File photo of a moon used for representation
Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Calendar House (QCH) announced that, as per astronomical calculations carried out by its experts, the first day of Shawwal and the first day of Eid al-Fitr will be on Friday, March 20, 2026.
The final decision regarding the start of Shawwal remains within the jurisdiction of the Crescent Sighting Investigation Committee at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, it added.
QCH added that the crescent moon of Shawwal for this year will be born on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 4:24am Doha local time (1:24am GMT).
It further said that it is astronomically impossible to see the crescent moon on the evening of the sighting day (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) in the Qatar skies.
