February 17, 2026 | 08:24 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar stated that the government has designated the beginning of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 on Thursday, February 19, 2026. The reason is that the position of the hilal (crescent moon) in Indonesia on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, does not meet the MABIMS criteria.
"It has been agreed that the 1st day of Ramadan 1447 H falls on Thursday, February 19, 2026," he said after holding an isbat session at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
He explained that the government used the MABIMS criteria to determine the beginning of Ramadan. MABIMS, or the Minister of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, is the standard for moon visibility, which sets the minimum moon height at 3 degrees above the horizon and the elongation angle (angle of separation between the moon and the sun) at a minimum of 6.4 degrees at sunset.
On February 17, 2026, the moon's altitude in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia was between -2.41 degrees and -0.93 degrees, and the elongation angle was between 0.94 degrees and 1.89 degrees. Nasaruddin stated that the position and elongation of the moon in Indonesia did not reach their minimum points.
Member of the Hisab Rukyat Team of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Cecep Nurwendaya previously said the beginning of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 M coincided with Thursday, February 19, 2026. He mentioned that the moon's position in the Indonesian territory on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, did not meet the MABIMS criteria to determine the beginning of Ramadan.
"Based on the MABIMS criteria on 29 Sya'ban 1447 H/February 17, 2026, the moon's position in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia did not meet the minimum moon height criteria. Therefore, the 1st day of Ramadan 1447 H by calculation falls on Thursday, February 19, 2026," he said in a moon position seminar at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
Data from the day before, February 16, 2026, showed that the moon's altitude was even lower, at minus 11.93 degrees. Meanwhile, on February 17, 2026, the moon's altitude ranged from minus 2 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds in Jayapura to minus 0.93 degrees in the Mentawai Islands. At the same time, the elongation ranged from 0.94 degrees to 1.89 degrees.
Conversely, on February 18, 2026, the moon's altitude is estimated to reach 8.76 degrees with an illumination fraction of 0.94 percent. In this condition, Cecep said that, because the moon is positioned north of the sun, it has the potential to be seen as a young crescent moon with a tilted shape toward the north.
Read: Indonesia to Hold Isbat Session This Afternoon to Determine Ramadan
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