Six days of Shawwal, with a tracker for 2027
Fasting six days of Shawwal after Ramadan is like fasting the whole year. In 2027 you can keep them from Wednesday 10 March to Wednesday 7 April. Mark each one here as you go.
Tap a day in the month to mark it.
Tapping a day marks it as
Eid al-Fitr where I live
Pick the second date if your masjid began Shawwal a day after the Umm al-Qura calendar.
Quick plans
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Guide
Fasting six days of Shawwal, Hanafi position first
Fasting six days in Shawwal, the month after Ramadan, is a sunnah: the Prophet ﷺ said whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted for a lifetime. They can be kept on any days of Shawwal except the day of Eid. In 2027, Shawwal 1448 is expected to run from Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday 9 March 2027 to Wednesday 7 April 2027, by the Umm al-Qura calendar, so the fasts can be kept from Wednesday 10 March 2027 onward. Local moon sighting can move these dates by a day.
مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ سِتًّا مِنْ شَوَّالٍ كَانَ كَصِيَامِ الدَّهْرِ
Man ṣāma Ramaḍāna thumma atbaʿahū sittan min Shawwālin kāna ka-ṣiyāmid-dahr
"Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted for a lifetime."
Sahih Muslim 1164, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Sahih. Also in Jami at-Tirmidhi 759, graded hasan sahih.
The hadith is in Sahih Muslim, so its authenticity is accepted. Some hadith critics spoke about the memory of one narrator in this chain, Sad ibn Said, but it is supported by other routes, among them the hadith of Thawban, which also explains the arithmetic:
مَنْ صَامَ سِتَّةَ أَيَّامٍ بَعْدَ الْفِطْرِ كَانَ تَمَامَ السَّنَةِ ﴿مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا﴾
Man ṣāma sittata ayyāmin baʿdal-fiṭri kāna tamāmas-sanah. Man jāʾa bil-ḥasanati falahū ʿashru amthālihā
"Whoever fasts six days after the Fitr has completed the year: whoever brings a good deed will have ten times its like."
Sunan Ibn Majah 1715, from Thawban, the freed slave of the Prophet ﷺ. Graded sahih by al-Albani.
Each good deed is rewarded ten times over (Quran 6:160). Thirty days of Ramadan count as 300, ten months, and six days count as 60, two months: a full year. Done every year, it is like fasting a lifetime.
The ruling, school by school
Fasting six days of Shawwal is mustahabb (recommended). An early report has Abu Hanifa disliking it, out of concern that people would think it part of Ramadan, but the later Hanafi scholars, on whose view the fatwa is given, hold that there is no dislike in it at all. They may be kept consecutively straight after Eid or spread through the month; several Hanafi texts prefer spreading them, and keeping them in a row is not disliked on the chosen view. Only the day of Eid is not fasted.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Recommended. Best kept in a row straight after Eid, though spreading them through Shawwal still earns the sunnah.
- Maliki
- Imam Malik said he had not seen the people of knowledge fasting them, and disliked them out of fear that people would join them to Ramadan as if obligatory. Later Maliki scholars allow them, preferably not straight after Eid and without making a show of them, so that no one takes them as part of Ramadan.
- Hanbali
- Recommended, whether kept together or apart, and there is no difference in merit between the two.
Can you combine them with missed Ramadan fasts?
Keep make-up (qada) fasts and the six as separate fasts. A single fast cannot be both an obligatory make-up and a voluntary sunnah fast: if one fast is intended for both, most Hanafi scholars say it counts only as the make-up. You may fast the six before your qada days, because make-up fasts can be kept any time before the next Ramadan, but it is better to clear what you owe as soon as you can.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Some later Shafi'i scholars hold that a make-up fast kept in Shawwal also earns the reward of the six, though less than fasting them separately; others say it does not. Making up first is preferred.
- Maliki
- Many Maliki scholars dislike voluntary fasts while an obligatory fast is still owed, so make up missed days first.
- Hanbali
- The reward is for one who has completed Ramadan, so make up the missed days first, then fast the six.
Women who missed days for their period or after childbirth are in the same position: in the Hanafi school they can keep the six in Shawwal and make up the missed days afterwards, because Shawwal is the only time for the six.
Ways to plan the six
- Six in a row from the 2nd of Shawwal: done in a week, while the Ramadan habit is fresh.
- Mondays and Thursdays: the Prophet ﷺ liked to fast on these days, so they join two sunnahs. Three weeks covers the six.
- The white days, the 13th, 14th and 15th of Shawwal, plus three more days.
- At weekends, if your work makes weekdays hard.
Use the tracker above to plan the days and tick each one off. Shawwal 1449 is expected to begin on Saturday 26 February 2028. For the Eid prayer and the dates of both Eids, see Eid 2027, and for missed fasts, the qada calculator.
- Sahih Muslim 1164, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari; Jami at-Tirmidhi 759, graded hasan sahih by Tirmidhi, who notes the criticism of Sad ibn Said.
- Sunan Ibn Majah 1715, from Thawban, graded sahih by al-Albani. Quran 6:160.
- Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Sawm, on the six of Shawwal and on joining intentions; al-Kasani, Badai al-Sanai.
- Malik, al-Muwatta, Kitab al-Siyam; al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim and al-Majmu; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni; al-Ramli, Nihayat al-Muhtaj, on a make-up fast in Shawwal.
- Dates: the Umm al-Qura calendar, the same data as our Islamic calendar.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know
When can I fast the 6 days of Shawwal in 2027?
From Wednesday 10 March 2027 to Wednesday 7 April 2027, by the Umm al-Qura calendar, on any six days. The day of Eid al-Fitr itself is never fasted.
Do the six days of Shawwal have to be in a row?
No. In the Hanafi school they can be kept in a row or spread through the month, and several Hanafi texts prefer spreading them. The Shafi'i school prefers them in a row straight after Eid.
Can I fast the six days of Shawwal before my qada fasts?
In the Hanafi school, yes, because make-up fasts can be kept any time before the next Ramadan. The Hanbali school says to make up the missed days first to get the reward, and many Maliki scholars dislike voluntary fasts while a make-up is owed.
Can I combine qada and Shawwal fasts with one intention?
In the Hanafi school, no: a fast intended for both counts only as the make-up. Some later Shafi'i scholars hold that a make-up fast in Shawwal also earns the reward of the six.
What is the reward for fasting six days of Shawwal?
As if you fasted the whole year (Sahih Muslim 1164). Each good deed is worth ten, so Ramadan counts as ten months and the six days as two (Ibn Majah 1715).
Is it Sunnah to fast the 6 days of Shawwal?
Yes. It is recommended in the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Imam Malik disliked it out of caution, while later Maliki scholars allow it.