Ramadan Calendar 2026

When does Ramadan 2026 start?

Ramadan 2026 (1 Ramadan 1447 AH) is expected to begin around 18 to 20 February 2026 depending on your region, subject to moon sighting. Saudi Arabia and much of the world are likely to start on 18 or 19 February, while the Indian subcontinent often begins a day later. The exact first day is confirmed by local sighting the evening before. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the month of fasting, when Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to sunset. You can also track the days remaining on our Ramadan countdown.

What is Sehri and Iftar?

Sehri (also called Suhoor) is the pre-dawn meal eaten before the fast begins. It’s a Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, who said there is blessing in Sehri, even if it’s just a sip of water. Sehri time ends at the start of Fajr, the dawn prayer, which is the moment the fast begins. The calendar above shows the Sehri end time for each day.

Iftar is the meal that breaks the fast at sunset, at the time of the Maghrib prayer. The Sunnah is to break the fast quickly once Maghrib enters, traditionally with dates and water, then pray Maghrib. The calendar shows the Iftar time for each day based on your city’s sunset.

How to use this Ramadan calendar

Getting your local times takes one step:

• Type your city in the box (for example, London, Karachi, New York) and tap Show Times.
• Or tap Use my location to let your device find you automatically.
• If your times look a few minutes off from your mosque, switch the calculation method at the top, the Fajr angle differs between methods, which is the usual reason for a difference.

Today’s Sehri and Iftar are shown large at the top, and the full 30-day table sits below with today’s row highlighted.

Why times differ between sources

If this calendar shows a Sehri time a few minutes apart from your mosque, both can be right. The Iftar (Maghrib) time is based on sunset and is fairly consistent. The Sehri (Fajr) time depends on the angle of the sun below the horizon at dawn, and different authorities use slightly different angles. That’s why we let you choose the method, so you can match your local convention.

The safest practice during Ramadan is to use this calendar for planning and follow your local mosque for the exact moment to start and break the fast.

Sunnahs of Sehri and Iftar

Both meals carry rewards beyond the food itself. For Sehri, the Prophet ﷺ encouraged eating it even when you’re not very hungry, saying it carries blessing (barakah), and he recommended delaying it close to Fajr rather than eating in the middle of the night. A light, nourishing Sehri with water, dates, and slow-release foods makes the fasting day easier.

For Iftar, the Sunnah is to break the fast promptly once Maghrib enters, not to delay it. The Prophet ﷺ broke his fast with fresh dates, or dried dates, or water if neither was available, then prayed Maghrib before eating a full meal. A short duʿa is made at the moment of breaking the fast, a time when the fasting person’s supplication is especially accepted.

Tips for a healthy fasting day

The long gap between Sehri and Iftar is easier to manage with a few simple habits:

• Hydrate between Iftar and Sehri, not all at once. Spreading water across the evening prevents the dehydration that makes the next day hard.
• Keep Sehri balanced. Complex carbohydrates, protein, and fruit release energy slowly. Heavy fried or very salty food at Sehri tends to bring on thirst.
• Don’t overeat at Iftar. Breaking a fast with a huge meal often causes sluggishness. Start light with dates and water, pray, then eat properly.
• Watch your timetable the night before. Knowing tomorrow’s Sehri end time helps you wake and eat with margin, rather than rushing in the final minutes.

Ramadan around the world

Because fasting runs from dawn to sunset, the length of the fast depends on where you live and the time of year. In 2026, Ramadan falls in late winter, so for much of the Northern Hemisphere the days are shorter and the fast is more moderate. Closer to the equator, day length barely changes, so the fast stays roughly the same all year.

The further from the equator you go, the more extreme it gets. In far northern cities, a summer Ramadan can mean very long fasting hours, while a winter one is short. Scholars have given guidance for places where dawn and sunset are hard to determine, often advising people there to follow the timings of the nearest moderate region or Makkah. Whatever your location, entering your city above gives you the times calculated for exactly where you are.

What breaks the fast, and what doesn’t

Between Sehri and Iftar, the fast is broken by deliberately eating, drinking, or a few other specific acts. Common worries usually aren’t problems: forgetting and eating by mistake doesn’t break the fast, you simply stop when you remember and continue. Brushing teeth, taking injections that aren’t nutritional, and involuntary vomiting are generally treated as not breaking the fast, though scholars differ on some details.

If the fast is broken deliberately without a valid reason, it must be made up later, and in some cases carries an additional expiation. Those who are genuinely unable to fast, the seriously ill, travellers, pregnant or nursing mothers, and others with a valid excuse, have concessions in Islam and can make up the days later or, where applicable, give fidya. The point of the fast is devotion, not hardship for its own sake.

Making the most of the month

Ramadan is more than not eating. The same hours of hunger are meant to free up time and attention for worship: extra Quran recitation, the nightly Taraweeh prayers, increased charity, and seeking Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten nights, the night the Quran calls better than a thousand months. A simple plan, a daily portion of Quran, a fixed charity, and protecting your prayers, turns the month from a test of willpower into a genuine reset. The Sehri and Iftar times above are the frame; what you fill the day with is the substance.

Frequently asked questions