MUSCAT: The Omani government has officially announced that the first day of Ramadan for the year 1447 AH will fall on Thursday, February 19, 2026, making Oman the first Arab country to declare the start date of the holy month a full week before the conventional moon sighting.
According to Omani official media, Wednesday, February 18 will be the last day of the month of Shaban, with Ramadan commencing the following day.
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of Oman based its decision on astronomical calculations, stating that the sighting of the crescent moon on Tuesday, 29 Shaban—which corresponds to February 17—is astronomically impossible. The committee further asserted that when scientific facts conclusively rule out the possibility of moon sighting on a given day, any reported evidence to the contrary is not accepted.
“It is certain that if scientific facts declare the sighting of the moon on a certain day impossible, the evidence received to the contrary is not accepted,” the committee stated.
Meanwhile, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Science and Technology at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates has also issued a detailed prediction supporting Oman’s announcement. The academy’s team confirmed that moon sighting on February 17 would not be possible in Sharjah, across the UAE, or in most parts of the Islamic world—even with the aid of modern telescopes.
The academy has accordingly projected that Ramadan is expected to begin on February 19 across the region.
