Government Authority in Determining the Start of Ramadan and 1 Syawal

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Muhammad Cholil Nafis, stated that the decision to determine 1 Ramadan and 1 Syawal falls under the authority of the government as Ulil Amri. He explained that based on the MUI’s decision from 2004, the entity authorised to announce the start of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr is Ulil Amri, in this case, the Minister of Religious Affairs. “It is haram to announce decisions regarding the start of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr other than by the government,” Cholil said during a press conference at the Sidang Isbat for determining 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah at the Ministry of Religious Affairs office on Thursday night, 19 March 2026. In addition to the MUI decision, he noted that the rule allowing only Ulil Amri to announce the start of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr is also regulated in the Nahdlatul Ulama’s decision at the 20th Congress. Nevertheless, he continued, based on calculations and hilal observation, the government has decided to complete the fasting worship at 30 days. Therefore, Cholil urged the ummah to abandon what is doubtful and adopt what is certain. However, he said, differences of opinion among the ummah regarding the determination of the start of Syawal can be tolerated. The government has set 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah or Eid al-Fitr on Saturday, 21 March 2026. This decision was taken in the isbat session led by Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar on Thursday, 19 March 2026. Nasaruddin stated that monitoring of the hilal across all regions of Indonesia showed that the position of the young crescent moon did not meet the criteria set by the ministers of religious affairs from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia (MABIMS), particularly in terms of elongation. “The height of the hilal above the horizon ranges from 0 degrees 54 minutes 27 seconds to about 3 degrees, with elongation starting from 4 degrees 32 minutes 40 seconds,” he said during the press conference at the Ministry of Religious Affairs office. Nasaruddin added that based on rukyatul hilal results from various regions, there were no reports of the hilal being sighted. Therefore, the government decided to complete the month of Ramadan at 30 days (istikmal), so 1 Syawal falls on Saturday.