairs authority website, which dedicates 30 days to Ramadan and fixes Shawwal 1 (Eid Al Fitr) on March 20.

Plan your escape — it’s going to be a long Eid weekend in the United Arab Emirates. Prepare to maximize your 4-day weekend. For breaking news, subscribe to Just Dubai!