A look at Ramadan and how Muslims observe the holy month

CAIRO (AP) — Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it’s a time for increased worship, religious reflection and charity. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast.

Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the month cycles through the seasons.

The start of the month traditionally depends on the sighting of the crescent moon. This year, the first day of Ramadan is expected to be on or around Feb. 18 or 19. The actual start date may vary among countries and Muslim communities due to declarations by multiple Islamic authorities around the globe on whether the crescent had been sighted or different methodologies used to determine the beginning of the month.

This year, the start of Ramadan is expected around the same time as Ash Wednesday, a solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Lent, the most penitential season of the church calendar for Catholics and many other Christians.

Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving and pilgrimage.

Muslims see various meanings and lessons in observing the fast.

It’s regarded as an act of worship to attain piety and one of submission to God. The devout see benefits, including practicing self-restraint, cultivating gratitude and empathizing with people who are poor and hungry.

The daily fast in Ramadan includes abstaining from all food and drink — not even a sip of water is allowed — from dawn to sunset, before breaking the fast in a meal known as “iftar” in Arabic.

Muslims typically stream into mosques for congregational prayers and dedicate more time to religious contemplation and the reading of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Charity is a hallmark of Ramadan. Among other ways of giving, many seek to provide iftar for those in need, distributing Ramadan boxes filled with pantry staples, handing out warm meals alongside such things as dates and juice or helping hold free communal meals.

Muslims eat a predawn meal, called “suhoor,” to hydrate and nurture their bodies ahead of the daily fast.

There are certain exemptions, such as for those who are unable to because of illness or travel. Those unable to fast due to being temporarily ill or traveling need to make up for the missed days of fasting later.

Muslims are ethnically and racially diverse and not all Ramadan traditions are rooted in religion. Some customs may transcend borders, while others can differ across cultures.

Many social rituals center on gathering and socializing after the daily fast. Some Muslims decorate their homes, put out Ramadan-themed tableware and centerpieces or throng to markets and Ramadan bazaars.

In Egypt, Ramadan is typically a festive time. Colorful lanterns, in different shapes and sizes, dangle from children’s hands and adorn homes. Ramadan songs may be played to welcome the month.

Ramadan’s soundscape in Egypt has traditionally included the predawn banging on drums by a “mesaharati” who roams neighborhoods, calling out to the faithful, sometimes by name, to wake them up for the suhoor meal.

A lineup of new television series is another social fixture of the month in some countries, and advertisers compete for viewers' attention.

In various regions, some Muslims worry that the month is getting commercialized, and say an emphasis on decorations, TV shows, outings or lavish iftar banquets can detract from Ramadan's religious essence. Others say that a balance can be struck and that, in moderation, such rituals are part of the month’s festive spirit.

In Indonesia, Ramadan rituals vary across regions, reflecting the diversity of cultures. In deeply conservative Aceh province, animals are slaughtered during Meugang festivities, the meat cooked and shared with family, friends, poor people and orphans.

Hundreds of residents in Tangerang, a city outside the capital, Jakarta, flock to the Cisadane River to wash their hair with rice straw shampoo and welcome the fasting month with a symbolic spiritual cleansing.

Across the island of Sumatra, after evening prayers, many boys and girls parade through the streets, carrying torches and playing Islamic songs.

In the United States, where Muslims make up a racially and ethnically diverse minority, gathering at mosques and Islamic centers when possible for iftar meals and prayers provides many Muslim families with a sense of community. Some Muslims also organize or attend interfaith iftar meals.

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A worker cleans an area of the historic Mahabat Khan mosque in preparation for the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

A woman shops for decorations in preparation for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a store in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

FILE - Muslim devotees pray as the head priest displays a holy relic believed to be a hair from the beard of the Prophet Muhammad during special prayers at Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, SMarch 22, 2025 (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

FILE - Residents of Ezbet Hamada in Cairo's El Matareya district peer from their balconies to celebrate a mass break-fast, "Iftar" during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

FILE - Muslims share Eid al-Fitr greeting after attending Eid prayer, marking the end of the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the historical Sunehri Mosque, in Peshawar, Pakistan, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is edging back from its all-time high Thursday following mixed profit reports from Tesla and other big companies. Oil prices, meanwhile, are swinging higher on continued uncertainty about what will happen next in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% following a big rally that erased all its losses because of the war and then carried it to records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 71 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower after setting its own record.

Tesla dragged on the market and fell 4.3% even though it reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors may be focusing instead on Tesla’s increased forecast for spending this year, as it builds factories to make robots and other products.

“You should expect to see a very significant increase in capital expenditures,” Elon Musk told investors late Wednesday, “but I think well justified for a substantially increased future revenue stream.”

ServiceNow dropped even more, 16.2%, even though its results for the latest quarter matched analysts’ expectations. The company has been under pressure, along with much of the broad software industry, because of worries that rivals powered by artificial-intelligence technology could undercut its business.

Analysts said investors may have also been underwhelmed by its forecast for a declaration in growth for an important measure of revenue.

Texas Instruments helped limit Wall Street's losses after breezing past analysts' expectations for profit in the latest quarter. CEO Haviv Ilan said the semiconductor company is benefiting from growth led by industrial and data center customers, and it gave forecasts for profit and revenue in the spring that cleared analysts' estimates.

The 16.6% leap for Texas Instrument's stock was the strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500.

In the oil market, prices swung higher as uncertainty continues about what will happen with the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire is still in place between the United States and Iran, but oil tankers aren’t able to get through the narrow waterway off Iran's coast to exit the Persian Gulf and reach customers.

The U.S. military on Thursday seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up the standoff a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards took control of two vessels in the strait. President Donald Trump also said Thursday he ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to gum up traffic in the strait.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1% to $102.97 after bouncing between roughly $101 and $106 overnight. It’s unclear whether U.S.-Iran peace talks, previously hosted by Pakistan, would resume anytime soon.

More expensive oil has hurt airlines in particular because of the industry's already big fuel bills, and stocks diverged in the industry following the latest profit reports.

American Airlines Group rose 4% after reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Even though winter storms hurt its revenue during the first three months of the year, American said demand was strong for flights, and it saw the nine best weeks for revenue intake in its 100-year history.

Southwest Airlines, though, lost 2.2% after reporting weaker quarterly results than analysts expected. It said it would not give an updated forecast for profit this year because of “the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.”

Also on the losing end of Wall Street was IBM, which sank 9.7% despite reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said investors were focusing on some potentially discouraging numbers underneath the surface, including decelerating growth in trends for its software business.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 0.7% for two of the bigger losses.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9% after the government reported better-than-expected economic growth for the start of the year, boosted by strong exports, particularly of computer chips used in the AI boom. Semiconductor supplier SK Hynix said its revenue for the latest quarter jumped more than analysts expected largely because of AI-related demand.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.29% from 4.30% late Wednesday.

A report in the morning said slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the number is still at a historically healthy level. A separate, preliminary report on U.S. business output from S&P Global also suggested growth is improving a bit from its near-stagnation seen in March.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati)

A board above trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person takes a photo of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index outside a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)