First, make up any Ramadan fasts you still owe. Then build three small habits: a little Qur'an every day, some voluntary fasts, and an earlier bedtime. Fast more in Sha'ban. Sort out your zakat. In the last week, use the checklist at the end of this page.
Step one: the fasts you still owe
If you missed fasts last Ramadan because of illness, travel, your period, pregnancy or feeding a baby, you make them up. Try to finish before Ramadan 2027 starts.
Aisha said she sometimes could not make up her missed Ramadan fasts until Sha'ban, the month just before the next Ramadan.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1950
Count the days. Write the number down. Then spread them out. You do not have to fast them in a row.
What if someone delays their make-up fasts past the next Ramadan with no good reason? The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say: make up the days and pay fidya for each day. The Hanafi school says: make up the days only. Everyone agrees the days are still owed. Ask a local scholar about your own case.
Rules for who must make up and who pays fidya are on the fasting rules page.
The plan, week by week
One job per week. If you miss a week, skip it and keep going.
- Week 1 · 28 Sep – 4 Oct 2026Count the fasts you owe. Pick your first make-up day.
- Week 2 · 5 – 11 OctMake up one fast. Start five minutes of Qur'an a day, after one prayer.
- Week 3 · 12 – 18 OctMake up another fast. Choose your Qur'an goal for Ramadan with the Ramadan khatm planner.
- Week 4 · 19 – 25 OctFast one Monday or Thursday. If you still owe fasts, make one up on that day instead.The Prophet ﷺ made a point of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 745, graded Sahih by Darussalam)
- Week 5 · 26 Oct – 1 NovLearn the dua for breaking the fast. It is further down this page.
- Week 6 · 2 – 8 NovRaise your daily Qur'an time to ten minutes.
- Week 7 · 9 – 15 NovCheck your count. How many make-up fasts are left?
- Week 8 · 16 – 22 NovWork out your zakat with the zakat calculator.
- Week 9 · 23 – 29 NovPray two short rak'ahs at night before you sleep, on a few nights. This is practice for Ramadan nights.
- Week 10 · 30 Nov – 6 DecAsk for time off or lighter hours for the last ten nights (27 Feb – 8 Mar 2027).
- Week 11 · 7 – 13 DecRajab 1448 starts Thu 10 DecRajab is one of the four sacred months. Take extra care to avoid wrong in it.Qur'an 9:36; Sahih al-Bukhari 3197. No special Rajab fast or prayer is proven. See the table below.
- Week 12 · 14 – 20 DecPlan your family's Ramadan: who makes suhoor, easy iftar meals, and a kids' Ramadan calendar.
- Week 13 · 21 – 27 DecFast the "white days" of Rajab if you can: Tue 22, Wed 23 and Thu 24 Dec (13 to 15 Rajab).Jami' at-Tirmidhi 761 (Hasan, Darussalam). These days are sunnah in every month, not only in Rajab.
- Week 14 · 28 Dec – 3 Jan 2027Review: are your make-up fasts done? If not, plan the rest into January.
- Week 15 · 4 – 10 JanSha'ban 1448 starts Sat 9 JanStart fasting more. The Prophet ﷺ fasted more in Sha'ban than in any month except Ramadan.Sahih al-Bukhari 1969 and 1970
- Week 16 · 11 – 17 JanGo to bed 15 minutes earlier each night this week.
- Week 17 · 18 – 24 JanFast the white days of Sha'ban: Thu 21, Fri 22 and Sat 23 Jan.Many Muslims also mark the night of 15 Sha'ban (the evening of Fri 22 Jan). Scholars differ about it. See the table below.
- Week 18 · 25 – 31 JanPractise suhoor twice: wake up before Fajr and eat. Save your city's suhoor and iftar times. Find your Zakat al-Fitr amount.
- Week 19 · 1 – 7 FebLast week before RamadanWork through the checklist below. The first taraweeh is expected on the evening of Sun 7 Feb.Do not start extra voluntary fasts in the last day or two before Ramadan, unless it is a fast you already keep, like your Monday fast (Sahih al-Bukhari 1914). Most scholars allow make-up fasts on these days.
Rajab and Sha'ban: what is sound, what is weak
Many things are said about these two months. Some are sound. Some rest on weak reports. Here is where each one stands.
| What people say or do | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rajab is one of the four sacred months | Sound | Qur'an 9:36; Sahih al-Bukhari 3197 |
| A special reward for fasting Rajab, or a special prayer on one of its nights | No sound hadith | Ibn Hajar: no sahih hadith speaks of fasting Rajab or of a special night of prayer in it (Tabyin al-'Ajab) |
| Fasting some days in Rajab as ordinary voluntary fasts | Allowed; views differ | Many scholars recommend some fasting in the sacred months. The Hanbali school dislikes fasting the whole of Rajab on its own. The hadith "fast in the sacred months" (Sunan Abi Dawud 2428) is graded Da'if by al-Albani. |
| The dua "Allahumma barik lana fi Rajab wa Sha'ban wa ballighna Ramadan" | Weak chain | Al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman. Al-Nawawi called its chain weak. Some scholars still allow saying it as a general dua. |
| Fasting a lot in Sha'ban | Sound | Sahih al-Bukhari 1969, 1970; Sunan an-Nasa'i 2357 (Hasan, Darussalam) |
| Special worship on the night of 15 Sha'ban (Shab-e-Barat) | Weak hadith; scholars differ | Sunan Ibn Majah 1389, 1390 and Jami' at-Tirmidhi 739 are graded Da'if (Darussalam). Some scholars allow worship alone that night. Others say it has no special merit. |
| Fasting the day of 15 Sha'ban as a special fast | Fabricated report | Sunan Ibn Majah 1388 is graded Maudu' (Darussalam). The 15th is still one of the white days, like every month. |
| Fasting the 13th, 14th and 15th of any month | Sound | Jami' at-Tirmidhi 761 (Hasan, Darussalam) |
| Asking Allah for forgiveness in the last third of the night | Sound, every night | Sahih al-Bukhari 1145 |
For the dates of 15 Sha'ban in your country, see Shab-e-Barat 2027.
Build a Qur'an habit now
Jibril met the Prophet ﷺ every night of Ramadan to go over the Qur'an with him.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6
A standard mushaf has 604 pages. Pick a goal you can keep, then practise the pace now.
| Goal in Ramadan | Pages a day | One easy way |
|---|---|---|
| Read the whole Qur'an once | About 21 | 4 pages after each of the five prayers, plus 1 at night |
| Read half | About 11 | 2 pages after each prayer, plus 1 at night |
| Read one juz' a week | About 3 | 3 pages after Fajr |
Pages a day assume a 29-day month. The Ramadan khatm planner works out your own pace. Reading with family? Start a group khatm: one link, and each person picks a juz.
Sleep and suhoor
"Take Suhur as there is a blessing in it."
Sahih al-Bukhari 1923
Zaid bin Thabit ate suhoor with the Prophet ﷺ. The gap between suhoor and the call to Fajr was about the time it takes to recite fifty verses.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1921
- Move bedtime slowly. Fifteen minutes earlier each week is easier than one big change.
- Practise waking. Set a second alarm for suhoor in the weeks before. Put it across the room.
- Plan simple suhoor food. Water, dates, oats, eggs, bread, yogurt, fruit. Food you can make half asleep.
- Cut down on caffeine early. A headache on day one is easier to avoid in January.
- Plan a short rest in the afternoon if your day allows it.
Zakat: know your date
Zakat on savings is due when a full lunar year passes on your wealth. Ramadan is not required. Many people still choose to pay in Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ was at his most generous in Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari 6).
- Zakat calculator: work out the 2.5% you owe.
- When is zakat due? The lunar year explained.
- Zakat al-Fitr is a different, small payment for each person in your home, due before the Eid prayer.
Duas to learn now
Start with the dua for breaking the fast:
ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
Dhahabaz-zama'u wabtallatil-'uruqu wa thabatal-ajru in sha Allah
“The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 2357 (graded Hasan by al-Albani) · Full dua page
Then learn the dua for Laylat al-Qadr on the last ten nights page. More duas for the month are collected on Ramadan duas.
Family and children
Children do not have to fast before puberty. The Companions still helped their children practise.
Ar-Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh said that on the day of 'Ashura they made their young children fast. They made toys of wool, and gave a toy to any child who cried for food until it was time to break the fast.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1960
- Let young children try a half-day fast at the weekend.
- Give each child an iftar job: dates on the table, water poured, the dua said out loud.
- Print a kids' Ramadan calendar and let them tick off each day.
- Talk about the plan at dinner in January, so nobody is surprised.
The last-week checklist
Use this in the week of 1 February 2027. Tick it on screen, or print it.
Ramadan 2027: last-week checklist · niyatapp.com/ramadan/prepare/
Before Monday 8 February 2027
Questions people ask
When should I start preparing for Ramadan 2027?
Now is a good time. Ramadan 2027 is expected to start on Monday 8 February 2027, about 19 weeks after the end of September 2026. Start with any fasts you still owe, then add small habits week by week.
Do I have to make up missed fasts before Ramadan 2027?
Yes, try to. Missed Ramadan fasts should be made up before the next Ramadan. Aisha sometimes made hers up in Sha'ban, just before Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari 1950). If you delay with no good reason, the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools add fidya for each day; the Hanafi school does not.
When do Rajab and Sha'ban 1448 start?
By the Umm al-Qura calendar, Rajab 1448 starts on Thursday 10 December 2026 and Sha'ban 1448 starts on Saturday 9 January 2027. Where months start with a local moon sighting, each can begin a day later.
Is there a special fast in Rajab?
No sound hadith gives a special reward for fasting Rajab. Rajab is a sacred month (Qur'an 9:36), and ordinary voluntary fasting in it is allowed. Many scholars recommend some fasting in the sacred months; the Hanbali school dislikes fasting the whole of Rajab on its own.
Can I fast in the last days of Sha'ban?
The Prophet ﷺ fasted a lot in Sha'ban (Sahih al-Bukhari 1969). He also said not to fast a day or two before Ramadan unless it is a fast you usually keep (Sahih al-Bukhari 1914). Most scholars allow make-up fasts on those days.