Government's Considerations in Setting the Start of Ramadan on 19 February
The government has determined that 1 Ramadan 1447 H/2026 CE falls on Thursday, 19 February 2026. Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar said the determination of the start of Ramadan was based on deliberation during the isbat session held at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
"We deliberated with experts, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), and Islamic mass organisations," he said.
The isbat session was attended by leaders of Islamic mass organisations, astronomy and falak (Islamic astronomical calculation) experts from universities, as well as representatives from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Geospatial Information Agency, the Jakarta Planetarium, and members of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat (Calculation and Observation) Team.
The determination of the start of Ramadan referred to the hilal (crescent moon) visibility criteria established by MABIMS, the forum of Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The MABIMS criteria require a minimum hilal altitude of 3 degrees and a minimum elongation angle of 6.4 degrees.
The deliberation, he said, was based on hisab (astronomical calculation) and rukyat (direct observation) results conducted by the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat Team and Islamic mass organisations. Based on the data, the hilal altitude across the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia remained below the horizon, ranging from minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds (minus 2.41 degrees) to minus 0 degrees 55 minutes 41 seconds (minus 0.93 degrees). Meanwhile, the elongation angle ranged from 0 degrees 56 minutes 23 seconds (0.94 degrees) to 1 degree 53 minutes 36 seconds (1.89 degrees).
Nasaruddin said these results did not meet the rukyat criteria. "Even astronomically, the hilal was not yet possible to observe, so based on hisab calculations, today's hilal data does not meet the MABIMS hilal visibility criteria," he said.
These results were also confirmed by reports from observers deployed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This year, rukyat observations were conducted at 96 observation points spread across all provinces in Indonesia. "There were no reports of the hilal being sighted from any of the observation points," he said.
The Imam of Istiqlal Mosque also noted that no Islamic countries had yet met the imkan rukyat (possibility of observation) criteria. The Turkish version of the Global Hijri Calendar also did not commence Ramadan the following day.
"We deliberated with experts, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), and Islamic mass organisations," he said.
The isbat session was attended by leaders of Islamic mass organisations, astronomy and falak (Islamic astronomical calculation) experts from universities, as well as representatives from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Geospatial Information Agency, the Jakarta Planetarium, and members of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat (Calculation and Observation) Team.
The determination of the start of Ramadan referred to the hilal (crescent moon) visibility criteria established by MABIMS, the forum of Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The MABIMS criteria require a minimum hilal altitude of 3 degrees and a minimum elongation angle of 6.4 degrees.
The deliberation, he said, was based on hisab (astronomical calculation) and rukyat (direct observation) results conducted by the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hisab Rukyat Team and Islamic mass organisations. Based on the data, the hilal altitude across the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia remained below the horizon, ranging from minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds (minus 2.41 degrees) to minus 0 degrees 55 minutes 41 seconds (minus 0.93 degrees). Meanwhile, the elongation angle ranged from 0 degrees 56 minutes 23 seconds (0.94 degrees) to 1 degree 53 minutes 36 seconds (1.89 degrees).
Nasaruddin said these results did not meet the rukyat criteria. "Even astronomically, the hilal was not yet possible to observe, so based on hisab calculations, today's hilal data does not meet the MABIMS hilal visibility criteria," he said.
These results were also confirmed by reports from observers deployed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This year, rukyat observations were conducted at 96 observation points spread across all provinces in Indonesia. "There were no reports of the hilal being sighted from any of the observation points," he said.
The Imam of Istiqlal Mosque also noted that no Islamic countries had yet met the imkan rukyat (possibility of observation) criteria. The Turkish version of the Global Hijri Calendar also did not commence Ramadan the following day.