When Is Eid al-Fitr 2027? Expected Date, Moon Sighting and Zakat al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr — the Festival of Breaking the Fast — marks the end of Ramadan on the first day of Shawwal. It is one of the two annual festivals of Islam and a day when fasting is forbidden. Because its date depends on the crescent, it is also the day people most often ask about: “Is Eid tomorrow?”

Eid al-Fitr 2027: expected dates

Scenario	Last fast	Eid al-Fitr
Umm al-Qura calendar (29-day Ramadan)	Monday 8 March 2027	Tuesday 9 March 2027
If Ramadan completes 30 days	Tuesday 9 March 2027	Wednesday 10 March 2027
Tabular calendar	Tuesday 9 March 2027	Wednesday 10 March 2027

Ramadan 1448 is expected to begin on Monday 8 February 2027. On the Umm al-Qura calendar it has 29 days, so the Shawwal crescent will be sought on the evening of Monday 8 March (29 Ramadan).

• In Saudi Arabia and countries that follow its announcement, Eid is most likely on Tuesday 9 March.
• In Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Morocco, where Ramadan often starts and ends a day later, Eid may well be on Wednesday 10 March.
• In North America, communities following the Fiqh Council’s calculation will have a date fixed in advance; others follow local or Saudi announcements.

Our Eid al-Fitr countdown counts down to the expected date and updates automatically.

How the Eid date is confirmed

The process is the same every year:

1. On the 29th of Ramadan, after sunset, sighting committees look for the new crescent.
2. If it is seen and the testimony accepted, Ramadan ends with 29 days; Eid is the next day.
3. If it is not seen, Ramadan completes 30 days and Eid follows the day after — no further sighting is needed.

The announcement usually comes a few hours after sunset on the 29th. This is why Eid plans — travel, leave, cooking — often have to accommodate two possible days.

Before Eid: Zakat al-Fitr

Zakat al-Fitr (also called sadaqat al-fitr or fitrana) is a small obligatory charity paid on behalf of every member of the household who is able, so that the poor can also celebrate.

• Amount: traditionally one sa’ (about 2.5–3 kg) of staple food — dates, barley, wheat, raisins or rice — per person. Many scholars, and most mosques in the West, allow payment of the cash equivalent; mosques and charities publish a local figure each year.
• Who pays: the head of the household pays for themselves and their dependants, including children.
• When: it must be given before the Eid prayer. Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet ﷺ ordered it to be given before people went out to the prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503). The companions used to give it a day or two before Eid (Sahih al-Bukhari 1511). The Hanafi school and others allow paying it earlier in Ramadan.
• If you miss the deadline: giving it after the prayer is counted as ordinary charity (Sunan Abu Dawud 1609), so pay it as soon as possible.

For Ramadan 1448, a safe target is to have Zakat al-Fitr paid by Sunday 7 March 2027, two days before the earliest expected Eid.

Sunnahs of Eid al-Fitr

These practices are established in the Sunnah:

• Takbir from the sighting of the crescent until the Eid prayer: Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahil-hamd.
• Ghusl (a full bath) and wearing your best clothes and perfume.
• Eating before the prayer — the Prophet ﷺ would eat an odd number of dates before going out on Eid al-Fitr (Sahih al-Bukhari 953). (On Eid al-Adha, the Sunnah is the reverse: eat after the prayer.)
• Praying the Eid prayer in congregation, ideally in an open prayer ground (musalla) where possible. The prayer is two rak’ahs with extra takbirs, followed by a sermon.
• Taking a different route to and from the prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 986).
• Greeting people — the companions said Taqabbal Allahu minna wa minkum, “May Allah accept from us and from you”.
• Visiting family, giving gifts and making the day joyful for children.

How to pray the Eid prayer

The Eid prayer is two rak’ahs, prayed after sunrise once the sun has risen a little — typically 15–20 minutes after sunrise — and before midday. There is no adhan or iqamah. The details below follow the most common practice; the number of extra takbirs differs slightly between schools, so follow your imam.

1. Intention to pray the Eid prayer, then the opening Allahu akbar.
2. Extra takbirs in the first rak’ah: seven after the opening takbir in Shafi’i practice; six in Maliki and Hanbali practice (seven counting the opening takbir); or three after the opening dua in Hanafi practice. Raise the hands with each.
3. Recite al-Fatihah and a surah — the Prophet ﷺ often recited Surah al-A’la (87) or Qaf (50) in the first rak’ah.
4. Bow and prostrate as normal.
5. Extra takbirs in the second rak’ah: five after rising (or three before bowing in Hanafi practice).
6. Recite al-Fatihah and a surah — often al-Ghashiyah (88) or al-Qamar (54) — and complete the prayer.
7. Listen to the khutbah that follows the prayer.

Women, children and even those not praying were encouraged to attend the Eid gathering in the Prophet’s time (Sahih al-Bukhari 324), so it is a family occasion.

Eid al-Fitr customs around the world

The core of Eid is the same everywhere — prayer, charity, family — but local customs give it a different flavour in every country:

• Indonesia and Malaysia: Lebaran or Hari Raya Aidilfitri, with mudik, the mass journey home to villages, and open houses where neighbours visit each other.
• Pakistan and India: Chand Raat, the evening the moon is sighted, with markets open late for henna and bangles; sheer khurma (vermicelli pudding) on Eid morning.
• Egypt and the Levant: ka’k al-‘eid, date-filled biscuits dusted with sugar, prepared in the last days of Ramadan.
• Turkey: Ramazan Bayramı or Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Festival), when children kiss elders’ hands and receive sweets or money.
• The Gulf: eidiya — gifts of money for children — and family gatherings after the Eid prayer.

After Eid: the six days of Shawwal

Fasting is forbidden on the day of Eid (Sahih al-Bukhari 1990), but from the second day of Shawwal you can begin the six voluntary fasts. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the whole year” (Sahih Muslim 1164). Shawwal 1448 runs, on Umm al-Qura, from 9 March to 7 April 2027.

Eid al-Fitr in the coming years

Year	Expected Eid al-Fitr (Umm al-Qura)
2026 (1447)	Friday 20 March 2026
2027 (1448)	Tuesday 9 March 2027
2028 (1449)	Saturday 26 February 2028

Each year Eid comes about 11 days earlier, so by 2030 it will fall in early February.

Planning tips for 2027

• Book leave for two days. If your employer requires notice, request Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 March, then cancel the one you do not need.
• Schools: many schools in the UK and US accept parent notification for religious holidays; check your school’s policy before Ramadan.
• Travel: if you travel for Eid, remember that the country you arrive in may celebrate on a different day. Follow the local community where you are on the day.
• Check the date in your country on our Hijri date by country pages, which note where local sighting usually runs a day later.

Summary

• Eid al-Fitr 1448: expected Tuesday 9 March 2027 (Umm al-Qura), possibly Wednesday 10 March where local sighting is followed.
• Confirmed by the Shawwal crescent on the evening of 29 Ramadan.
• Pay Zakat al-Fitr before the Eid prayer — ideally by 7 March 2027.
• Fasting on Eid is prohibited; the six days of Shawwal can start the next day.