Short answer
Yes. Fasting on the day of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha is forbidden, and in the Hanafi school so is fasting on the three days after Eid al-Adha, the days of tashreeq. This applies to every kind of fast: voluntary, make-up and vowed.
Fasting on the two Eids and the three days of tashreeq (11 to 13 Dhul Hijjah) is makruh tahrimi (forbidden, close to haram). A vow to fast on these days is binding, but you must not fast them and fast other days instead.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Fasting on these days is haram and not valid at all. In the school's old view, a pilgrim with no sacrificial animal may fast the days of tashreeq.
- Maliki, Hanbali
- A pilgrim doing tamattu' or qiran who has no sacrificial animal may fast the days of tashreeq as part of his three days of Hajj fasting. For everyone else they are forbidden.
Explanation
The days of Eid are days of eating, drinking and celebration. Umar ibn al-Khattab told the people at the Eid prayer that the Prophet ﷺ had forbidden fasting on two days: the day you break your fast from Ramadan, and the day you eat from your sacrifice. He also called the days of tashreeq days of eating and drinking.
The five days:
- 1 Shawwal: Eid al-Fitr.
- 10 Dhul Hijjah: Eid al-Adha.
- 11, 12 and 13 Dhul Hijjah: the days of tashreeq.
In the Hanafi school, fasting on any of these days is makruh tahrimi, and the ban covers qada, kaffarah and voluntary fasts alike. So you cannot start your six days of Shawwal on Eid day: begin on 2 Shawwal. See the six days of Shawwal.
A Hanafi detail. Because the ban is about the day, not about fasting as such, a vow to fast on Eid still counts as a vow, but you must not fast that day: fast another day in its place. If you started a voluntary fast on Eid without knowing, break it, and you owe nothing.
The Day of Arafah, the day before Eid al-Adha, is different: fasting it is a great sunnah for those not on Hajj. See fasting on Arafah. Apart from these five days, you may fast any day, though some days are better not fasted alone: see fasting on a Friday.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:185
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥﴾
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
Eid marks the completion of the month with takbir, not with more fasting.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1990
Sahih... يوم فطركم من صيامكم واليوم الآخر تأكلون فيه من نسككم ...
"The day you break your fast from your fasting, and the other day on which you eat from your sacrifices."
Umar reports that the Prophet ﷺ forbade fasting on the two Eids.
Sahih Muslim 1141
Sahih... أيام التشريق أيام أكل وشرب ...
"The days of tashreeq are days of eating and drinking."
The three days after Eid al-Adha are not days for fasting.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on vowed fasts. Whoever vows to fast on the day of sacrifice breaks the fast that day and makes it up on another day.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sawm, opening section on the kinds of fasting. Fasting the two Eids and the days of tashreeq is makruh tahrimi.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Siyam. The Shafi'i ruling that fasting on the two Eids is haram and invalid, and the views on the days of tashreeq.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.