Taking place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan is an Islamic tradition characterized by about 29-30 days of fasting from sunrise to sunset, reading the Quran and abstaining from things like smoking, lying, cheating and sex.

The month is based on the lunar calendar, so the actual dates vary. Ramadan starts about 15 days earlier every year, Rahman said.

With 12-13 hours of fasting from food and water during the summer, he said it’s getting harder each year.

This year marks Rahman’s first Ramadan away from his parents, since he transferred to MSU from Macomb Community College this year. Living in an apartment and attending classes have made it more difficult, he said.

“When I’m on my own, I have to prepare my own food,” he said. “With my parents it was a lot easier. My mom would cook, and I just had to get up to eat and go back to bed before I went to school.”

Bashir Hakim, a premedical and psychology sophomore, will be focusing on praying and reading the Quran more often during Ramadan.

“You try to make the most of the month, depending on your relationship to God,” he said.

In addition to fasting, Muslims continue their tradition of praying five times during the day, Hakim said.

For Maweza Razzaq, Ramadan is a time for cutting back on fun stuff – like movies and parties – in an effort to be more spiritual.

“God has given us so much in this life, and we just take a small break from our daily life to be thankful and thank God for what he has given us,” said Razzaq, president of the Muslim Student Association. “Everything that happens to us is through him.”

Many Muslim men and women go to a mosque to pray the prayer sets during the day, but the time is meant to be personal.

“It helps to put things back into perspective,” Razzaq said.