Eid ul Fitr Countdown 2026

When is Eid ul Fitr 2026?

Eid ul Fitr 2026 is expected around 20 March, on the 1st of Shawwal 1447 AH. It lands the day after Ramadan ends. Because both Ramadan and Shawwal start with the sighting of the crescent moon, the exact date isn’t fixed until the moon is seen, so it can shift by a day between countries. The countdown above pulls the confirmed date automatically. Like every Islamic date, it moves about 11 days earlier each year.

Why the date is only confirmed the night before

Eid ul Fitr can’t be pinned down far in advance, and that catches people out every year. The reason is simple: Eid is the 1st of Shawwal, and Shawwal only begins when the crescent is sighted after the 29th of Ramadan.

If the moon is seen on the night of the 29th, Ramadan was 29 days and Eid is the next day. If it isn’t, Ramadan completes 30 days and Eid is the day after that. So until that 29th night, even the experts are working with a “most likely” date, not a certain one. This is also why neighbouring countries sometimes celebrate Eid on different days, they sighted the moon on different nights. Don’t book anything non-refundable around the predicted date.

How to celebrate Eid ul Fitr

The morning has a clear Sunnah order. Take a ghusl (full wash), put on your best clean clothes, and apply perfume. Eat something sweet before leaving for the prayer, traditionally an odd number of dates, which marks that fasting is over.

Then comes the Eid prayer, two rakʿahs with extra takbeers, prayed in congregation, followed by the imam’s khutbah. The Sunnah is to take one route to the prayer and a different route back. After that, the day is for family: visiting relatives, giving children gifts or money (Eidi), sharing food, and saying “Eid Mubarak.” It’s a day to repair ties too, reaching out to people you’ve drifted from fits the spirit of it.

Is fasting allowed on Eid?

No. Fasting on the day of Eid ul Fitr is forbidden, and the same goes for Eid ul Adha. The Prophet ﷺ clearly prohibited fasting on the two Eid days.

This trips up people who got into a strong fasting rhythm during Ramadan and want to keep going. The point of Eid is that it’s a day of celebration, and fasting on it goes against that. If you want to keep the momentum, the Sunnah gives you a better route: fast six days of Shawwal after Eid, which carries the reward of fasting the whole year. Just not on Eid day itself.

The night before Eid

The night before Eid is sometimes called Laylat al-Jaʼizah, the “Night of Reward.” There’s a narration encouraging worship on the nights of the two Eids, that whoever stands in prayer on them seeking reward, their heart will stay alive when hearts die (Ibn Majah).

So rather than spending the whole night on Eid preparations and shopping, many Muslims set aside some of it for duʿa and thanks for having reached the end of Ramadan. It’s an easy night to lose to errands. A few quiet minutes of gratitude before the celebrations is the better trade.

How Eid ul Fitr differs from Eid ul Adha

The two Eids are easy to mix up if you’re new to Islam, so here’s the clean split. Eid ul Fitr is on the 1st of Shawwal and marks the end of Ramadan, its themes are gratitude and charity, and its signature act is Zakat al-Fitr before the prayer.

Eid ul Adha is on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, about two months later, and honours Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son. It coincides with Hajj, and its signature act is Qurbani, the sacrifice of an animal with the meat shared with the poor. Both share the Eid prayer and the greeting. The shorthand: Fitr ends the fast, Adha marks the sacrifice. Our Eid ul Adha countdown covers the second one.

Eid ul Fitr and Ramadan

Eid ul Fitr only makes sense as the close of Ramadan, it’s the celebration that crowns the month. The Ramadan countdown on our site helps you prepare for the month in advance, and this page marks its joyful end. Together they bookend the most significant stretch of the Islamic year.