JAKARTA - Director of Islamic Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) Arsad Hidayat said that the calculation of the hilal position at the end of Ramadan still does not meet the criteria for hilal visibility set by the MABIMS member countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore).
"If based on calculations, the height of the crescent is around 0 to 3 degrees and the highest is in Aceh. Then for elongation 4 to 6 degrees," said Arsad in a press briefing in Jakarta, Monday, March 9, reported by ANTARA.
"In the MABIMS standard, the crescent height is at least 3 degrees and the elongation is 6.4 degrees. In calculations, although from the side of the crescent height there is a possibility of meeting the requirements, but from the aspect of elongation it still has not reached the minimum limit set in the criteria for imkan rukyat version of MABIMS.
Therefore, he said, the 1st of Syawal 1447 Hijriah or idulfitri 2026 between the government's decision and Muhammadiyah has the opportunity to be different again, as was the case with the determination of the beginning of Ramadan.
"If the criteria for the rukyat ability version of MABIMS is a minimum elongation of 6.4 degrees. So if based on the MABIMS crescent visibility criteria, it is still not possible to be seen," said Arsad.
However, Arsad emphasized that the certainty of the determination of 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah or Lebaran 2026 is still waiting for the results of the isbat trial which will be held by the government through the Ministry of Religion.
"The final decision still awaits the results of the isbat trial which will be held on March 19, 2026," he said.
When contacted separately, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Space Research Center Researcher Thomas Djamaluddin predicted that 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah may be different between the government and Muhammadiyah.
Muhammadiyah has set the first 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah on Friday, March 20, 2026, which is based on the Single Global Hijri Calendar (KHGT).
Meanwhile, based on the government's rukyat calculation, which is guided by the MABIMS standard, at Maghrib on March 19, 2026 in the Southeast Asian region, the crescent position has not met the MABIMS criteria. Thus, 1 Syawal falls on March 21, 2026.
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