Ministry of Religious Affairs to Hold Isbat Session for 1 Syawal Tonight
The Ministry of Religious Affairs will hold the Isbat session for the determination of 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah tonight, 19 March 2026, at 19:00 WIB.
“The session is closed to the public,” said the Head of Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Thobil Al Asyhar, via WhatsApp message on Thursday, 19 March 2026.
He explained that information regarding the determination of 1 Syawal can be viewed by the public during the press conference following the Isbat session.
The agenda can be watched live on the YouTube channel of Ditjen Bimas Islam TV and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, as well as on the TikTok and Instagram platforms of Bimas Islam.
“The press conference for the determination of 1 Syawal will be held at 19:25 WIB tonight,” said Thoyib.
The Isbat session will be held at the H.M. Rasjidi Auditorium, Jalan Mohammad Husni Thamrin, Ministry of Religious Affairs Office, Central Jakarta.
The Director General of Islamic Community Guidance, Abu Rokhmad, stated that the Isbat session is the government’s mechanism for determining the start of months in the Hijriah calendar, particularly Ramadan, Syawal, and Zulhijah.
“As usual, the Isbat session begins with a seminar presenting the crescent moon position by the Hisab Rukyat Team of the Ministry of Religious Affairs,” said Abu, as quoted from the official Ministry of Religious Affairs website on Thursday.
After the seminar is presented, he explained, the next activity is to hold a closed session to discuss the results of rukyatul hilal received from various regions, before finally announcing it to the public.
He explained that based on astronomical calculations (hisab), on the day of rukyat or 29 Ramadan 1447 Hijriah, which coincides with today, the altitude of the crescent moon across all regions of Indonesia is above the horizon, ranging from 0°54’27’’ to 3°7’52’’. Meanwhile, the elongation angle of the crescent moon ranges from 4°32’40’’ to 6°06’11’’.
Abu continued that all hisab systems actually indicate that the conjunction leading to Syawal 1447 H occurred on 19 March 2026 around 08:23 WIB this morning. However, the determination of the start of Syawal still awaits the results of rukyatul hilal conducted in various regions of Indonesia.
In addition, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is monitoring the crescent moon at 117 locations spread across Indonesia.
This observation is carried out by the Regional Offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs together with district/city offices, Religious Courts, Islamic community organisations, and related agencies in the regions.
The Isbat session will also be attended by other parties such as representatives of friendly country ambassadors, the Chairman of Commission VIII of the DPR, the Supreme Court, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), and the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG).
Furthermore, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Bosscha of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Planetarium, falak experts from Islamic community organisations, and members of the Hisab Rukyat Team of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.