Government Determines Start of Ramadan as Thursday 19 February 2026
Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar announced that the government has determined the start of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 to fall on Thursday, 19 February 2026. The reason is that the position of the crescent moon (hilal) across Indonesian territory on Tuesday, 17 February 2026 did not meet the MABIMS criteria.
"It has been agreed that 1 Ramadan 1447 H falls on Thursday, 19 February 2026," he said after conducting an isbat session at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
He explained that the government uses the MABIMS criteria to determine the start of Ramadan. MABIMS — an acronym for the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore — is a crescent moon visibility standard that stipulates a minimum hilal altitude of 3 degrees above the horizon and a minimum elongation angle (the angular distance between the moon and the sun) of 6.4 degrees at sunset.
On 17 February 2026, the hilal altitude across Indonesian territory ranged from minus 2.41 degrees to minus 0.93 degrees, whilst the elongation angle ranged from 0.94 degrees to 1.89 degrees. Nasaruddin stated that neither the hilal position nor the elongation in Indonesia reached the minimum threshold.
Cecep Nurwendaya, a member of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat (astronomical calculation and observation) Team, had previously stated that the start of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 would coincide with Thursday Pahing, 19 February 2026. He noted that the hilal position across Indonesian territory on Tuesday, 17 February 2026 did not meet the MABIMS criteria for determining the start of Ramadan.
"Based on the MABIMS criteria, on 29 Sha'ban 1447 H/17 February 2026, the hilal position across Indonesian territory did not meet the altitude criteria anywhere. Therefore, 1 Ramadan 1447 H by astronomical calculation falls on Thursday Pahing, 19 February 2026," he said during a seminar on hilal positioning at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
Data from the previous day, 16 February 2026, showed that the moon's altitude was even lower, at minus 11.93 degrees. Meanwhile, on 17 February 2026, the hilal altitude ranged from minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds in Jayapura to minus 0.93 degrees in the Mentawai Islands. The elongation ranged from 0.94 degrees to 1.89 degrees.
Conversely, on 18 February 2026, the moon's altitude is projected to reach 8.76 degrees with an illumination fraction of 0.94 per cent. Under these conditions, Cecep said the moon would already have the potential to be visible as a young crescent tilting northward, as the moon's position would be to the north of the sun.
"It has been agreed that 1 Ramadan 1447 H falls on Thursday, 19 February 2026," he said after conducting an isbat session at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
He explained that the government uses the MABIMS criteria to determine the start of Ramadan. MABIMS — an acronym for the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore — is a crescent moon visibility standard that stipulates a minimum hilal altitude of 3 degrees above the horizon and a minimum elongation angle (the angular distance between the moon and the sun) of 6.4 degrees at sunset.
On 17 February 2026, the hilal altitude across Indonesian territory ranged from minus 2.41 degrees to minus 0.93 degrees, whilst the elongation angle ranged from 0.94 degrees to 1.89 degrees. Nasaruddin stated that neither the hilal position nor the elongation in Indonesia reached the minimum threshold.
Cecep Nurwendaya, a member of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat (astronomical calculation and observation) Team, had previously stated that the start of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 would coincide with Thursday Pahing, 19 February 2026. He noted that the hilal position across Indonesian territory on Tuesday, 17 February 2026 did not meet the MABIMS criteria for determining the start of Ramadan.
"Based on the MABIMS criteria, on 29 Sha'ban 1447 H/17 February 2026, the hilal position across Indonesian territory did not meet the altitude criteria anywhere. Therefore, 1 Ramadan 1447 H by astronomical calculation falls on Thursday Pahing, 19 February 2026," he said during a seminar on hilal positioning at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
Data from the previous day, 16 February 2026, showed that the moon's altitude was even lower, at minus 11.93 degrees. Meanwhile, on 17 February 2026, the hilal altitude ranged from minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds in Jayapura to minus 0.93 degrees in the Mentawai Islands. The elongation ranged from 0.94 degrees to 1.89 degrees.
Conversely, on 18 February 2026, the moon's altitude is projected to reach 8.76 degrees with an illumination fraction of 0.94 per cent. Under these conditions, Cecep said the moon would already have the potential to be visible as a young crescent tilting northward, as the moon's position would be to the north of the sun.