Ministry of Religious Affairs: Hilal Monitoring for Early Zulhijah to Be Conducted at 88 Points

The sidang isbat serves as a joint forum to integrate the results of hisab and rukyatul hilal in order to accurately determine the start of Zulhijah 1447 Hijriah in a manner acceptable to the entire Indonesian Muslim community.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) reports that hilal monitoring for the start of Zulhijah 1447 Hijriah/2026 will be conducted at 88 points spread across Indonesia, which is an important part of the sidang isbat process for determining the start of Zulhijah as well as Idul Adha.

“Sidang isbat for the start of Zulhijah 1447 Hijriah will be held on 17 May 2026, coinciding with 29 Zulkaidah 1447 Hijriah, at the H.M. Rasjidi Auditorium, Ministry of Religious Affairs,” said Arsad Hidayat, Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development at Kemenag, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Arsad stated that the sidang isbat involves various elements, starting from ambassadors of friendly countries, the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Commission VIII of the DPR RI, Kemenag’s Eselon I and II ranks, as well as the BMKG.

Then the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), BRIN, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Islamic mass organisations, falak experts, Kemenag’s Hisab Rukyat Team, academics, to pesantren leaders.

Based on hisab calculations, all hisab systems agree that the ijtimak ahead of Zulhijah 1447 Hijriah will occur on Sunday, 17 May 2026, around 03:00:55 WIB.

At the time of rukyat, the hilal’s position across all regions of Indonesia is estimated to be above the horizon with an elevation between 3° 37’ 51” and 6° 54’ 23”. Meanwhile, the elongation angle or angular distance between the moon and the sun ranges from 8° 58’ 23” to 10° 36’ 52”.

Observation locations include observatories, beaches, building rooftops, monitoring towers, to strategic mosques in various areas.

“Hilal monitoring is conducted extensively in various regions of Indonesia so that the rukyat results obtained are increasingly accurate and can serve as the basis for decision-making in the sidang isbat,” said Arsad.