The beginning of the month of Shawwal 1447 H this year refers to the decision of the 32nd National Conference of Tarjih Muhammadiyah regarding the Global Unified Hijri Calendar (Kalender Hijriah Global Tunggal/KHGT). Based on the criteria of this calendar system, 1 Shawwal 1447 is set to fall on Friday, March 20, 2026.
The KHGT is a Hijri calendar system designed to unify the determination of Islamic months worldwide. In this system, the Earth is regarded as a single matla’, meaning that the beginning of a lunar month applies simultaneously across the globe. Therefore, the start of a new month no longer depends on regional boundaries. Instead, it depends on whether specific astronomical parameters are met at any location in the world.
Criteria of the Global Unified Hijri Calendar
Several criteria are used in the KHGT system.
First, the entire world is treated as a single matla’. As a result, the new lunar month begins at the same time globally.
Second, a new month begins if, before 24:00 UTC, the minimum parameters are met somewhere in the world. These parameters require a lunar elongation of at least 8 degrees and a crescent moon altitude of at least 5 degrees at sunset.
Third, if these parameters are fulfilled only after 24:00 UTC, the new month may still begin under additional conditions. Specifically, the parameters must occur on land in the American continent. The astronomical conjunction (ijtima’), moreover, must take place before dawn in New Zealand.
Astronomical data indicate that these criteria have been fulfilled for Shawwal 1447 H. The conjunction occurred on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 01:23:28 UTC. After the conjunction, the moon gradually moved away from the sun and eventually satisfied the required visibility parameters.
The first location where these parameters were fulfilled lies at the coordinates 64° 59′ 57.47″ N and 42° 3′ 3.47″ E. At that location, the sun set at 18:12:15 local time, or 15:24:03 UTC. At sunset, the moon’s altitude measured 6.49 degrees, while the elongation reached 8 degrees. Both values exceeded the minimum KHGT requirements.
Astronomical Confirmation Across Regions
The same parameters were also fulfilled in Mecca. On March 19, 2026, the sun set in Mecca at 18:34:04 local time, or 15:34:04 UTC. At that moment, the geocentric altitude of the moon reached +06° 09′ 09″, while the geocentric elongation measured 08° 05′ 24″. These values also surpassed the minimum threshold required by the global calendar criteria.
Meanwhile, dawn in New Zealand on the same day occurred at 16:50:02 UTC. This timing confirms that all required KHGT parameters were fulfilled within the designated time frame.
Because the minimum elongation of 8 degrees and crescent altitude of 5 degrees were met before 24:00 UTC in several regions of the world, 1 Shawwal 1447 H is set to fall on Friday, March 20, 2026.
This determination applies globally in accordance with the principles of the Global Unified Hijri Calendar, which regards the entire Earth as a single unified Hijri calendar system.
Translator: Bintang Adrian
