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When we think about pillars, we think of the structure that supports a building or a monument.  Our understanding and our approach to the pillars of Islam should be no different. Each pillar comes together to provide a structure that holds up our imaan, and shoulders our struggles of this life in many ways.Of the five pillars the one that we engage with most regularly is prayer. How we manage it is therefore essential to our daily (and subsequently weekly, monthly, yearly) imaan levels.Here are 5 ways we can build a consistent and quality prayer habit.

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.

According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad in 609 CE. Over the next two decades, new surahs were dictated to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel, who was delivering the exact words of God himself. Muhammad's final meeting with Gabriel came in 632 CE. He died in June of that year.Despite being revealed in a time and place where scholarship was of little concern, the Quran contains a number of interesting scientific facts. These scientific facts were not known to the people of Muhammad's era. In fact, a number of them have only been discovered in the past 100 years.

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!

Ramadan comes and Ramadan goes with long nights of standing and reading or listening to the words of Allah. How many times have you stood reading the Quran and not known what you were reciting? You may have read pages and pages of words, but what do they mean? What is Allah saying to us? Can you understand the Quran without having to read the translation in your own native language?

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 tasks2) Monitor and control performance