Holidays and observances
Fasting Mondays and Thursdays: Plan With a Hijri Calendar
The Prophet ﷺ made a point of fasting Mondays and Thursdays. See the hadith, how these fasts overlap the white days and Ashura, and which days to skip.
By Tahir Nasuru · · 8 min read
Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays is a voluntary (sunnah) fast that many Muslims keep every week. It rests on hadith reporting that the Prophet ﷺ made a point of fasting on these two days, that he linked Monday to his birth and the start of revelation, and that people's deeds are presented on Mondays and Thursdays. The fast runs from dawn to sunset like any other. Because Monday and Thursday are weekdays, the Gregorian week tells you when they are; a Hijri calendar tells you when they collide with other special days, or with days on which fasting is not allowed.
Key Takeaways
- Aisha reported that the Prophet ﷺ "used to try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays" (Jami at-Tirmidhi 745, graded sahih on sunnah.com).
- In Sahih Muslim 1162b, he said of Monday that it was the day he was born and the day revelation came to him.
- Monday and Thursday sometimes coincide with the white days (13th to 15th of the Hijri month), the 9th of Muharram, or the Day of Arafah.
- Do not fast on the two Eid days or the days of tashriq (11 to 13 Dhu al-Hijjah), even when they fall on a Monday or Thursday.
- The Islamic day begins at sunset, so the night before a Monday fast is Sunday evening.
The hadith basis for Monday and Thursday fasts
Several narrations, in Sahih Muslim and the Sunan collections, describe the practice and the reasons given for it.
The Prophet ﷺ sought out these two days
In Jami at-Tirmidhi 745, Aisha said: "The Prophet used to try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays." Sunnah.com shows this narration as graded sahih (Darussalam).
Sunan Abi Dawud 2436 shows the habit continuing after the Prophet's ﷺ death. Usamah ibn Zayd kept fasting on Mondays and Thursdays while travelling as an old man. When asked why, he said the Prophet ﷺ used to fast on those days and, when asked about it, explained that the works of the servants are presented on Monday and Thursday. Sunnah.com shows it as sahih (Al-Albani).
Why Monday
The clearest reason for Monday is in Sahih Muslim. In a long narration from Abu Qatada, Sahih Muslim 1162b, the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Monday and replied that it was "the day on which I was born," and the day on which he was commissioned with prophethood or revelation was sent to him.
Imam Muslim adds a note at the end of that narration. One version from the narrator Shu'ba mentioned Monday and Thursday together, but Muslim left out Thursday because he judged that wording to be an error. So this particular hadith is about Monday; the Thursday fast rests on the other narrations in this section.
Why both days: deeds are presented
In Jami at-Tirmidhi 747, Abu Hurairah reports the Prophet ﷺ saying: "Deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday, and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting." Sunnah.com shows it as hasan (Darussalam).
A related narration in Sahih Muslim 2565a does not mention fasting, but it gives the two days their character. It says the gates of Paradise are opened on Monday and Thursday and pardon is granted to every servant who does not associate anything with Allah, except two people who bear rancour against each other, who are held back "until there is reconciliation."
The table below summarises the five narrations above: what each says about Monday and Thursday, and the grading sunnah.com shows for it.
| Narration | What it says about the days | Grading on sunnah.com |
|---|---|---|
| Tirmidhi 745 | The Prophet ﷺ sought to fast Mondays and Thursdays | Sahih (Darussalam) |
| Muslim 1162b | Monday: the day of his birth and of revelation | In Sahih Muslim |
| Tirmidhi 747 | Deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday | Hasan (Darussalam) |
| Abu Dawud 2436 | Usamah kept the fast; works are presented on both days | Sahih (Al-Albani) |
| Muslim 2565a | Gates of Paradise opened on both days; pardon except for those at odds | In Sahih Muslim |
Monday and Thursday through the Islamic day
The Islamic day starts at sunset, not midnight. The US Naval Observatory's Islamic observances page states that its tabular Islamic dates "begin at sunset of the previous evening and end at sunset on the date tabulated."
For a weekly fast, that gives a simple pattern:
- Sunday after sunset: the night of Monday begins.
- Monday before dawn: suhoor, then fast until sunset.
- Wednesday after sunset: the night of Thursday begins.
- Thursday before dawn: suhoor, then fast until sunset.
The weekday itself does not change with the sunset convention; only the label of the evening does. The post on why the Islamic day begins at sunset explains the convention in more detail.
Where Monday and Thursday overlap other sunnah fasts
Because the week has seven days and a Hijri month has 29 or 30, Mondays and Thursdays drift across the month. Every so often they land on another day with its own recommended fast.
The white days
The white days are the 13th, 14th and 15th of each Hijri month, which fall around the full moon. In Jami at-Tirmidhi 761 (graded hasan by Darussalam on sunnah.com), the Prophet ﷺ told Abu Dharr that when he fasted three days in a month he should fast the 13th, 14th and 15th. The sister post on fasting the white days covers that practice.
The three monthly fasts were not always fixed to those dates. In Sahih Muslim 1160, Aisha was asked on which days of the month the Prophet ﷺ fasted his three days, and said he "was not particular about the days of the month." Whether one fast on a Monday white day counts for both intentions is a question scholars discuss; ask a scholar you trust if it matters to your plan.
The 9th of Muharram and the Day of Arafah
The 9th and 10th of Muharram (around Ashura) and the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah (the Day of Arafah) are the other recommended fasts that sometimes fall on a Monday or Thursday. In 1449 AH, by the calculated calendar, the 9th of Muharram falls on a Monday and the Day of Arafah on a Thursday (see the table below). The sister post on Ashura and the 9th of Muharram explains why many Muslims fast the 9th as well.
Days not to fast, even on a Monday or Thursday
A weekly habit does not override the days on which fasting is forbidden.
- The two Eid days. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1990, Umar ibn al-Khattab said at the Eid prayer that the Prophet ﷺ forbade fasting on the day you break the Ramadan fast and on the day you eat the meat of your sacrifices: Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal) and Eid al-Adha (10 Dhu al-Hijjah).
- The days of tashriq. The three days after Eid al-Adha, 11 to 13 Dhu al-Hijjah, are described in Sahih Muslim 1141a as "the days of eating and drinking." According to Sahih al-Bukhari 1997 and 1998, nobody was allowed to fast on them except pilgrims who could not afford the sacrificial animal (hady). The sister post on Eid al-Adha and the Hajj calendar sets out these days.
There is also a narrower rule just before Ramadan. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1914, the Prophet ﷺ said no one should fast a day or two before Ramadan "unless he has the habit of fasting," in which case he may fast that day. A person who regularly fasts Mondays and Thursdays is the kind of case this exception describes when one of those days falls just before Ramadan.
During Ramadan itself, every Monday and Thursday is already an obligatory fast day.
Mondays and Thursdays to watch, Jumada al-Thani 1448 to the end of 1449 AH
The table below lists every Monday and Thursday from the start of Jumada al-Thani 1448 (11 November 2026) to the end of Dhu al-Hijjah 1449 that falls on a white day, the 9th or 10th of Muharram, the Day of Arafah, an Eid day, a day of tashriq or the last day of Sha'ban. Mondays and Thursdays in Ramadan are left out, since every day of Ramadan is already an obligatory fast. Dates are calculated from the Umm al-Qura tables in the open-source hijri-converter library that this site uses. Communities that begin the month with a local crescent sighting may be a day later, which can move the Hijri date off the weekday shown.
| Gregorian date | Hijri date (calculated) | What coincides |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 23 November 2026 | 13 Jumada al-Thani 1448 | White day |
| Thursday 24 December 2026 | 15 Rajab 1448 | White day |
| Thursday 21 January 2027 | 13 Sha'ban 1448 | White day |
| Monday 22 March 2027 | 14 Shawwal 1448 | White day |
| Thursday 22 April 2027 | 15 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1448 | White day |
| Monday 17 May 2027 | 11 Dhu al-Hijjah 1448 | Day of tashriq: do not fast |
| Thursday 20 May 2027 | 14 Dhu al-Hijjah 1448 | White day (the 13th is a day of tashriq) |
| Monday 14 June 2027 | 9 Muharram 1449 | The 9th, fasted with Ashura |
| Monday 19 July 2027 | 15 Safar 1449 | White day |
| Monday 16 August 2027 | 14 Rabi al-Awwal 1449 | White day |
| Thursday 16 September 2027 | 15 Rabi al-Thani 1449 | White day |
| Thursday 14 October 2027 | 14 Jumada al-Awwal 1449 | White day |
| Monday 13 December 2027 | 15 Rajab 1449 | White day |
| Monday 10 January 2028 | 13 Sha'ban 1449 | White day |
| Thursday 27 January 2028 | 30 Sha'ban 1449 | Day before Ramadan; see Bukhari 1914 |
| Thursday 9 March 2028 | 13 Shawwal 1449 | White day |
| Monday 10 April 2028 | 15 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1449 | White day |
| Thursday 4 May 2028 | 9 Dhu al-Hijjah 1449 | Day of Arafah |
| Monday 8 May 2028 | 13 Dhu al-Hijjah 1449 | White day, but also a day of tashriq: do not fast |
By the same calculation, none of the four Eid days in this window falls on a Monday or Thursday: Eid al-Fitr 1448 is Tuesday 9 March 2027, Eid al-Adha 1448 is Sunday 16 May 2027, Eid al-Fitr 1449 is Saturday 26 February 2028 and Eid al-Adha 1449 is Friday 5 May 2028. The 10th of Muharram 1449 (Ashura) is a Tuesday, so only the 9th appears.
A worked example: one month of Monday and Thursday fasts
Jumada al-Thani 1448 begins on Wednesday 11 November 2026 by the calculated calendar and has 29 days. Its Mondays and Thursdays are:
- Thursday 12 November (2 Jumada al-Thani)
- Monday 16 November (6) and Thursday 19 November (9)
- Monday 23 November (13, a white day) and Thursday 26 November (16)
- Monday 30 November (20) and Thursday 3 December (23)
- Monday 7 December (27)
That is eight possible fasts in the month, one of which falls on a white day. Someone who also wants the full set of white days would add Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November (14 and 15 Jumada al-Thani).
Plan your weekly fasts
Open the week view of the calendar to see each Monday and Thursday beside its Hijri date, and check for white days, the 9th of Muharram or the days of Dhu al-Hijjah. For a date further ahead, the date converter gives the Hijri date and weekday. Before Eid al-Adha, check the Eid al-Adha page so that a Monday or Thursday in the days of tashriq does not slip into your plan.
Treat calculated dates as provisional and confirm the start of each month with your local mosque. For questions about intentions, making up missed Ramadan fasts on these days, or your own health, ask a qualified scholar.
