With more than 1.8 billion adherents, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Interest in Islam in the Western world surged in the mid-20th century. Since then, Westerners have been converting to the religion in droves. We've even seen a number of Hollywood notables make the Shahadah, some of whom left their fans stunned by their decision. We're going to be looking at a number of such cases in this article.

Here are 10 celebrities who converted to Islam.

 Now that the month of increased blessings is behind us, it is likely that we will return to our pre-Ramadan ways. When we talked about the blessed month, we discussed how it's akin to running a marathon: from the dedicated training prior to the event, to the focused mental and physical efforts required to make it to the finish line. But how we treat ourselves and approach our day-to-day beyond the finish line is equally, if not more important.

So what are some ways we can retain some of those Ramadan vibes in our lives? Here are 6 ways we can prevent that dip after the month is over:

Along with Shahadah, Salat, Sawm, and Hajj, Zakat makes up the Five Pillars of Islam. We are currently in the holy month of Ramadan, a time when Zakat is on the minds of most devoted Muslims. But what exactly is it and why is it so important? Read on to find out.

Suhoor, or the meal early in the morning before beginning your fast, is a very important meal during Ramadan.  Muslims all around the world wake up before the Fajr prayer, at dawn, to eat before beginning their hours of fasting.  What you eat and drink for Suhoor determines how easy (or difficult) the rest of the fasting day will be, how hungry you are, and how thirsty you will be until you can eat and drink again at sunset.  Eating a healthy, hearty meal, that includes a good source of protein and nutrients, is so important and will help your body handle the fasting hours.

We have put together a list of 10 Quick & Easy Suhoor ideas you can make for Ramadan!

We are often encouraged to divide Ramadan into blocks of ten-days to focus our efforts on a particular aspect, specifically mercy, forgiveness and relief from Hellfire.¹ However Allah is Ar-Raheem, The Most Merciful, Al-Ghaffaar and Al-Ghafur, The Ever-Forgiving and The All-Forgiving. He is Al-Wadud, The Loving, the Kind One. So why go into the most blessed month almost depriving ourselves of the unlimited bounty of Allah? His Kindness and Mercy and Love cannot be limited to a span of time. The entire month is a time for us to reap benefit from His infinite Love, Mercy and Kindness.

Instead, why not divide the month into phases, like that of a work project? From Planning to Execution and then a Post-Project Evaluation & Maintenance.

If our efforts in setting our goals and writing up our dua lists are part of planning, then the actual month becomes the execution phase.For this phase there are two key areas to focus on:

1) Perform the right tasks

2) Monitor and control performance

Decorating for Ramadan is a fun way to build the enthusiasm for the pending month-long Muslim holiday. Each country and culture has their own way to getting their home ready for Ramadan, and with Pinterest and other social media platforms, the ideas are endless.
Here are some of our favorite ideas for decorating for Ramadan!