Ramadan 2023 will start in the UK tonight as Muslims around the world prepare for first day of fasting on Thursday

The religious festival marks the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar and is a time of worship, fasting, prayer, charity, community spirit and spiritual development.

Throughout the month, practising Muslims will be refraining from eating and drinking anything from dawn until sunset.

Ramadan's etymology stems from the Arabic root 'ar-ramad,' meaning scorching heat. It is said that the wisdom behind the deeper linguistic meaning of Ramadan is is that it burns sins away.

Because Ramadan is viewed as a month of spiritual growth in Islam, extra time is expected to be devoted to prayer. There are five main prayers each day, called Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha respectively.