White days fasting: the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the lunar month
Read the dates correctly, distinguish the white days from any three days, and check the month before fasting.
The white days, or ayyam al-bid, are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of each Islamic lunar month. The practical question is therefore not only “which numbers?” but also “which month and calendar?” A useful monthly reminder can become misleading if civil dates from another month are copied or Tashriq is overlooked.
Three reports explain the specific dates, the wider possibility of fasting three days each month and the particular case of 13 Dhul-Hijjah. This guide complements the overview of voluntary fasting by explaining how to read a white-days calendar.
- 13White day
Exception: no voluntary fasting on 13 Dhul-Hijjah, a day of Tashriq.
- 14White day
Fourteenth day of the lunar month.
- 15White day
Fifteenth day of the lunar month.
During Ramadan, these days belong to obligatory fasting. The general recommendation of three days a month can also be followed on other permitted dates.
Sunan an-Nasa’i 2420 Sahih Muslim 1160 Sahih al-Bukhari 1997
Article contents
The white days are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the lunar month
The context of the narration
Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah transmits this saying of the Prophet ﷺ. It associates fasting three days each month with lasting reward, then names the white days. This version is graded sahih by Darussalam.“Fasting three days of each month is like fasting continually; the white days are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth days.”
Read the Arabic text
صِيَامُ ثَلاَثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ صِيَامُ الدَّهْرِ وَأَيَّامُ الْبِيضِ صَبِيحَةَ ثَلاَثَ عَشْرَةَ وَأَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ وَخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ
Understanding this hadith
The numbers refer to dates in the Islamic lunar month, not the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of January, February or another civil month. First establish the beginning of the relevant lunar month, then identify the three days.
Find these dates in the Hijri calendar you follow. The time of the full moon shown by an astronomy app does not, by itself, determine the three fasting days.
The merit expressed as “like fasting continually” is not a request to fast every day. It honours a rhythm of three days. Prepare meals and commitments in advance without adding days to turn the comparison into literal continuous fasting.
If those dates pass, three other days remain possible
The context of the narration
Mu‘adhah al-‘Adawiyyah asked ‘Aishah whether the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fasted three days each month. She answered yes. Mu‘adhah then asked which days he chose. ‘Aishah replied:“He was not concerned about which days of the month he fasted.”
Read the Arabic text
لَمْ يَكُنْ يُبَالِي مِنْ أَىِّ أَيَّامِ الشَّهْرِ يَصُومُ
Understanding this hadith
This answer distinguishes the general recommendation to fast three days in a month from the specific dates of the white days. The two texts should not be merged: the first names the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth; this one describes monthly fasting without fixed dates.
If you discover the recommendation on the sixteenth, or your responsibilities prevented you from preparing for the white days, you can still consider three other permitted days that month. They will be three days of monthly fasting; calling them “white days” would not change their dates.
Being able to choose three days does not make fasting on a prohibited day permissible. The thirteenth of Dhul Hijjah needs particular attention, as the next section explains.
Also read: the three recommendations given to Abu Hurayrah.
The thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah remains a day of Tashriq
The context of the narration
‘Aishah and Ibn ‘Umar report a restriction concerning Tashriq, the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah. Their account also preserves an exception related to the hady, the pilgrimage offering.“Fasting the days of Tashriq was not permitted, except for someone unable to obtain the hady.”
Read the Arabic text
لَمْ يُرَخَّصْ فِي أَيَّامِ التَّشْرِيقِ أَنْ يُصَمْنَ، إِلاَّ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدِ الْهَدْىَ
Understanding this hadith
The thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah appears in the 13–14–15 sequence, but it is also the final day of Tashriq. It must not be fasted as part of a voluntary white-days programme. A monthly list that automatically marks all three numbers without this distinction is incomplete.
The exception concerns a specific pilgrimage situation, not general permission to maintain a monthly habit. For voluntary fasting, the fourteenth and fifteenth do not have this obstacle, and ‘Aishah’s account explains choosing another permitted day for three days that month. That additional day is not renamed a “white day” by being chosen.
The two Eids also have their own prohibition in al-Bukhari 1990. During Ramadan, the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth belong to the obligatory month’s fast: there is no second fast to add to the same day. Before sharing a calendar, check the month as carefully as the three numbers.
Also read: distinguishing Eid from the days of Tashriq.
In practice
- You are preparing for the monthCheck the lunar month’s start before entering the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth in your diary.Identify the dates
- The three dates have passedChoose other permitted days for monthly fasting.Read ‘Aishah’s answer
- You are sharing a calendarCheck that 13 Dhul-Hijjah is excluded from voluntary fasting.Understand the Tashriq case
Sources
- Sunan an-Nasa’i · 2420The white days are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the lunar month
- Sahih Muslim · 1160If those dates pass, three other days remain possible
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 1997The thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah remains a day of Tashriq
Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta: 13 Dhul-Hijjah and Tashriq.
Back to the start ↑