White Days Fasting: The 13th, 14th and 15th of Each Month
The white days (ayyam al-bid) are the 13th–15th of every Hijri month (Tirmidhi 761). Dates for 2026–2027, the Dhul Hijjah exception, and keeping the habit.
This guide explains common views and sources. It is not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a scholar or imam you trust.
The white days (ayyam al-bid) are the 13th, 14th and 15th of each Hijri month, when the moon is full and the nights are bright. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised fasting them every month (Tirmidhi 761). Three days a month, twelve months a year, and the reward of each day counted tenfold, which is why another hadith describes three days a month as like fasting the whole year.
This page gives the expected dates for the coming year, the exception in Dhul Hijjah, and a routine that keeps the habit going.
The dates
The dates below are expected (Umm al-Qura); the actual date in your country depends on moon sighting or the local authority and may differ by a day. When your country's month begins a day later, shift all three days by one.
| Month | White days (13–15 of each Hijri month) |
|---|---|
| Jumada I 1448 | Sat 24 Oct, Sun 25 Oct, Mon 26 Oct |
| Jumada II 1448 | Mon 23 Nov, Tue 24 Nov, Wed 25 Nov |
| Rajab 1448 | Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec |
| Shaʻban 1448 | Thu 21 Jan, Fri 22 Jan, Sat 23 Jan |
| Ramadan 1448 | Sat 20 Feb, Sun 21 Feb, Mon 22 Feb |
| Shawwal 1448 | Sun 21 Mar, Mon 22 Mar, Tue 23 Mar |
| Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1448 | Tue 20 Apr, Wed 21 Apr, Thu 22 Apr |
| Dhuʻl-Hijjah 1448 | Wed 19 May, Thu 20 May, Fri 21 May — 13 Dhul Hijjah is one of the days of tashreeq, when fasting is not done. |
| Muharram 1449 | Fri 18 Jun, Sat 19 Jun, Sun 20 Jun |
| Safar 1449 | Sat 17 Jul, Sun 18 Jul, Mon 19 Jul |
| Rabiʻ I 1449 | Sun 15 Aug, Mon 16 Aug, Tue 17 Aug |
| Rabiʻ II 1449 | Tue 14 Sept, Wed 15 Sept, Thu 16 Sept |
| Jumada I 1449 | Wed 13 Oct, Thu 14 Oct, Fri 15 Oct |
| Jumada II 1449 | Fri 12 Nov, Sat 13 Nov, Sun 14 Nov |
| Rajab 1449 | Sat 11 Dec, Sun 12 Dec, Mon 13 Dec |
Umm al-Qura calendar. Expected: the actual date in your country depends on moon sighting and may differ by a day.
A few worked examples from the table:
- Sha'ban 1448: 1 Sha'ban is expected on Saturday 9 January 2027, so the white days are Thursday 21 to Saturday 23 January 2027. This is the last set before Ramadan.
- Ramadan 1448: 20–22 February 2027, already inside the obligatory fast.
- Shawwal 1448: 21–23 March 2027. Many people fast these three as part of the six days of Shawwal, which is permitted in most views, though some scholars prefer separate intentions for each sunnah.
- Dhul Hijjah 1448: see below.
- Muharram 1449: 1 Muharram is expected on Sunday 6 June 2027, so the white days are Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June, just after Ashura.
The exception: Dhul Hijjah
The 13th of Dhul Hijjah is one of the days of tashreeq (11, 12, 13), on which fasting is forbidden. In 2027 that is Wednesday 19 May. So the white days of Dhul Hijjah cannot be fasted as 13–15.
What people do instead:
| Approach | Days in 2027 | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fast 14, 15 and 16 | Thu 20 – Sat 22 May | Keeps three consecutive days; a view held by a number of scholars |
| Fast 14 and 15 only | Thu 20 – Fri 21 May | Fasts only what remains of the white days |
| Skip this month | – | The specific white days are not available; the general three-days-a-month hadith can be met on other dates |
All three are reasonable. For your own practice, ask a scholar you trust. The Eid al-Adha guide explains the days of tashreeq.
How to find the 13th every month
The simplest method: on the day your country announces the new month, count forward twelve days. If 1 Rajab is Thursday 10 December 2026, the 13th is Tuesday 22 December. The Hijri converter does this for you; a reminder set for the 12th of each Hijri month, as described in prayer reminders on your phone, is enough to keep the habit going.
If you follow a sighting-based calendar, the 1st can move by a day from the calculated date. Count from the announced 1st, not from the printed one. The Hijri calendar explained page shows why.
Keeping the habit
- Put it in the calendar for the year. Twelve entries, each three days long. It takes ten minutes once.
- Plan suhoor the night before. The white days are easier than Ramadan because life carries on around them; the main failure is forgetting suhoor. A bowl of oats, dates and water is enough.
- Pair with Monday or Thursday where they overlap. When the 13th is a Monday, two sunnahs coincide with one fast; see Monday and Thursday fasting.
- In summer, prepare for long days. In June the fast in northern Europe exceeds 18 hours; in December it is under 10. Check prayer times for your city on the day.
- Do not stack guilt. A month missed is a month missed. Fast the next one.
Who should take care
Anyone with a health condition, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those taking regular medication should talk to their doctor before adding voluntary fasts, especially in summer. The fasting and health conditions guide has general information from NHS and IDF-DAR sources; it is not medical advice.
A year of white days
Three days a month for eleven months (Ramadan being covered already, Dhul Hijjah adjusted) is 33 voluntary fasting days a year. With the six days of Shawwal, Arafah and Ashura, that is about 41 days in addition to Ramadan: a steady, light practice that the Prophet recommended precisely because it is sustainable. The Qur'an describes the phases of the moon as a way to count the years and the reckoning (10:5); the full moon in the middle of each month is the simplest reminder of all.
Useful tools
Questions and answers
Why are they called the white days?
Because on the 13th, 14th and 15th of the lunar month the moon is full or nearly full, so the nights are bright from sunset to sunrise.
Do I have to fast all three days in a row?
Fasting the 13th, 14th and 15th together is the specific sunnah (Tirmidhi 761). If you can only manage one or two, you still have the reward of voluntary fasting; a separate hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari recommends three days a month without fixing the dates.
What if the 13th falls on a Friday?
Fasting Friday alone is discouraged in a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, but fasting it as part of a sequence such as the white days is fine in all schools.
What about the white days of Ramadan?
They are already covered by the Ramadan fast; no separate intention is needed.
Is there a dua or special prayer for the white days?
No. The sunnah is the fast itself, with the normal suhoor, iftar and the dua at breaking the fast.
Sources
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi 761
- Sahih al-Bukhari (three days of fasting every month; the Prophet's advice to Abu Hurayrah)
- Qur'an 10:5