Holy Month
culture and society

In pictures: Millions of Muslims around the world prepare for the holy fasting month of Ramadan

by ITP

The start date is set by both lunar calculations and physical sightings which determine when the last day of one lunar month ends and a new one begins. Ramadan is a holy month for the world’s nearly 1.5 billion Muslims, many of whom practise the ritual of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers. Tradition holds that it was during Ramadan that the Prophet Mohammed started receiving revelations of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.