As dawn shines over the sprawling city of Rajshahi in Bangladesh, a reverberating call to prayer marks the end of suhoor, where families eagerly conclude their meal of egg parathas before joining the Fajr prayer. Simultaneously, thousands of miles away in New York City, the sun dips beneath the towering skyline, marking the end of the 13-hour fast as families eager to break their Ramadan observance await the Maghrib call to prayer.

This global synchronization of fasting and breaking fast—with one city’s residents beginning their day of abstinence as others conclude theirs—provides a poignant reminder of Ramadan’s universal character, its observance dictated by the globe’s varied geography and time zones. Thus, as the Earth rotates, countless Muslims, across different time zones, find themselves experiencing these sacred moments at divergent points in their day.

Gracing this article are vivid visuals depicting the stark temporal contrast, with illustrations mapping out how cities across the globe find themselves either embarking on or concluding their daily fast. From London to Lagos, and Sydney to Seattle, the visual content makes tangible the concept of a “global chain of fasting,” underscoring the unity in diversity among Muslims worldwide.

Acknowledging the variances, the timings of suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (evening break-fast meal) evolve with the changing seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, daytimes lengthen, ushering in earlier suhoor and later iftars. Conversely, in the Southern Hemisphere, daytimes shorten, resulting in later suhoor and earlier iftars.

Rooted deeply in Islamic tradition, Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, stands as a significant act of worship, embodying not just an obligation but a spiritual journey that fosters charity, self-reflection, and communal bonding. It’s more than just abstaining from food and drink; it’s about developing “taqwa,” or God consciousness—being pious, self-restrained, and consciously in tune with one’s spiritual well-being.

To explore how the sacred ritual of Ramadan is both unified and varied in its global observance, interactive visual content is offered to better understand the international tapestry of fasting and breaking fast across different cities. Whether it’s Madrid anticipating dawn or Nairobi basking in the glow of dusk, the intrinsic rhythm of Ramadan transcends borders, binding Muslims in a collective spiritual journey across the vast and varied landscape of our world.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/17/ramadan-2025-where-does-suhoor-end-as-iftar-begins-elsewhere?traffic_source=rss