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Photos: Fasts and feasts on the first day of Ramzan around the world

The world’s nearly 1.8 billion Muslims have welcomed the holy month of Ramzan and completed the first day of what constitutes a month of fasting. During this period, Muslims will be undertaking personal endeavors in refraining from eating, drinking even water, cutting away from vices, and abstinence between sunrise to sunset. As one of the five pillars of Islam, fasting during Ramzan is accompanied with spiritual reflection, worship and acts of charity. The month culminates with the three day holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Updated on: May 18, 2018 2:14 PM IST

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Muslim men read the Quran on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Brooklyn, New York. The world’s nearly 1.8 billion Muslims have begun observing a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers. (Gabriela Bhaskar / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Muslim men read the Quran on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Brooklyn, New York. The world’s nearly 1.8 billion Muslims have begun observing a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers. (Gabriela Bhaskar / REUTERS)

2/16

A cleric looks through binoculars for the new moon that signals the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan, at the Imam Ali observatory in Qom, Iran. Some prefer the many advances in technology for predicting the sighting; others would rather stick to tradition, relying on the naked eye. (Vahid Salemi / AP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A cleric looks through binoculars for the new moon that signals the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan, at the Imam Ali observatory in Qom, Iran. Some prefer the many advances in technology for predicting the sighting; others would rather stick to tradition, relying on the naked eye. (Vahid Salemi / AP)

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A Palestinian man points towards the moon in its Crescent form in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Once the start of the holy month is declared, Muslims share greetings such as “Ramadan kareem” and “Ramadan mubarak” via text messages, calls and emails to family and friends. (Said Khatib / AFP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A Palestinian man points towards the moon in its Crescent form in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Once the start of the holy month is declared, Muslims share greetings such as “Ramadan kareem” and “Ramadan mubarak” via text messages, calls and emails to family and friends. (Said Khatib / AFP)

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A vendor packs up vermicelli for a customer outside the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, India. The month brings markets alive especially in the evenings with sweetmeats and trinkets of all sorts. To prepare for the fast, Muslims wake in the night for a pre-dawn meal called “suhoor.” (Adnan Abidi / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A vendor packs up vermicelli for a customer outside the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, India. The month brings markets alive especially in the evenings with sweetmeats and trinkets of all sorts. To prepare for the fast, Muslims wake in the night for a pre-dawn meal called “suhoor.” (Adnan Abidi / REUTERS)

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A man reads the Koran at the Grand Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen. Fasting during Ramzan is accompanied with spiritual reflection, worship, abstinence and acts of charity. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A man reads the Koran at the Grand Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen. Fasting during Ramzan is accompanied with spiritual reflection, worship, abstinence and acts of charity. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi / REUTERS)

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A man prepares cookies at a small traditional factory in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ramzan favourites like dates and vermicelli are supplemented by local treats associated with either the suhoor or fast-breaking iftar meals in almost every country and region. (Mohammad Ismail / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A man prepares cookies at a small traditional factory in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ramzan favourites like dates and vermicelli are supplemented by local treats associated with either the suhoor or fast-breaking iftar meals in almost every country and region. (Mohammad Ismail / REUTERS)

7/16

A boy gets kohl applied to his eyelids in Sanaa, Yemen as a traditionally popular protection against eye ailments and applied in emulating a practice followed by Prophet Muhammad. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A boy gets kohl applied to his eyelids in Sanaa, Yemen as a traditionally popular protection against eye ailments and applied in emulating a practice followed by Prophet Muhammad. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi / REUTERS)

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Women recite the Quran in Brooklyn. Ramzan also sees congregations and greater personal endeavours towards understanding faith and the teachings of Islam. The recitation of the Quran is frequent and done throughout the day. (Gabriela Bhaskar / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Women recite the Quran in Brooklyn. Ramzan also sees congregations and greater personal endeavours towards understanding faith and the teachings of Islam. The recitation of the Quran is frequent and done throughout the day. (Gabriela Bhaskar / REUTERS)

9/16

A man arranges food plates for iftar at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. Muslims traditionally break their fast like the Prophet Muhammad did some 1,400 years ago, with a sip of water and some dates at sunset. (Fayaz Aziz / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A man arranges food plates for iftar at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. Muslims traditionally break their fast like the Prophet Muhammad did some 1,400 years ago, with a sip of water and some dates at sunset. (Fayaz Aziz / REUTERS)

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Sometimes the hours between dawn an dusk can really feel like an eternity. But that’s part of controlling one’s ego and desires. (Osman Orsal / REUTERS)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Sometimes the hours between dawn an dusk can really feel like an eternity. But that’s part of controlling one’s ego and desires. (Osman Orsal / REUTERS)

11/16

Sirens, calls from the mosque or the percussion round fired from a mortar, in the old town of Sarajevo, Bosnia at sunset mark the end of the day’s fasting. In many cities in the Muslim world, volunteers wake the faithful for suhoor by marching through the pre-dawn streets chanting and beating drums. (Elvis Barukcic / AFP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Sirens, calls from the mosque or the percussion round fired from a mortar, in the old town of Sarajevo, Bosnia at sunset mark the end of the day’s fasting. In many cities in the Muslim world, volunteers wake the faithful for suhoor by marching through the pre-dawn streets chanting and beating drums. (Elvis Barukcic / AFP)

12/16

People break their fast near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey. Iftar is a social event as much as it is a gastronomical adventure. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

People break their fast near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey. Iftar is a social event as much as it is a gastronomical adventure. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

13/16

A Muslim man offers post-sunset Maghrib prayers after breaking his fast at Feroz Shah Kotla Mosque in New Delhi. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo )

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

A Muslim man offers post-sunset Maghrib prayers after breaking his fast at Feroz Shah Kotla Mosque in New Delhi. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo )

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Another hallmark of Ramadan is nightly prayer at the mosque among Sunni Muslims called “tarawih.” Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya is seen here leading the prayer outside the tents of the protest camp near the Israeli border east of Gaza City. (Adel Hana / AP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Another hallmark of Ramadan is nightly prayer at the mosque among Sunni Muslims called “tarawih.” Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya is seen here leading the prayer outside the tents of the protest camp near the Israeli border east of Gaza City. (Adel Hana / AP)

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Women offer the tarawih at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. The month is a way to physically and spiritually purify. Many spend more time at mosques during Ramadan and use their downtime to recite the Quran. (Tatan Syuflana / AP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

Women offer the tarawih at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. The month is a way to physically and spiritually purify. Many spend more time at mosques during Ramadan and use their downtime to recite the Quran. (Tatan Syuflana / AP)

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The Grand Mosque Sheikh Zayed is seen lit up in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the Arabian Gulf countries, families hold “majlises” where they open their doors for people to pass by at all hours of the night for food, tea, coffee and conversation. The intense nights of prayer will eventually be met with the three-day holiday of Eid al-Fitr. (Karim Sahib / AFP)

Updated on May 18, 2018 2:14 PM

The Grand Mosque Sheikh Zayed is seen lit up in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the Arabian Gulf countries, families hold “majlises” where they open their doors for people to pass by at all hours of the night for food, tea, coffee and conversation. The intense nights of prayer will eventually be met with the three-day holiday of Eid al-Fitr. (Karim Sahib / AFP)

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