Facts of the Isbat Session until the Government Determines Eid al-Fitr on 21 March
The government has determined that Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah, or Lebaran 2026, will fall on Saturday, 21 March 2026. The decision was announced by Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar following the Isbat session for determining 1 Syawal 1447 H on Thursday (19 March) evening.
“Accordingly, based on the results of calculations and the absence of hilal sighting reports, it is agreed that 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah falls on Saturday, 21 March 2026,” said Nasaruddin during the press conference on the Isbat session results.
Here are several important facts from the Isbat session for determining Lebaran 2026.
Eid al-Fitr 1447 H on 21 March 2026
The government, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, has officially set 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah for Saturday, 21 March 2026. The decision was directly announced by Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar after the Isbat session that took place since the afternoon.
The determination is based on calculation results and rukyatul hilal reports from various regions in Indonesia.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs uses MABIMS criteria
In determining the start of the Hijri month, the Ministry of Religious Affairs employs the MABIMS criteria, which are agreed upon by the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The Minister explained that these criteria require a minimum hilal height of 3 degrees and a minimum elongation angle of 6.4 degrees. The hilal height above the horizon across Indonesia on the observation day ranged from 0 degrees 54 minutes 27 seconds to 3 degrees 7 minutes 52 seconds.
Meanwhile, the elongation angle was recorded between 4 degrees 32 minutes 42 seconds and 6 degrees 6 minutes 11 seconds.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, this data does not meet the MABIMS hilal visibility criteria for determining the start of Syawal.
Therefore, in the seminar held before the Isbat session, the Ministry of Religious Affairs had predicted that 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah could potentially fall on Saturday, 21 March 2026, as the hilal visibility criteria were not fulfilled across all regions of Indonesia.
The basis of the determination is calculation results
Nasaruddin stated that the Isbat session decision was taken based on two main factors: calculation results and the absence of hilal sighting reports.
“Based on calculations, today’s hilal data does not meet the MABIMS visibility criteria. Subsequently, we conducted the Isbat session,” said Nasaruddin.
He said the deliberation in the Isbat session refers to the calculation and rukyah results from the Ministry of Religious Affairs team, which were then confirmed by officers at observation points across Indonesia.
Based on those reports, the hilal was not visible, so the government decided to complete Ramadan at 30 days.
117 hilal monitoring points
These calculation results were then confirmed through rukyatul hilal at 117 monitoring points across Indonesia.
“The deliberation refers to the calculation and rukyah results from the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ hisab and rukyah team and is confirmed by officers placed at least at observation points across Indonesia, who have confirmed that the hilal was not visible,” added Nasaruddin.
In Jakarta, the Jakarta Provincial Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs prepared six hilal observation locations, namely on the 7th floor of the East Jakarta Ministry of Religious Affairs Office Building, Hasyim Asy’ari Mosque in West Jakarta, Musari’in Basmol Mosque in West Jakarta, JIC Grand Mosque in North Jakarta, Pondok Labu Falak House in South Jakarta, and Karya Island/Pramuka in the Thousand Islands.
Head of the Jakarta Provincial Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Adib said that rukyatul hilal in the capital involved various parties.
“Rukyatul hilal in DKI is conducted at six locations in collaboration with all Islamic mass organisations and related agencies,” said Adib.
Involves many elements
The Minister also emphasised that the Isbat session is held as an effort by the state to facilitate Muslims in determining the start of worship and holidays.
He said the Isbat session serves as a deliberation space involving many elements, from the government, astronomy experts, MUI, BRIN, BMKG, Jakarta Planetarium, to representatives of Islamic mass organisations.
Muhammadiyah celebrates Eid on 20 March
On the other hand, Muhammadiyah has already determined that Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah falls on Friday, 20 March 2026.
This determination is stated in the Central Leadership Memorandum of Muhammadiyah Number 2/MLM/1.0/E/2025 on the Determination of Ramadan, Syawal, and Zulhijah 1447 H Calculations.
Therefore, the determination of Lebaran 2026 between the government and Muhammadiyah differs by one day again. The government sets Eid al-Fitr on Saturday, 21 March 2026, while Muhammadiyah sets it on Friday, 20 March 2026.