The 365 · Sunnah · Day 345 · Special Days
Fasting the White Days (13th, 14th, 15th of each lunar month)
The hadith
«أَوْصَانِي خَلِيلي ﷺ بِثَلَاثٍ: صِيَامِ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ، وَرَكْعَتَيْ الضُّحَى، وَأَنْ أُوتِرَ قَبْلَ أَن أَنَامَ».
Abū Hurayrah said: 'My beloved ﷺ advised me to do three things: to fast three days of every month, to pray two rakaʿāt of ḍuḥā, and to perform witr before sleep.' (Bukhari 1981, Muslim 721)
Svenska: Abū Hurayrah berättade: 'Min älskade ﷺ rådde mig att göra tre saker: att fasta tre dagar varje månad, att be två rakaʿāt ḍuḥā, och att utföra witr innan jag sover.' (Bukhari 1981)
Bukhari 1981; Muslim 721
The story
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr was advised the same. The Prophet ﷺ said three days a month is sufficient; more becomes burdensome. The balance is Sunnah.
Why it's here
Three days of every lunar month, the Prophet ﷺ recommended fasting. The strongest specification is the 13th, 14th, and 15th (when the moon is full and the nights bright, hence 'white days'). Three days fasting equals fasting the whole month in reward (Q 6:160's tenfold multiplication).
Try it today
Mark the 13th, 14th, 15th of each lunar month in your calendar. Fast these three. If you miss them, fast any three days of the month. Build the habit; it is one of the Prophet's ﷺ most-emphasized advices.
In your day
Lunar calendar apps track these dates. Use them. The believer's lunar awareness deepens with this Sunnah.
A reflection to carry
Three days fasting per month is the Prophet's ﷺ wasiyyah (testament). Adopt it.
Read the longer reflection
The White Days fast is one of the most-emphasized Sunnah-wasiyyahs in the books. Three Companions (Abū Hurayrah, Abū Dharr, Abū al-Dardāʾ) all narrate the Prophet's ﷺ specific advice: fast three days every month. The 13th, 14th, 15th are specified for added barakah. May Allah make us of those who never abandoned the three-day fast.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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