No public holiday for Isra wal Miraj, clarifies UAE ministry

Workers in the UAE will not be given a public holiday for Isra wal Miraj, which falls this week, the ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has confirmed.

The ministry took to Twitter to extend its greetings on the occasion, and also clarified that in line with the UAE Cabinet announcement last month, there will be no public holiday in the country.

We would like to extend our greetings on the occasion of Al Isra wal Miraj. In regards to the public holidays, they have been specified in the UAE Cabinet’s decree. The unified holidays aim to achieve harmony between the public & the private sectors.#MOHRE #UAE pic.twitter.com/RlMQYDbrZE

— MOHRE_UAE (@MOHRE_UAE) April 1, 2019

Isra wal Miraj, also known as the Prophet’s Ascension or the Night Journey, marks the journeys of Prophet Mohammed from Makkah to Jerusalem and to heaven in a single night on the back of a winged beast.

To mark the occasion, Dubai will have a dry night from 6pm on Tuesday, April 2 to 7pm on Wednesday, April 3, officials confirmed.

Read: Dubai to observe a dry night on April 2

Under the new decree approved by the UAE Cabinet, public and private sector companies in the UAE will have the same number of national holidays this year and in 2020.

Isra wal Miraj and the Prophet’s birthday – which were previously observed as public holidays – have not been listed.

The next confirmed holiday in the UAE is Eid Al Fitr, likely to fall in the first week of June.

Read: UAE public and private sector to have same number of national holidays