Ramadan is a period of increased spiritual fervor and giving to the very poor. A number of the earth’s one billion Muslims have been spending the last  few days getting ready for the month of Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month in the Islamic year.

Throughout a great deal of the planet, Ramadan starts tonight (Aug. 10) with the sighting of the new moon. For the following 30 days, believers will abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk. For Muslims, Ramadan marks the month during which God, through the angel Gibril (Gabreal), revealed the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims all over the globe started observing the holy 30 days of Ramadan on Wednesday, having  dawn-to-dusk fast becoming a unique obstacle for the devout in the extreme Middle East summer. A scorching heat wave has blanketed a lot of the region, placing even the most hardcore followers to the test.In a number of areas — such as Egypt, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip — the hardship of abstaining from food, drink and cigarettes for 15 hours was compounded by frequent power outages.