Useful Information

    Islam takes part in daily life in Saudi. As well as the obvious signs such as mosques and prayers, Saudi uses the Islamic, or ʻHijraʼ calendar. The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar year rather than the solar one. A lunar month is the time between two successive new moons. Although the Islamic year contains twelve months, the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by eleven days.

    During the Islamic month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink during daylight hours. For Muslims, Ramadan is a holy month in which Muslims perform good deeds, remember the blessings that God has given them and remember those not as fortunate as them. Itʼs important to know that non Muslims are expected to respect this important time for Muslims and not drink or eat in public.

    Muslims perform 5 prayers a day (ʻFajrʼ Prayer around 5 AM – ʻZuhrʼ around 12 noon – ʻAsrʼ around 3 PM – ʻMaghribʼ around 6 PM – ʻIshaʼ around 8 PM). About 20 minutes before the prayer starts you will hear the call to prayer being announced from the mosques. At the same time all shops and officescloseuntiltheprayeriscomplete. This gives time for Muslims to proceed to the mosque, wash and prepare for prayer.

    Two officialholidaysareobservedduring the year. First isʼEid Al-Fitrʼ which comes after the holy month of Ramadan. Second, ʻEid Al-Adhaʼ which happens just after the ʻhajjʼ pilgrimage season. Both are times of celebration with people visiting each other and offering gifts