Urgent| “Astronomical Research” resolves the controversy over the date of Eid al-Fitr 2026
Dr. Muhammad Gharib, a professor at the Sun Research Laboratory at the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research of the Ministry of Higher Education, said about the first day of Eid al-Fitr 2026, according to astronomical calculations, that the beginning of the month of Ramadan 2026 will be on Friday, March 20.
Eid al-Fitr date 2026
He explained in special statements to Al-Watan that the number of days of Ramadan 2026 this year will be 29 days, and therefore the beginning of Eid al-Fitr will be on Friday, March 20, astronomically, stressing that the final opinion will be made by the Egyptian Fatwa House after the Shawwal crescent has been surveyed on Thursday, March 19, which corresponds to Ramadan 29, 1447 AH.
He said that the crescent of Shawwal 2026 will be born immediately after the conjunction occurs at exactly three o’clock and 25 minutes in the morning Cairo local time, on Thursday, Ramadan 29, 1447 AH, corresponding to March 19, which is “sighting day.”
The beginning of Shawwal 1447 AH
Astronomical research has shown that the crescent of Shawwal 2026 will remain in the sky of Mecca for 35 minutes, and in Cairo for 35 minutes after sunset that day, the day of sighting. In the rest of Egypt’s governorates, the new crescent will remain in the sky for periods ranging between 30 and 37 minutes, while in Arab and Islamic capitals and cities, the new crescent will remain after sunset that day for a period of up to 44 minutes.
