Arafah Day (Arafat Day) 2027

Type of holiday: statutory public holiday, a non-working day.

Arafah Day falls on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Hijri year, and is a public holiday throughout the UAE. It takes its name from the plain of Arafat outside Makkah, where pilgrims performing Hajj gather from midday until sunset in what is regarded as the central act of the pilgrimage. In the UAE it is also the day immediately before Eid Al Adha, which makes it the opening date of the longest continuous public holiday of the year.

How the date is arrived at

Everything depends on when Dhu al-Hijjah begins, and that is settled by the sighting of the new crescent and announced by the UAE Council for Fatwa. Arafah Day is the ninth day of the month and Eid Al Adha the tenth, so the two are locked together by definition — a one-day shift in the start of the month carries the whole sequence with it. Because Hajj itself is timed by the sighting accepted in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states normally observe the same dates, though a divergence of a day between countries is not unknown, and calendars produced outside the region sometimes carry it.

How the day is observed

The sermon delivered from Masjid Namirah is broadcast on national television and radio, and images of the pilgrims on the plain run through the day. Many Muslims who are not on pilgrimage keep a voluntary fast. Mosques hold additional gatherings, and charitable organisations run collections in the run-up. Residents making the pilgrimage travel with organised Hajj campaigns licensed by the UAE authorities, generally departing well before this date.

What that means for a schedule

Government offices, schools, courts and bank branches are closed, while retail, dining and hospitality continue on holiday hours. The date currently falls in the late spring, with daytime temperatures well above 40 °C, so almost all activity is indoors, and a large share of residents leave the country for the whole block rather than staying in it.

In working-day arithmetic this is the first of four consecutive statutory days — Arafah Day plus the three days of Eid Al Adha. Where the sequence meets the Saturday and Sunday weekend at either end, the practical break stretches to six days, which is the longest uninterrupted closure the UAE calendar produces. All four dates should come out of the count; taking out only the Eid itself understates the gap by a quarter.