Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts either 29 or 30 days. During Ramadan, Muslims observe a fast from sunrise to sunset each day, so they wake up early to share food before the sun appears and end it in later in the evening.

It would be like saying your prayers without meaning them. Or saying your prayers and then doing bad deeds. While many Muslims choose to celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi, other Muslims do not consider it appropriate to celebrate and instead prefer to mark the day with quiet reflection and prayers. However they spend the actual day of Mawlid al-Nabi, all Muslims show the greatest of respect to the Prophet Muhammad. Stand up for other Muslims if you see them being targeted. For instance, if you see a woman in a hijab being harassed, stand between her and her harasser and engage her in friendly conversation to take the power away from the person harassing her. There are many ways in which Muslims mark the occasion of Mawlid al-Nabi. Some Muslims choose to remember the event quietly in their own home or their mosque community. For many other Muslims, Mawlid al-Nabi is a time of great celebration. In some communities you might see public processions, decorations of homes and streets, reading of poetry in praise of Allah, and special times of fasting. Make sure you know what it means to be a Muslim and how to act like one. The first and foremost rule of being a Muslim is believing in the one and only Allah (accent on the second syllable). Allah is the only God, the only Creator and the Almighty. He is the only one you should be doing your good deeds for and the only one who shall be worshipped. There should be nothing standing in His place. Allah's messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the messenger and the last Prophet who came down to Earth, and there will never be any prophets after him. Islam considers itself to be the natural way of all creation. That is, Islam is the original, perfect state of being. So, when a person "converts" to Islam, he/she is actually reverting to their own original nature.

Articles from The Conversation in this edition:

If you recite this, with total sincerity, in front of two witnesses, you have become a Muslim. It really is as simple as that. This gives life a whole new meaning, it lifts many responsibilities, and replaces them with the single aim of living life in the way that Allah wants you to live it. Infused with the ethics of faith and family, his poems are never frivolous but instead fuelled with the ferocity of purpose, finding ways to start conversations around issues of importance, to him, to his friends, and to the world. 'Targeted, ostracised and caricatured' Allocate time each day for supplicating to Allah (making dua), for example after each fardh salah and after Tahajjud. Ask for anything that you may desire and the prayer of the believer will surely be heard and answered in the way that is best for you.

Inviting people to embrace Islam (dawah) is incumbent upon all Muslims, so think how you can best help to spread Islam to non-Muslims in your community and encourage Muslims to practice their religion more deeply.Muslims belong to many different sects – including some you may have heard of, like Sunni and Shiite – but they all share these same fundamental beliefs. Despite this, calling myself a Muslim has always been a battle, a power play, primarily due to how others impose their beliefs on me.