UAE: First day of Eid Al Adha 2025 revealed after Dhul Hijjah moon spotted

The UAE will mark Eid Al Adha on Friday, June 6, after the Dhul Hijjah moon was sighted on Tuesday evening, authorities have confirmed.

Sighting the crescent means that the first day of Dhul Hijjah will begin Wednesday, May 28.

Consequently, the Day of Arafah, which is the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah will fall on Thursday, June 5. Eid Al Adha will begin on June 6, which is the tenth day of Dhul Hijjah.

In the UAE, residents will get four days off for Eid ul Adha this year, according to a resolution the UAE Cabinet issued in 2024.

Public holidays for residents will begin on the Day of Arafah and will be followed by three days off for Eid Al Adha.

Now that the moon has been sighted, UAE residents will get four days off — from Thursday to Sunday — translating to a long weekend.

The Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle, unlike the Gregorian calendar. So, moon sightings determine when Islamic holidays fall in correlation with the Gregorian dates.

Earlier, local authorities had asked residents to look our for the crescent in UAE skies on May 27 evening. Anyone who spotted the crescent was urged to report it to the Crescent Sighting Committee.

Spotted in UAE skies

The Dhul Hijjah crescent was spotted by astronomers on several instances on Tuesday, UAE’s Astronomy Centre said.

Taken at the Al Khatim Observatory in Abu Dhabi, the first photograph was clicked at 11am. At that time, the moon’s distance from the sun was 5.5 degrees.

Another image was captured at 3.15pm from the same observatory. Then, moon’s distance from the sun was 6.5 degrees.

Finally, at 7.05pm, after sunset, the crescent was seen again, with its distance from the sun being 7.6 degrees.