General Information » Facts & Figures » Public Holidays

The Islamic calendar starts from the year 622AD, the year of the Prophet Mohammed’s migration (Hijra) from Mecca to Al-Madinah. Hence the Islamic year is called the Hijra year and dates are followed by AH (AH stands for Anno Hegirae, meaning ‘after the year of the Hijra).

There are 354 or 355 days in the Hijri year, which is divided into 12 lunar months. The Hijri year is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year.

As some holidays are based on the sighting of the moon, rather than being fixed dates on the Hijri calendar, the dates of Islamic holidays are imprecise, with holidays frequently being confirmed less than 24 hours in advance. Some non-religious holidays are fixed according to the Gregorian calendar.

In addition to Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr, another day of importance for Muslims is the Ascension of the Prophet, which is a public holiday.

National Day holidays are sometimes given a week later to make a long weekend and ensure that as many people as possible are in the country during the celebrations.

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