Will Prophet Muhammad's Birthday 2026 (PBUH) Be a Long Weekend in the UAE?
UAE residents already in long-weekend planning mode have a new date to watch: Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (PBUH), one of the final public holidays remaining on the country's 2026 calendar. Based on current lunar projections, the holiday is expected to fall on Tuesday, August 25 — but whether it becomes a single day off or a three-day weekend depends on a government decision still to come.
A Holiday Tied to the Moon
Prophet Muhammad's Birthday, also known as Milad un Nabi, always falls on the 12th day of Rabi' Al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic Hijri calendar. Because the Hijri calendar is lunar, each month begins only once the crescent moon is officially sighted, meaning months run either 29 or 30 days and cannot be fixed years in advance the way Gregorian dates can.
Based on astronomical calculations, Rabi' Al-Awwal is projected to begin around Friday, August 14, which would place the Prophet's Birthday on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. As with all Hijri-based holidays in the UAE, this date remains provisional until confirmed by moon sighting committees closer to the occasion, with official confirmation typically arriving in mid-to-late August.
Why It Could Become a Three-Day Weekend
Under the UAE's public holiday law, approved by Cabinet in April 2024 and in effect since January 2025, single midweek public holidays can be shifted to the start or end of the working week specifically to create an extended break for residents. Because August 25 falls on a Tuesday, most UAE outlets tracking the holiday calendar expect the government to move the observed holiday to Monday, August 24 — which, combined with the standard Saturday–Sunday weekend, would give residents a three-day weekend running from Saturday, August 22 through Monday, August 24.
If the government instead opts not to shift the date, and Safar (the Hijri month preceding Rabi' Al-Awwal) runs the full 29 days currently expected, the holiday would simply fall as a single day off on Tuesday, August 25.
Not Yet Officially Confirmed
As of now, no official UAE government announcement has confirmed either the exact date or whether it will be shifted to create a long weekend. That said, authorities have shown a pattern in 2026 of confirming Hijri holiday dates further in advance than in past years — most recently doing so for Islamic New Year, which was announced several days ahead of the official moon sighting. Residents planning travel or leave around the occasion are advised to treat the Monday, August 24 shift as a strong possibility rather than a certainty until the Cabinet issues formal confirmation.
What Comes Next on the Calendar
Should the Prophet's Birthday holiday proceed as expected, the next and final public holiday of 2026 will be Eid Al Etihad, formerly known as UAE National Day, falling midweek on Wednesday, December 2 and Thursday, December 3. As with the August holiday, it remains unclear whether National Day will be extended or shifted to align with the following weekend, though some reports suggest it could potentially align with a longer break tied to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend later that month.
By: Guest
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