Bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim!
As the Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Board, we congratulate the Muslims of the world and the country on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, and we pray to Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate, for our prayers and worship to be accepted in this holy month.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is a Divine command, and regarding this, Allah Almighty says to His servants in the Holy Quran:
“O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous!” (Al-Baqarah, 183).
The blessed Ramadan, a month of mercy and abundance 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; just as the Holy Quran was revealed to the Islamic Ummah during this month, and the Night of Qadr (Power), which is better than a thousand months, falls within this month. We pray to our Supreme Lord, who rewards us with infinite blessings, to help us fulfill our obligatory fast in the blessed Ramadan appropriately and to assist us in perfecting our morality through its virtues!
The Board of Qadis presents the Ramadan Fatwa to the attention of our believers and states that, according to the official inquiry of the Caucasus Muslims Board and response letter No. 32/16 dated January 30, 2026, from the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory named after Nasiraddin Tusi of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the 1st day of the month of Ramadan this year will fall on February 19 of the Gregorian calendar, insha'Allah!
Thanks be to Allah, our heroic people, who signed a Great Victory under the leadership of the Victorious 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 the Azan rise from the minarets of our mosques that have been restored and rebuilt in our liberated lands; people are returning to their ancestral homelands and reuniting with their historical heritage. Great work is being done toward peace-building in the region. In this sense, we welcome the blessed month of Ramadan not only with the news of purification from sins and gaining the mercy and pleasure of Allah but also with the joy of large-scale construction and improvement works being carried out in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur, and the restoration of our religious and spiritual heritage.
Fasting, which is one of the fundamental principles of Islam, is an act of worship that brings a person closer to Allah Almighty, to faith, and to piety, increases gratitude and grace, and establishes unity, brotherhood, truth, and justice among people. Fasting is a trial for a person to be protected from the forbidden (haram); it is a means that integrates the will, patience, and perseverance granted by Allah, and acts as a barrier against the ego (nafs). During Ramadan, reciting the words of Allah, engaging in knowledge and worship, setting iftar tables for those in need, performing acts of charity, helping the destitute, orphanages, the elderly and aged, taking care of parents, and remembering the souls of the deceased are among the deeds approved at the Divine level and carry spiritual reward. 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 special care and attention be shown to the families of martyrs and veterans.
The Board of Qadis informs our religious figures and local imams that detailed information and explanations regarding the obligations, rules, prohibitions, and recommended (mustahabb) deeds of Ramadan should be provided to believers. During this month, our religious figures should instill in believers at the highest level the sacredness of the Homeland's soil, the heroism of our martyrs, and the spiritual heights they have attained. They should convey in detail to believers the valuable efforts of our state toward peace-building in the region and on the international level after the Great Karabakh Victory, the unparalleled work toward the revival of our national and spiritual heritage, and the successes of our independent statehood. Also, we would like to remind our religious figures once again that providing memorial meals (ehsan) at gatherings before iftar is strictly prohibited, because according to the command of Allah and the order of the Prophet (PBUH), setting a table before iftar under the name of ehsan is a haram (forbidden) act from a Sharia perspective. Religious figures bear responsibility for compliance with these rules and are accountable for this from a Sharia standpoint.
This year, the blessed Ramadan calendar, which is a mandatory divine command of our Lord, coincides with Novruz, which has a special place and national importance in the centuries-old history of the Azerbaijani people. The blessed Novruz, celebrated for thousands of years, embodies the awakening of the land, 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 of mercy from the sky and gives life to the Earth again." During Novruz, wars stopped, those at odds reconciled, and people shared their joy and hope for tomorrow with one another. Considering the divine importance of Ramadan, we recommend that the Novruz tables set on Tuesday evenings be harmonized with iftar hours, and thus our people may join in the joys and blessings of both Ramadan and Novruz. In Azerbaijan, which is experiencing a period of Victory, the coincidence of the holy Ramadan and blessed Novruz holidays is a great omen that, by the Grace of Allah Almighty, will be a means for good.
As in every year, this year the Caucasus Muslims Board has prepared a special calendar reflecting the daily prayers, imsak, and iftar times for the holy month of Ramadan. This calendar is posted on the Board's website (www.qafqazislam.com). The use by religious figures and believers of calendars received from other sources that are of a divisive nature and could cause sectarian or timing discrepancies is unacceptable. It is recommended that all mass media outlets refer specifically to the CMB calendar. Insha'Allah, the date of the Ramadan holiday will most likely fall on March 20, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon of the month of Shawwal. Based on the horizontal position of the moon, the Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Board will provide separate information regarding the date of Eid al-Fitr – the Ramadan holiday. 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, as well as the First Vice-President of our country, Mehriban Aliyeva, for the extraordinary work carried out for the restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensuring the Great Return to our ancestral lands, giving new breath to our devastated territories, establishing modern living conditions in Karabakh, giving calls to prayer (azan) in our restored mosques, and performing holiday prayers. We wish them the greatest Divine blessing, good health, during these blessed days. We pray for the mercy of Allah Almighty for all our martyrs who gave their lives for the manifestation of this magnificent Victory, and we wish healing to our veterans. Our prayer to the Almighty Allah is that He protects our country and people, our wise head of state, and our victorious army from calamities, keeps our flag high, and makes our state and religion eternal! As the Board of Qadis of the Caucasus Muslims Board, we wish for the blessed arrival of Ramadan and Novruz to be successful for our people and state. May our Supreme Lord accept our fasting and worship for the sake of the virtues of this holy month. Amen!
Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
Baku city, February 17, 2026.
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