# Is this an appropriate Ramadan greeting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683 "2022-04-29T16:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/1 "2022-04-29T16:53:35Z")
My understanding is that Sunday, May 1, will be the last day of Ramadan this year. I have an acquaintance who I will be seeing on Sunday. I looked online and I found that Eid Mubarak is a customary greeting at the end of Ramadan. I plan on saying it to my acquaintance as a social courtesy but it’s not a custom I follow and I want to check to make sure I understand the usage. So I’d appreciate information on any of the following: 1. Is May 1 the end of Ramadan? I know the end of the month can move and it might end on May 2. 2. I will be seeing this acquaintance during the daytime on May 1 and I believe Ramadan doesn’t end until sunset. Is it appropriate to offer an end of Ramadan greeting before it has actually ended? 3. Is Eid Mubarak a common greeting or is it something archaic or unusual that nobody says in 2022? 4. Is Eid Mubarak a specifically Arabic greeting? I believe my acquaintance speaks Arabic but his ethnic background is Indian. 5. Is it appropriate for a non-Muslim like myself to greet a Muslim like this? Am I overthinking this? Yes. But I’m trying to be courteous and I don’t want to go in the opposite direction. And learning new knowledge is good for its own sake. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/2 "2022-04-29T17:42:30Z")
I am not Muslim but grew up in a country that was 97% Muslim and most of my friends to this day are Muslim. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is May 1 the end of Ramadan? I know the end of the month can move and it might end on May 2. Eid is almost certainly going to be on May 2 in most Muslim traditions in the US. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I will be seeing this acquaintance during the daytime on May 1 and I believe Ramadan doesn’t end until sunset. Is it appropriate to offer an end of Ramadan greeting before it has actually ended? Not really, but not a big deal. It’s like wishing a coworker Merry Christmas on Dec 23 as you are all leaving for the holidays. But I think Muslims will not greet each until after Eid prayers on Eid day. Similar to how Catholics would not say Merry Christmas until they’ve attended Christmas Mass. But they are going to cut non-Muslims a LOT of slack. Evidence: I still have lots of Muslim friends and I’m sure I’ve said and done numerous offensive things. If I really screw up, they will tell me, usually very gently. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is Eid Mubarak a common greeting or is it something archaic or unusual that nobody says in 2022? Absolutely appropriate. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is Eid Mubarak a specifically Arabic greeting? I believe my acquaintance speaks Arabic but his ethnic background is Indian. It’s more or less universal, I think. Certainly people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Uzbekistan use Eid Mubarak. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is it appropriate for a non-Muslim like myself to greet a Muslim like this? Absolutely. As long as they have no reason to suspect you’re not mocking them in some way, it will be very well received. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/3 "2022-04-29T17:44:10Z")
Paging @AK84 to tell me I screwed up, and must have VERY nice friends. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/4 "2022-04-29T17:53:14Z")
It’s Eid Mubarak in many places, and it is something that will be more or less universally understood even if the place has a different term for Eid greetings. For instance in Pashto it’s “Akhtar-e-Mubaraksha”, but everyone will understand and be happy with Eid Muabark. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/5 "2022-04-29T17:54:47Z")
🤦‍♂️ I was using “Pakistan” when I meant Urdu speakers. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/6 "2022-04-30T07:10:28Z")
You could always phrase it as “Is it OK to say Eid Mubarak?”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/7 "2022-04-30T07:13:56Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Similar to how Catholics would not say Merry Christmas until they’ve attended Christmas Mass. That made me laugh out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/8 "2022-04-30T11:04:10Z")
Is it pronounced like ide mu-BAR-ak? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/9 "2022-04-30T16:07:41Z")
More like eed moo-BAR-ak if I’ve got it right. But I think Eid can also be pronounced ay-EED. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/10 "2022-04-30T16:35:14Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eXiGUChWuEw/maxresdefault.jpg "Today's MSA phrase: Wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Eid-say it in Arabic: عيد مبارك على الجميع") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXiGUChWuEw) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/11 "2022-04-30T17:19:40Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Similar to how Catholics would not say Merry Christmas until they’ve attended Christmas Mass. We wouldn’t? News to me. There are a few things that Catholics wouldn’t say in advance of the relevant date, but they’re mostly related to Easter, and mostly things that neither we nor anyone else is likely to say outside of church. “He is risen indeed, alleluia”. “Merry Christmas”, though, is something that anyone in the Western world might say to anyone else, at any time roughly close to Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/12 "2022-04-30T17:58:46Z")
Maybe because I was raised in a place and community where there was no “secular” Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/13 "2022-04-30T18:39:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Merry Christmas”, though, is something that anyone in the Western world might say to anyone else, at any time roughly close to Christmas. We fought the War on Christmas for the right to put up decorations and wish people a Merry Christmas any time after Labor Day. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/14 "2022-04-30T19:41:33Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > It’s Eid Mubarak in many places, and it is something that will be more or less universally understood even if the place has a different term for Eid greetings. Yep. In Cape Town’s Malay community, Eid al-Fitr is also known as Labarang and most Cape Malays would colloquially say _Slamat for Labarang_ instead, but the newpapers and public announcemets would all say Eid Mubarak and the non-Malay Muslims would definitely use that. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/15 "2022-05-10T17:27:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > We fought the War on Christmas for the right to put up decorations and wish people a Merry Christmas any time after Labor Day. And that includes the Labor Day of the following year. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/16 "2022-05-11T01:00:23Z")
Is the “Mubarak” in “Eid Mubarak” the same as former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s surname? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-appropriate-ramadan-greeting/963683/17 "2022-05-11T01:04:08Z")
yes [it just means “blessed”]