Birthday of Imam Reza

Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Twelver Shi'a Islam, is buried in Mashhad, home to one of the world’s most significant Shi'a pilgrimage shrines. His birth anniversary on 11 Dhu al-Qadah is an official religious occasion in Iran, but the published 1405 calendar does not classify it as a general public closure.

Pilgrims visit the shrine throughout the year, but the anniversary gives the city a special celebratory atmosphere. Elsewhere, homes and mosques mark the day with prayer, praise poetry, food and charitable acts. The festival’s Gregorian date shifts annually with the lunar calendar.

Imam Reza’s birthday remains an important official-calendar celebration, especially in Mashhad, but Iran’s published 1405 calendar does not mark it as a nationwide public closure. That current calendar evidence takes priority over older or differently consolidated holiday lists. The guide therefore treats April 29, 2026 as a working religious observance and distinguishes it from Imam Reza’s martyrdom on August 13, which is a public holiday. Pilgrimage demand can still affect Mashhad even without a general leave entitlement.