Every year, the moment Eid is over, I find myself in that strange in-between feeling. The euphoria of Eid al-Fitr is still in the air — the biryani, the hugs, the takbeer — but there’s also this quiet, bittersweet ache. Ramadan is gone. The most spiritually charged month of the year has packed its bags and left. And I used to just… let it go. Move on. Get back to normal life.
Then I learned about the six fasts of Shawwal. And honestly, it changed the way I feel about the days after Eid entirely.
Shawwal is the month we are in right now — the month that follows Ramadan. And within it, there is a Sunnah so beautiful, so rewarding, that I genuinely wonder why more Muslims don’t talk about it. The Prophet ﷺ said, as narrated in Sahih Muslim: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it will be as if he fasted the entire year.” Read that again. The entire year. Six days — and the reward is as though you never stopped fasting from the first of Ramadan to the last day of the year.
The scholars explain this beautifully. In Islam, every good deed is multiplied tenfold. Ramadan is 29 or 30 days — multiplied by ten, that equals roughly 300 days. The six days of Shawwal, multiplied by ten, give you another 60 days. Together, that’s 360 days — a full Islamic year. SubhanAllah. The mathematics of divine mercy are something else entirely.
Now, I know what some of you might be thinking — because I thought the same thing for years. “I still have missed fasts (qadha) from Ramadan. Do I need to make those up first?” This is actually a well-discussed question among scholars. The majority position is that it is more important to make up your missed Ramadan fasts first, as those are an obligation. However, some scholars hold that you can fast the six days of Shawwal alongside or before your qadha, particularly if you fear the month will end before you get the chance. If you’re unsure, speak to a scholar or trusted imam — the key is to not let the month pass without doing something.
And here’s what I love most about this particular act of worship: it’s flexible. You don’t have to fast all six days in a row. You can spread them across the month. You can fast on Mondays and Thursdays, which are already Sunnah days of fasting. You can combine the reward. There’s a beautiful rhythm to it — like the spiritual momentum of Ramadan doesn’t have to stop dead on Eid morning. You can carry it forward, keep the connection alive, and arrive at the end of Shawwal having earned a year’s worth of reward.
If you’re looking to deepen your Islamic knowledge in a structured way — to understand the “why” behind acts of worship like this — I’d genuinely recommend checking out the Online Islamic Institute at onlineislamicinstitute.org. They offer premium courses for all ages and backgrounds, and understanding the fiqh and wisdom behind our worship genuinely transforms the way we practice.
There’s also something deeply psychological about these six fasts. Ramadan builds a habit over 30 days — the habit of restraint, of remembrance, of prioritising worship. The six fasts of Shawwal act as a bridge. They stop us from snapping back immediately into every old routine. They keep us in the headspace of a fasting person, just a little longer. And from personal experience, the months after Ramadan where I kept these fasts felt different. Lighter. More intentional.
We are in Shawwal right now. The days are passing. And this beautiful opportunity — this gift wrapped in just six days — has a deadline. The month won’t wait.
If you’re finding it hard to get motivated, think of it this way: you just did 30 days. SIX more is nothing. Your nafs is already trained. Your body already knows what to do. Allah is still near. The doors haven’t closed just because the crescent of Shawwal replaced the crescent of Ramadan.
For those who want deeper spiritual guidance beyond the basics — the kind that nurtures the soul and keeps you grounded all year — I’ve also found the Islahi Majlis to be a wonderful resource. It’s a platform dedicated to Islamic spiritual reformation and growth, and it’s worth bookmarking for those days when your iman needs a gentle lift.
Don’t let these days slip by. Six fasts. A year’s worth of reward. A Sunnah beloved by the Prophet ﷺ himself. Make the intention tonight, and begin tomorrow. May Allah accept from all of us.