Ramadan begins Friday, with observants fasting from sunrise until sunset during the holy month. Here’s a look at how Muslims mark this period, which includes special prayers, blessings and fasting.
Ramadan begins Feb. 27 with Eid al-Fitr holiday marking end of holy month March 30
CBC News ·
A child is seen next to the dome of the Al Mabrur mosque as observatory officers check astronomical calculation tools to determine the beginning of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Friday. (June Kriswanto/AFP/Getty Images)
Many Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, which this year begins on Friday. It’s the holy month when they abstain from food, drink and other pleasures from sunrise to sunset.
Ramadan concludes with Eid al-Fitr (the festival of the breaking of the fast) on March 30.
Here’s a look at how worshippers mark this sacred period, which includes religious reflection, family gatherings and good deeds.
A worshipper looks through a theodolite to spot the new crescent moon to determine the start of Ramadan, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Friday. (Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters)
A worker cleans a chandelier inside a mosque in preparation for Ramadan in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday. (Fareed Khan/The Associated Press)
A worker cleans the Sunehri mosque in preparation for Ramadan in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday. (Muhammad Sajjad/The Associated Press)
Muslims pray while visiting their relative’s grave as part of a local tradition ahead of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday. (Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)
Ahead of Ramadan, people shop for traditional lanterns at the Shorja, the largest and oldest market in central Baghdad, on Thursday. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP / Getty Images)
Palestinian Loay Gheith decorates ceramic plates ahead of Ramadan in his ceramics factory in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday. (Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images)
Decorative lights are switched on in central London, England, to celebrate the start of Ramadan on Wednesday. (Melosed Children / Reuters)
Palestinians walk under decorative lights strung up between the rubble of buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
Worshippers pray during an evening prayer service to mark the first eve of Ramadan at the Grand Mosque of Istiqlal in Jakarta on Friday. (Achmad Ibrahim/The Associated Press)
