The Islamic holy month of Ramadan started on Thursday and at least one billion Muslims across the world began fasting.
Their daylight hours will be spent without any food, water, smoking and sex. Last year, fasting hours around the world ranged between 9 and 21 hours. This year, fasting hours will range between 9 and 19 hours – with fasting more difficult for those living in countries in the far north, where the sun can remain in the sky almost all day.
Acts of worship that increase in Ramadan include reading the Quran and night prayers called taraweeh.
Muslims around the world make their way to mosques after their iftar and spend the evening in prayer together in large groups.
On Wednesday night, masses of worshippers performed their first taraweeh prayers globally to mark the first night of the holy month.
See some of them in pictures here:
CAIRO, EGYPT – MAY 16: Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo, Egypt on May 16, 2018.(Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Palestinians perform an evening prayer called ‘tarawih’ marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside the tents of the protest camp near the Israeli border east of Gaza City, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Muslims throughout the world are preparing to celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, refraining from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset(Photo by Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, USA – MAY 16: Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on this year’s eve of Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, New York on May 16, 2018. (Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
RABAT, MOROCCO – MAY 16: Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Lalla Sokaina Mosque in Rabat, Morocco on May 16, 2018.(Photo by Jalal Morchidi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
CAIRO, EGYPT – MAY 16: Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo, Egypt on May 16, 2018.(Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – MAY 16: Muslims pray after performing the ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the first day of the Islamic Holy month of Ramadan at the Grand Anwar Mosque in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 16, 2018. (Photo by Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Muslims held a Taraweh prayer at Baitul Makmur Mosque in Cibitung, Bekasi Regency, West Java, on Wednesday, May16, 2018. The first tarawih prayer marks the entry of the holy month of Ramadhan, in which all muslims will begin fasting in the morning until afternoon for one month ahead. (Photo by Aditya Irawan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
ZAGREB, CROATIA – MAY 15 : Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the eve of the Islamic Holy fasting month of Ramadan in Zagreb, Croatia on May 15, 2018.(Photo by Stipe Majic/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 15: Muslims perform the first ‘tarawih’ prayer on the eve of holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on May 15, 2018.(Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
SKOPJE, MACEDONIA – MAY 15: Muslims perform the first ‘Tarawih’ prayer on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at Mustafa Pasa Mosque in Skopje, Macedonia on May 15, 2018.(Photo by Furkan Abdula/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Pakistani Muslims attend a special “Taraweeh” evening prayer on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Karachi on May 16, 2018. – Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) (Photo credit should read RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)
Muslim women pray the first Taraweeh evening prayer on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the Nizamiye Mosque in Midrand, Johannesburg, on May 16, 2018. (Photo by GULSHAN KHAN / Gulshan Khan / AFP) (Photo credit should read GULSHAN KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)