Common questions

Short answers to questions people often ask about Islam. Select a question to open its answer.

What is Ramadan, and why do Muslims fast?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month in which the Qur’an was first revealed (2:185). Fasting it is one of the five pillars of Islam. From dawn until sunset, adult Muslims who are able go without food, drink and marital intimacy (2:187), and try to give more time to prayer, the Qur’an and charity. The Qur’an presents fasting as a way to grow in God-consciousness, prescribed as it was for communities before (2:183). It also makes allowances: people who are ill or travelling make up the days later, and it says that God wants ease for people, not hardship (2:184–185). Because the Islamic calendar follows the moon, Ramadan starts about eleven days earlier each year. The month ends with the celebration of ʿĪd al-Fiṭr.

Sources The Qur’an (Sahih International)(opens in a new window)

What are the Hajj and the Umrah?

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, made in the month of Dhū al-Ḥijja. It is one of the five pillars of Islam: a duty once in a lifetime for every adult Muslim who is physically and financially able to make the journey (3:97). Pilgrims from every nation wear simple clothing and perform the same rites side by side, a powerful picture of equality before God. The Umrah is a shorter pilgrimage to Mecca that can be made at any time of year. The Qur’an tells believers to complete both the Hajj and the Umrah for God (2:196). The festival of ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā falls during the days of the Hajj and is celebrated by Muslims everywhere.

Sources The Qur’an (Sahih International)(opens in a new window)

Do I have to change my name if I become Muslim?

No. Becoming Muslim does not require a new name. Most of the Prophet Muhammad’s Companions kept the names they already had; he changed only a few, usually because the meaning was bad. He renamed a woman called ʿĀṣiya, “disobedient”, as Jamīla, “beautiful” (Sahih Muslim 2139), and changed the name Barra, which could sound like a claim to one’s own piety, to Zaynab (Sahih al-Bukhari 6192). Many Companions are remembered by a nickname. Abu Hurayra, one of the best known, set aside his old name ʿAbd Shams, “servant of the sun”, yet everyone knows him as “father of the kitten”, for his love of cats. So a name like Carlos, Daniela or José can stay just as it is. Some new Muslims choose an extra Muslim name, and that is a personal choice, not a requirement. A name only needs changing if its meaning goes against Islam, such as a name meaning “servant” of something other than God.

Sources Sahih Muslim 2139(opens in a new window); Mufti of Federal Territory, 2019(opens in a new window); IslamOnline, 2023(opens in a new window)

Do I need to learn Arabic to be Muslim?

No. You can be Muslim in any language, and most Muslims are not Arabs. Only about one in five Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa, and not all of them are Arab; Indonesia, Pakistan and India together are home to a third of the world’s two billion Muslims. The Qur’an calls the variety of our languages and colours one of God’s signs (30:22). The Qur’an itself is recited in Arabic, so over time Muslims learn the short passages used in prayer, beginning with al-Fātiḥa, step by step and with help. Many go on to learn more, but you can read the Qur’an’s meaning in a Spanish or English translation from day one.

Sources Pew Research Center, 2025(opens in a new window); The Qur’an (Sahih International)(opens in a new window)

Do I have to give up my culture?

No. Islam does not ask you to stop being Latino. Scholars have described Islam as a crystal-clear river: the water is pure, and it takes on the colour of the bedrock it flows over. That is why Islam looks different in Senegal, Indonesia, Bosnia or Colombia while the faith is the same. The Qur’an says God made people into nations and tribes so that they might know one another (49:13). Your language, food, dress and the warmth of family life can stay; Muslims set aside only what conflicts with Islamic teaching, such as alcohol or pork. Religion is what God asks of us; culture is how a people lives, and most of it fits.

Sources SeekersGuidance, 2018(opens in a new window); The Qur’an (Sahih International)(opens in a new window)

References

  1. The Qur’an, 2:183–187, 2:196, 3:97, 30:22 and 49:13, consulted in the Sahih International translation at quran.com. Passages are paraphrased. https://legacy.quran.com/2/183-201(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.
  2. Sahih Muslim 2139a (Book 38, Hadith 19), sunnah.com. https://sunnah.com/muslim:2139a(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.
  3. Mufti of Federal Territory, Malaysia, Al-Kafi #1399: Is it necessary to change one’s name if its meaning is bad?, 16 October 2019 (cites Sahih al-Bukhari 6190 and 6192). https://muftiwp.gov.my/en/artikel/al-kafi-li-al-fatawi/3743-al-kafi-1399-is-it-necessary-to-change-one-s-names-if-its-meaning-is-bad(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.
  4. Pew Research Center, Muslim population change, in How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020, 9 June 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/muslim-population-change/(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.
  5. SeekersGuidance, The Position of Culture in Islam: Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, 4 July 2018. https://seekersguidance.org/articles/prophetic-guidance/culture-in-islam/(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.
  6. IslamOnline, Abu Hurairah, 8 February 2023. https://islamonline.net/en/abu-hurairah/(opens in a new window) Accessed 22 October 2026.