Ministry Of Religion Will Use New Criteria To Determine The Beginning Of The Hijri Month

Director General of Islamic Community Guidance, Ministry of Religion, Kamaruddin Amin. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenag)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) will use the new criteria agreed upon by the Ministers of Religion of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (MABIMS) to determine the beginning of the month in the Hijri calendar.

"The new MABIMS criteria are the result of the 2016 MABIMS Rukyah and Islamic Takwim in Malaysia which was strengthened by the international fiqh falak seminar in Jakarta which resulted in the 2017 Jakarta Recommendation," said Director General of Islamic Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religion Kamaruddin Amin as quoted in a ministry press release. in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, February 23.

MABIMS agreed to change the criteria for the height of the hilal (month) from 2 degrees, elongation of 3 degrees, and the age of the moon 8 hours to the height of the new moon of 3 degrees and elongation of 6.4 degrees in determining the beginning of the Hijri month.

"MABIMS also agrees that the determination of the beginning of the Hijri month does not only look at the scientific aspect, but also needs to look at the sharia, sociological and psychological aspects," said Head of the Sub-directorate of Hisab Rukyat and Sharia Ministry of Religion Ismail Fahmi.

He said that MABIMS initially agreed to use the criteria for the height of the hilal of 3 degrees and elongation of 6.4 degrees to determine the beginning of the Hijri month in 2018, but failed. The new criteria will only be used in 2021.

According to Fahmi, the use of the new criteria will have an impact on the determination of the beginning of the months of Ramadan, Zulhijah, and Safar this year.

"There will be changes that are predicted to occur in Ramadan, Zulhijah, and Safar this year. We will change them according to the new criteria," he said.

The Ministry of Religion will socialize the use of the new criteria in determining the beginning of the month in the Hijri calendar to Islamic mass organizations.