Editor’s note • Mohammad Hassan Khalil, associate professor of religious studies and director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University, answers six questions about the significance of the Muslim month of fasting.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts either 29 or 30 days, depending on when the new crescent moon is (or should be) visible.
The Arabic term Ramadan connotes intense heat. It seems that in pre-Islamic Arabia, Ramadan was the name of a scorching hot summer month. In the Islamic calendar, however, the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year.