Hajj day moving forward will not impact Eid holidays: Govt

The Islamic holy day of Hajj, which is determined by the Hijri lunar calendar, moving up by a day than previously anticipated in the Gregorian calendar of Maldives will not impact the previously determined Eid al-Fitr holidays, announced the government today.

In a statement released by the President's Office tonight, the Maldivian government detailed that with the moon sighting being confirmed in Saudi Arabia, Maldives will follow the Islamic hub and observe today as the first day of the month of Dhul-Hijja (the month of Hajj).

As such, the day of Arafat, which is when Muslims perform the holy pilgrimage in Mecca, will be next week's Saturday, followed by Eid al-Fitr the very next day.

The Maldivian calendar (Gregorian), previously had the first date of Dhul-Hijja marked as tomorrow, Arafat as 16th and Eid al-Fitr as the 17th of June.

Based on this assumption and given that Maldives observes three days of Eid holidays which would have been 17th, 18th and 19th, many confirmed domestic and international travel for the entire week including the 20th, the statement said.

While 20th June is technically not a holiday, the government announced in the statement that the date would also be a government holiday since opening government offices on that day alone would cause significant inconveniences of many employees.

Therefore, all government offices will close on Friday the 14th of June and will reopen on Sunday, the 23rd of June.

Hajj is a sacred pilgrimage required of every Muslim at least once in their life time, however, only if they are able to. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is performed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.