Arabic Date Format (DD/MM/YYYY) Regex for PHP

What this pattern does

This page provides a comprehensive, battle-tested regular expression for matching arabic date format (dd/mm/yyyy), ported and verified for PHP. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your PHP project — whether you're validating in a Laravel validator, a WordPress plugin, or a standalone PHP script.

Php Implementation

<?php
// Arabic Date Format (DD/MM/YYYY)
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Localization > Date Formats

define('ARABIC_DATE_FORMAT_DDMMYYYY_PATTERN', '/^(0?[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/(0?[1-9]|1[0-2])\/((?:13|14|15)[0-9]{2}|(?:19|20)[0-9]{2})$/');

function validate_arabic_date_format_ddmmyyyy(string $input): bool {
    return (bool) preg_match(ARABIC_DATE_FORMAT_DDMMYYYY_PATTERN, $input);
}

// Example
var_dump(validate_arabic_date_format_ddmmyyyy("15/01/2024")); // bool(true)

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Localization > Date Formats category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for PHP developers because especially relevant in PHP where PCRE backtracking limits can trigger silent failures on malicious input. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

Most Arabic-speaking countries use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes and the Hijri (Islamic lunar) calendar for religious purposes. The Hijri calendar currently has years starting with 14xx (1445 AH = 2023-24 CE). Saudi Arabia switched to Gregorian for official use in 2016.