Ministry of Religious Affairs Rukyat Team: 1 Ramadan 1447 H Falls on 19 February 2026 by Astronomical Calculation
A member of the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ (Kemenag) Hilal Observation Team, Cecep Nurwendaya, presented the results of hilal monitoring for the determination of 1 Ramadan 1447 Hijriah. He emphasised that the presentation was not an official decision, and that the formal designation of 1 Ramadan 1447 H would be announced following the isbat session.
“Therefore, 1 Ramadan 1447 Hijriah, based on the MABIMS imkanurrukyat calculation, falls on Thursday, 19 February 2026. This calculation is informative in nature. We require confirmation through rukyat (direct observation), which we are of course awaiting as material for the isbat session this evening,” said Cecep during his presentation at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.
Cecep explained that Indonesia follows the criteria set by the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, known as MABIMS. He noted that the hilal’s current position had not yet met those criteria.
“Indonesia’s elongation, based on the 2023 Bali agreement, requires a minimum geocentric elongation of 6.4 degrees. Meanwhile, our counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei still use topocentric elongation,” he explained.
He said the hilal would only meet MABIMS criteria two days hence, noting that the criteria form an integrated set.
“So, under the MABIMS criteria, there is the horizon, a hilal altitude of 3 degrees, and an elongation — the moon-sun distance — of 6.4 degrees. As long as it remains in the red zone, the criteria are not met. But once the hilal exits that zone, it has entered the criteria for the start of the Hijriah month. These are not separated — the 3 degrees and 6.4 degrees work together,” he explained.
He mentioned that the Americas had already met the MABIMS criteria. However, the Americas are not part of the MABIMS agreement.
“Is there anywhere in the world that has already met the criteria? Yes, the Americas have entered MABIMS parameters, but the Americas do not use MABIMS criteria, do they? MABIMS is used by MABIMS member states — it is an agreement among the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Now, if we look at the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, the magenta-coloured map indicates that the start-of-month criteria have not been met,” he said.