The date of Eid al-Fitr 2026 has been confirmed, following a UAE moonsighting committee meeting yesterday (March 18). Under Islamic tradition, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are determined by the Islamic Hijri calendar, which follows a lunar cycle. This means that the exact dates are dependent on the sighting of the ‘Shawwal’ crescent moon, and usually fall around 11 days earlier than the previous year.
Based on a predetermined calendar, Eid al-Fitr 2026 was expected to take place either today (March 19) or tomorrow (March 20), but the official date has now been confirmed. Here’s when the holy month of Ramadan will come to an end.
When is Eid al-Fitr 2026?
For Muslims in the UK that follow Saudi Arabia for religious timing will celebrate Eid al-Fitr 2026 tomorrow (Friday, March 20).
Meaning ‘festival of breaking the fast’, Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It begins on the first day of Shawwal (the month that immediately follows Ramadan in the Islamic calendar), and serves as a moment of gratitude, following weeks of fasting, charity, and prayers. The occasion is traditionally marked with special Eid prayers, held shortly after sunrise, following by greetings, family visits, and celebrative meals with loved ones.
The New Crescent Society has confirmed that for Muslims that follow Morocco for religious timing, Eid al-Fitr may instead fall on Saturday, March 21. This is due to the slim chance of a crescent sighting in Morocco (and the UK) on the evening of March 19 (tonight). If the crescent moon is seen tonight, Morocco will have never seen such a thin moon ‘in decades of sighting records’, and Eid al-Fitr will fall on March 20 worldwide.