The month of Ramadan is set to begin this week, with as many as three million adherents of the Islamic faith fasting this year.
Ramadan is a holy month of Islam where Muslims all around the world abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity during fasting hours.
It is a spiritual month where praying, reading the Quran, attending religious gatherings, and empathising with the poor is encouraged. Muslims are also obliged to be more self-disciplined and engage in virtuous deeds.
Muslims begin their fast with a small meal which has different names throughout the Islamic world, although the most common words are Suhoor, Sehri or Imsaak. The fast ends with a snack called Iftaar which is followed by dinner.
It’s obligatory for all Muslims to fast in Ramadan, but some are exempt from giving up food and drink – people who are ill, those who are travelling, children and the elderly, and women who are either menstruating, pregnant, going through postpartum bleeding or breastfeeding.
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