Riyadh - Saudi Arabia's grand mufti has banned birthday and anniversary celebrations, it was reported Tuesday.

Sheikh Abdel-Azizal-Sheikh was quoted in the Saudi Medina newspaper as saying: "A true Muslim would thank God while his children are still alive or when his marriage is stable over the years."

Muslims have only two feasts as part of the pillars of Islam and celebrations other than these were not Islamic, he said.

Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha 70 days after the end of Ramadah as a major feast, and Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of the holy month. (dpa)