The Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Office (CMO) has issued a fatwa regarding the start of the month of Ramadan.
Modern.az reports that the fatwa states:
""O you who have believed, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous!" (Al-Baqarah, 183).
The blessed Ramadan, a month of mercy and blessings where sins are forgiven and prayers and worship are accepted in the presence of Allah Almighty, is one of the best months in the sight of Allah, as the Holy Quran was revealed to the Islamic Ummah in this month, and the Night of Qadr, which is better than a thousand months, falls within this month. We pray to our Exalted Lord, who rewards us with endless blessings, to assist us in properly fulfilling our obligatory fasting worship during the blessed Ramadan and in perfecting our morals through its virtues!
The Board of Qadis presents the Ramadan Fatwa to the attention of our believers and states that, according to the relevant inquiry of the Caucasus Muslims Office and the reply letter No. 32/16 dated 30.01.2026 from the N. Tusi Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, this year the 1st day of Ramadan will fall on February 19 according to the Gregorian calendar, Insha'Allah!
Thanks be to Allah, our heroic people, who achieved the Great Victory under the leadership of the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, have been celebrating our religious and national holidays and significant days with great pride in recent years. The sounds of Azan rise from the minarets of our restored and rebuilt mosques in our liberated territories, people are returning to their ancestral lands and reconnecting with their historical heritage. Great work is being done towards peace-building in the region. In this sense, we welcome the blessed month of Ramadan not only with the glad tidings of purification from sins and gaining Allah's mercy and pleasure, but also with the joy of large-scale construction and landscaping work being carried out in Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur, and the restoration of our religious and spiritual heritage.
The worship of fasting, one of the fundamental principles of Islam, is an act of worship that brings a person closer to Allah Almighty, to faith and piety, increases gratitude and divine grace, and establishes unity, brotherhood, truth, and justice among people. Fasting is a test for a person to protect themselves from forbidden acts, a means that integrates the will, patience, and steadfastness bestowed by Allah, and erects a barrier against the desires of the self. During Ramadan, remembering the words of Allah, engaging in knowledge, wisdom, and worship, setting up iftar tables for those in need, performing charity, assisting the destitute, orphanages, the elderly, caring for parents, and remembering the souls of the deceased are among the deeds approved by Allah and are meritorious. We recommend that during these blessed days when prayers are accepted, the memory of our heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our lands and homeland be honored, prayers be recited for their souls, and care and attention be shown to the families of martyrs and veterans. The Board of Qadis brings to the attention of our religious figures and local imams that detailed information and explanations regarding the obligations, rules, prohibitions, and recommended acts of Ramadan should be provided to believers. During this month, our religious figures should, in their sermons and khutbahs, instill in believers, at the highest level, the blessedness of the homeland's soil, the heroism of our martyrs, and the spiritual heights they attained, and comprehensively convey to believers the valuable efforts of our state in peace-building in the region and on the international stage after the Great Karabakh Victory, the unparalleled work towards the revival of our national-spiritual heritage, and the successes of our independent statehood. Furthermore, we would like to remind our religious figures once again that giving alms (ehsan) at gatherings before iftar is strictly forbidden, because, by the command of Allah and the order of the Prophet (PBUH), setting a table before iftar under the name of ehsan is a forbidden act from a Sharia perspective. Religious figures bear responsibility for adhering to these rules and are accountable for them from a Sharia perspective.
This year, the blessed Ramadan calendar, which is an important divine command of our Lord, coincides with Novruz, which holds a special place and national significance in the centuries-old history of the Azerbaijani people. The blessed Novruz, celebrated for millennia, embodies the awakening of the earth, the renewal of nature, and the renaissance of humanity. In the Holy Quran, the divine meaning of this revival is explained as: "Allah sends down rain from the sky, and revives the earth anew." During Novruz, wars ceased, estranged people reconciled, and people shared their joys and hopes for tomorrow with each other. Considering the divine importance of Ramadan, we recommend that the Novruz tables set on Tuesday evenings be adjusted to iftar times, so that our people may attain the joys and blessings of both Ramadan and Novruz. The coincidence of the holy Ramadan and the blessed Novruz holidays in Azerbaijan, which is experiencing a period of victory, is a great glad tiding that brings about good by the Grace of Allah Almighty.
As every year, this year too, the Caucasus Muslims Office has prepared a special calendar reflecting the daily prayers, imsak and iftar times for the blessed month of Ramadan. This calendar has been published on our Office's website (www.qafqazislam.com). The use of calendars from other sources that are divisive in nature and may cause sectarian and time discrimination is unacceptable for our religious figures and believers. All mass media outlets are recommended to refer specifically to the CMO's calendar. Insha'Allah, the date of Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan Bayram) will most likely fall on March 20, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon of Shawwal. Regarding the horizontal position of the moon, the Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Office will provide separate information about the date of Eid al-Fitr – Ramadan Bayram.
The amount of Fitra Zakat is determined to be around 10-15 manats per person.
In this blessed month, on behalf of the Azerbaijani believers, we express our deep gratitude to our head of state, His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev, who is carrying out extraordinary work for the restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Great Return to our ancestral lands, breathing new life into our devastated territories, establishing modern living conditions in Karabakh, the recitation of azans in our restored mosques, and the performance of Eid prayers, as well as to the First Vice-President of our country, Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva, and we wish them good health, the greatest divine blessing, during these blessed days. We pray to Allah Almighty for mercy upon all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the manifestation of this magnificent Victory, and we wish healing to our veterans. Our prayer to Almighty Allah is that He protects and preserves our country and our people, our wise head of state and our victorious army from calamities, keeps our flag high, and makes our state and our religion everlasting! As the Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Office, we wish that the blessed arrival of Ramadan and Novruz brings success to our people and our state. May our Exalted Lord accept our fasting and worship for the sake of the virtues of this blessed month. Amen!
And peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you!"
