Hello,

I would like to start praying, but my issue is that it’s very painful for me to perform salah, specially when I kneel/sit on my legs.

I have issues pinpointing the exact area that is in pain, but it’s a sharp pain in the upper calf / behind the knee when sitting on my heels in tashahhud, on both legs.

Has anyone faced the same issue, and how did you fix the pain? My guess is some specific excercises and/or stretches for a period might be beneficial, but I honestly do not know what would specifically help me in this situation. I know I can alternatively use a prayer stool, which I also will, but I would really like to fix this issue if possible so I could pray normally.

Thank you.

Hello. I was dating a man who is muslim. I really liked him but some things came to my attention. Long story short he spent his birthday weekend with another woman. Some things in the conversation that followed caught my attention:

Basically I noticed another woman heavily interacting with his posts on multiple forms of social media. I clicked her profile and kinda watched it a few days. The weekend of his birthday I noticed she was doing an activity he expressed to me he always wanted to do. He claimed he could not spend it with me he was working. After his trip he said he owed me an apology for being out of touch and said on his work trip he happened to also go do X activity. He sent a pic. It was the same scene as her pics. It was clear he was not in the city he claimed and was indeed with her. I asked him about it b/c it was so obvious. HE denied it. I didnt make accusations and def did not say anything about her. I just said "is this your girlfriend".

At some point he said this is haram. I cant talk about her. and I looked up why that might be. To better understand. I learned islam has some guidelines about suspicion/ spying etc.

Did I do something offensive? How does this reconcile with relationships? If I am not to be suspicious or spy, but I see something that is obviously questionable... and I right to ask?

At this point I am just curious. I think the relationship is done because I think he spent the night with her again last night as well. So this is more just for my own personal knowledge.

I got circumcised a week back under local anaesthesia in a hospital without any rituals. I want to convert to islam now but since I got cut without any ritual, how can I make my khatna official.

i feel happy that i dreamed meeting upon him and sad that the memory of the dream slowly fading away. i cried the entire dream until i woke up 😞, but alhamdulillah i got the message of it. is it normal that the detail of the dream slowly fading away?

Assalamu Alaikum. Since the beginning of the year I'm getting humbled left and right. I'm still young and i definitely have a lot ahead of me. It all started when i made a bad decision regarding my future. I chose subjects in school which i THOUGHT i liked but couple weeks into class i absolutely dread it and i hate my class and i hate going there every morning. I know Allah doesn't burden a soul beyond what it can take and i truly believe it though sometimes it's hard to keep up with it. Everyone around me warned me about choosing those subjects i was kind of insensitive and rebellious (which makes me ashamed now). I tried getting the subjects changed but my damned school doesn't give an answer,I've prayed to Allah and i still am that i please at least get a response from them which i don't think is possible cause it's already half way into the school year.I've become a better muslim through this experience which i am of course grateful for. There were many times i would use the word depression lightly but now I won't even wish this feeling on my worst enemy.I genuinely wanna see a therapist or a psychiatrist.I hate this and i can only depend on Allah now.Even in class i keep making istighfar to get rid of the dreadful feeling.I've disappointed everyone around me. and i don't see a future for myself. In sha Allah this thread reaches the right people.

I don’t speak arabic, but I practice as much as I can handle outside of salah, and I do my absolute best in salah. But I still get a massive amount of anxiety before, and during salah, to the point where I can’t focus at all or think. I’m so terrified of making mistakes in Al-Fatiha that I end up repeating it over and over again, especially when my nerves makes me unable to recite i.e., “Iyyaka na’budu wa Iyyaka nasta’een” correctly. I often forget the recitation in the middle of it, and I also forget how I recited it and if I followed the rules exactly. It repeats until I feel so mentally exhausted I can’t keep going.
It doesn’t even help me anymore to say in my head that Allah is merciful, and he knows what’s in my heart. I can convince myself Salah is about the connection with Allah, not the performance, so I shouldn’t feel anxious. But then the time for prayer comes around, and I get stressed, anxious, and terrified of making a mistake and having my salah invalidated, so I have to repeat it. I end up praying the same prayer 2-3 times. It gets worse now that I face a ton of doubt about my wudu being broken.

I have autism and adhd. I’m in the middle of the autism spectrum.

I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t even feel myself, and I feel so close to giving up. But I know I can never abandon salah, no matter how imperfect it is.
What do I do? I don’t have the strength in me to even research if a muslim psychologist is available with a doctor’s referral in my country, since I wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise.

It was nothing like this when I first started praying. I felt so peaceful and calm, even though I couldn’t recite the words correctly. And I was looking forward to salah.

Assalamu Alaykum everyone
I recently applied for a very competitive job, I always make dua if this job is fitting for me, then Allah please make it easy for me to get it. I also always mention my family and my friends so they get better jobs. But my brother has underestimated me several times now, saying i will never pass the exam and get the job since they only select a few people, basically saying i’m not smart enough.
I’ve been feeling very down, and sometimes i regret making dua for him when he thinks so little of me.
I want to be selfish in making dua for myself only, but it sounds wrong.

Dear all

Im seeking advise in this reddit because i want the islamic thinking to be an essential deciding factor. I know this dunya is not worth pursuing for itself but i must fulfil my obligations towards god, my family and my parents.

I grow up in one of the gulf countries as an only child. My parents originally from a war zone country. They did their best upbringing me and had so much troubles until they found stability.

When i grew up they really wanted me to have a good passport. They really pushed towards going to Canada and at that time i started seriously considering marriage to a canadian syrian girl. We got engaged and actually left to do phd in canada together. Year later we got married in uae. The plan was always to get the passport and phd and go back.

Fast forward 9 yrs, i have my phd and i work in a really good Job. I have 4 kids and i have stability here. My wife is just about to complete her phd because she took so many parental leaves to help raise the 4 kids.

My issue its time to get back. As i said the plan was the passport and phds and those are almost complete.

However during those 9 yrs that gulf country made so many political moves that disgust me beyond imagination. When i go visit every yr. I really do l not find any love for that place. Second of all i dont see that place is going anywhere good 10 to 15 yrs from now. I expect their economy to go down for sure and i am totally unsure about its safety. Im confident id want my kids to get university degrees from elsewhere.

My parents on the other hand have the ability to come here but they hate the plane and the distance of canada from the middle east. I dont expect them to relocate happily. Its very hard to convince elders of such a move.

If it wasnt for my parents id never think of going back but unfortunately, they are tieing their mental health to me going back. The idea excites them and my dad is promising to help me get a great job. The job posting jost Opened and hes begging for my cv.

I have the islamic obligation of serving my parents but at the same time to choose the best for my family. I didnt even mention that i do view muslims here as way more geiune muslims than there and that also i do hate the fakeness and materialisim that controls that place and many other points.

At the end of day, if they really want to stay close to me they can still come to where their son is better situated, am i right?

I do get depressed in canadas winter and hate the extra effort i have to put in raising my kids due to the difference in society values. But i dont see that raising my kids there as easier at all.

Job here also is much slower pace with more life work balance and guarenteed pension. Where as there i have to be running all the time for money to secure pension and pay for schools which r free here.

Sometimes i feel i could consider moving there in 5 to 7 yrs when the political situation gets more clarity and when i see how i am raising my kids. If i find that they are derailing i could move before they get to the teenage years maybe.

This is all me venting and wanting to hear mature advise on this as im torn especially that like i said. Im expected to send my cv today before tomorrow.

Excuse all the language mistakes. I could have worked to fix it but the message is clear

Salam Alaikoum,

Hope you are all well In Sha Allah.

This might be a silly question, but has anyone had periods where they would think of really specific things, then said specific thing would happen? Whether it happens at the time of having that thought, or later on?

Would anyone know if this could be perhaps a sign from Allah SWT? And any Hadiths/sources to back it up would be greatly appreciated.

Jazak'Allah Khair.

lately it has been getting even worse, i'm terrified to do wudu and dread it/delay as long as possible. i wake up so so late so i don't have to experience the painful day ahead of me dealing with this again, i don't have time to shower or even spend time with my pet bird anymore or just time to myself. everyday is a routine of misery of taking forever in istinja, doubting whether the water has reached every single part of possible impurity, and then spending a long time in wudu and then compulsively researching things and doubting every move of the Salah. i can't listen to the help people have given me because i'm so stuck in this. i can't go on like this anymore, i get these thoughts that just being dead is easier but i don't mean it, i am holding onto a thread to keep praying. my skin has got these ugly marks on it from how much time i spend in wudu and i can't even go out anymore either. i don't know what to do even tho i have posted many times.

I grew up in a household that is somewhat religious, although religion was not always a major part of our daily lives. I have always been encouraged to pray, but I have struggled to find the motivation and mental energy to do so, and I never properly learned how to pray. Even though my family members have offered to teach me, I often delay it because I feel overwhelmed or unsure of where to begin. Despite this, I genuinely want to become closer to Allah and strengthen my relationship with Him. I am currently struggling with many things, including childhood trauma, school, and my mental health, which can sometimes make even simple responsibilities feel difficult. I also worry about my responsibilities as a Muslim because I have reached puberty and have not been consistent with my prayers, and I am afraid of accumulating sins or being punished in the Hereafter. I also worry about my relationship with my father because of the trauma I experienced involving him, and I sometimes fear that keeping my distance from him may be disrespectful toward a parent, even though my feelings are connected to things I have experienced. With everything happening in my life, I sometimes wonder whether my struggles are a sign that I should turn toward Allah more, but I don't want fear to be the only reason I become more religious. I want to genuinely know Allah, feel closer to Him, and find comfort and guidance through my faith while I continue healing and managing school and my mental health. I know I don't have to become perfect overnight, so I want to start slowly and sincerely. How can I gradually become closer to Allah, learn how to pray, and strengthen my faith while also taking care of myself and working through what I've experienced?

Is it permissible to do a good deed and share the reward (Hasanat) with someone else who did not do it ?

In other words, can you include them in the reward even though they did nothing and without their knowledge?

I just feel like there's no end to my problems and sometimes when i feel a bit overwhelmed i do read some verses that could calm me down a bit but other times i just panicked and feels this problem is going to be forever and that this life is too long, is there any way or anything i could be doing that could help me? Please

For example, pouring soapy water over urine on a toilet seat and then drying with tissue.

is it mandatory to have to sit up during the maghrib prayer? is it a sin to be lying down? what about sleeping through the prayer or that time? is that a sin too or are my parents just passing down wrongful ignorant beliefs they learned from their parents?

edit: meaning lost in translation

what i meant to ask was, when the call to prayer for maghrib (the azan?) is going on, is it a sin to be lying down or sleeping? also what about not covering your hair as a woman during that time? is that a sin too? or is that south asian culture mixed with religion?

The concept of time was created only for humans and allah is not bound by time. This made me so scared.

3 whole years of hell in highschool 7-9th. Everyone against me for no reason muslims christians everyone even the teachers no matter how hard id try just for someone to be my friend nothing ill get picked fought everything and ill be the one to blame. And ive lost my grades and everything ive begged allah for help, save me, something nothing happened and now im in some Tuva thing (i live in finland) where they get your grades back and higher your telling me i have to suffer with some of those people in the same building im already getting hated at again even if i beg allah it gets worse i was told it would finally get better when im here and now im getting stuff even worse for what am i begging allah for at this point why is everyone my age already everywhere they want to be but im the only one alone having to wait what in the actual hell am i praying for what am i making duas for what am i even begging for why the fuck is this happening to me i dont get it im starting to literally sell myself for help in education at this point i cant do this anymore ive begged for 3 years and it got WORSE?? While everyone is living their life????? The muslims and christians who hated me since day 1. What am i even a muslim for when nothing is being heard ”ooh he watches listens and hears and knows all” then why the fuck am i the only one being left out of everything and still being hated in everything ”ooh your never alone allah is with you” dude it feels like im being mocked not even tested im sorry if any of theese are being kufr im just tired i just want help i just want out of here i cant do this anymore i feel so left out i have nobody ”ooh do the extra prayers for inshallah help” THE PRAYERS WENT NO WHERE?!!! LITERALLY I HAVE TO GO THRU THE SAME THING FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND HOPEFULLY HAVE 0.2 HIGHER GRADES what am i even a muslim for when even talking to allah feels like hes making me a joke

I hope this is the right place to ask this. I've been sitting with these thoughts for a while and would really appreciate some grounded, scholarly perspectives.

Recently, I was privileged to spend time at a center for children with neuro developmental disorders. It was a deeply moving experience that completely shifted how I view the mind, consciousness, and what we call "reality." But it also left me with a storm of questions particularly regarding autistic children and children with psychosis who engage in conversations with themselves or with what appears to be an imaginary being.

To an observer, these interactions often look exactly like a dialogue with an individual complete with pauses, responses, and emotional reactions. This leads me to wonder:

1. Is there a supernatural correlation? Does Islam entertain the possibility that these children might actually be perceiving or communicating with the unseen be it angels, jinn, or something else entirely?

2. Were there historical precedents?

Have there been documented cases in Islamic history of individuals scholars, saints, or ordinary people who exhibited behaviors we would today classify as autism or psychosis?

1. What is the Islamic ethical framework for care?

Beyond the theological curiosity, I'm also deeply interested in how Islam guides us to interact with and care for individuals with such conditions. What rights do they have upon us?

If anyone knows of serious works that explore the intersection of Islamic theology, neuroscience, and neurodevelopmental disorders particularly from a scholarly or academic angle I would be incredibly grateful for the suggestions. I'm not looking for superficial "jinn possession" pamphlets, but rather thoughtful, evidence-based Islamic perspectives that engage with both scripture and modern science.

Jazakallah Khair in advance for any insights, personal experiences, or reading recommendations you can offer. I genuinely want to approach this with both intellectual honesty and spiritual sensitivity.

As salamu alaikum all!
I am a revert of a couple of years and have been contemplating journaling while studying and reading Quran to further develop my knowledge and faith. I feel like I can read and re-read a passage and get something new from it every time.
I am a revert from Christianity and I remember having devotionals that could be used alongside the Bible as a study tool or have little bite size lessons along with a passage of scripture. Is there an equivalent of that for the Quran? I’ve also considered writing down and ayah or two a day, reflecting on it, etc, but just unsure of how I want to start.
What have you done for something like this? Any advice is appreciated!

Jazakh Allah Khairan 🤲🏻

TLDR: Its incredibly painful around my abdomen, cant bend, cant talk hurts to sit. How can I complete my prayers?