“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.

The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.

The UAE and Qatar also announced today would be the first day of the holiday.

But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shi’ite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until tomorrow because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted.

Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.

During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.

Fasting is widely practised in Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

Across the Muslim world, Ramadan festivities this year were overshadowed by Israel’s resumption of hostilities in Gaza, where its military campaign to eradicate Hamas has killed tens of thousands of people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.