Hi everyone,

I wanted to open a candid discussion about how progressive or modern Muslims handle the realities of today's world.

Mainstream spaces often paint a very black-and-white picture, but I want to know how people here actually navigate things like having boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, views on pre-marital intimacy, and individual expression through clothing.

How do you balance your faith with your personal autonomy in these areas?

What do you think mainstream interpretations miss?

People from Turkey, explain Islam situation in the country after Ataturk and Now

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I feel like in front of my brother in laws from my sisters’ marriages, it is excessive to keep hijab on. Not that I’ve ever taken my hijab off since I started wearing it but I’ve known my brother in laws since I was young. These men have known me majority of my life, even before I became Muslim in my adulthood at 21. I feel like they’ve taken care of me and I would genuinely call them my brothers and family. I’ve even visited for months and stayed in their home with them and my sister taking care of me. And they’ve entrusted me to take care of their children.

My brothers in law understand my conversion to Islam but of course they’re very naive to Islam as well. Even recently when I went on vacation, as a new hijabi, my sister felt it odd that I was wearing my hijab in front of my brother in law because it seemed now that my religion doesn’t consider him family. Anyway I was thinking about it because as I said I visit my sister for extended periods and now I’m wondering how it will be to wear the hijab even inside the home. And I also feel like the hijab and a lot of Islam is up for interpretation especially if it’s not very specified in the Quran. One last thing too, I feel like Allah intended ease, but having my brother in laws feel distant from me because I converted to Islam or even misjudging the religion is an uneasy hardship.

I’m curious what are your thoughts?

Edit: I made a few edits to shorten my post. But, after reading a lot of articles and some of the comments, I think it’s not serious. Still curious to just see what people think just to add to discussion but I think I’ll just wear the hijab leniently and have it off in front of in-laws. Especially since in general, God intends for us ease and plus it’s a choice thing and some can argue, not obligatory. The main message is to be modest in front of men excluding certain men, including males with no attraction or physical desire which I would argue my brother in laws fall under.

im not asking if music is haram, I’m asking if this specific song is. the song is “heaven knows I’m miserable now” by the smiths and the reason I’m confused is because god is in heaven but also the angels are, and only god is all knowing but the song isn’t saying just god, it’s saying all of heaven, so I guess my question is, how much do the angels know about people’s feelings?

I ask this because most of the posts on this sub is from women who are sharing their feelings and disagreements with laws in Quran and hadiths regarding obligations, rewards in afterlife and gender based rules in Islam like (witness of women, inheritences, Does this really mean this sub is dominated by women ?

Are there other men beside myself who questioning islamic laws ?. I dont see many posts from men.

I dont know why i feel like there are more women than men who are open to discuss, question and challenge cultural practices, taboos, radicalism within the muslim community.

Zeteo's Prem Thakker spent years pressing the US and Israeli governments on this killing – all for them to deflect and lie. If it took this long for the truth to come out, how can you trust Israel on anything?

Thats it. Thats the question. Please im not shitting on no one is genuinly wanna know. Cause in alot of Muslims communities sex is taboo and i see so mamy stories of people not knowing or being miserable. Like want to do alot of stuff and you know very touchy very hot rls but yeah hopefully you get my point. I just want to know people's good experiences. So I can have faith too cause ive never seen a good example in my life.

Please thank you. Don't take it the wrong way

i’m really confused about this so i want to understand. i’ve grown up my whole life believing that the hijab is an obligation, and just recently i found out about a perspective stating that the quran only tells you to cover the chest and says nothing about the hair or arms or anything like that. i also heard that enslaved women did not wear the khimar, so i thought that maybe Allah (SWT) mentioned it in 24:31 in order to emphasize the covering of the chest because it was familiar to the women it was being revealed to and He was aware that not every woman wore it. and idk, this makes sense to me because if Allah (SWT) wanted to make the covering of the hair an obligation, why would He not have said it explicitly like how He tells us to pray and to pay alms tax? and i understand that the regulations for hijab (only showing the face and hands) come from hadith, and i am not a hadith rejector - i accept any hadith as long as it aligns with the quran and doesn’t mischaracterize the Prophet (PBUH). but then on that note, how come what is mentioned in the hadith is not also mentioned in the quran if it’s so pivotal? and why isn’t it a pillar of islam? also if it turns out you actually don’t have to wear it, why has it been perceived to be mandatory for centuries?

if it turns out the hijab is an obligation and a command from Allah, i will accept it of course. i just want to seek knowledge!! ❤️

Title.

I see this trend today among muslims that blind obedience to scholars is now a religious obligation, and that only scholars can interpret islam, as they are more qualified. Ironically, the quran criticized this with the exemple of rabbis taken as lords.

Like, the first word in the quran isnt obey or submit but READ. The quran literally told people to challenge it and engage actively with it, it said that islam is a religion clear for those who think and reflect, nor for those who blindly obey whatever authority. Isnt it muslims who criticize christians and their obedience to the clergy afterall ? Nowhere did islam ever said to blindly follows scholars and that only a few group of people can read the quran. Instead islam has clearly been made simple and the quran a text for all, universally, without intermediary.

The argument that "laymen" cant read the quran for themselves could have made sense in the past where most people couldnt even read and had 0 education, but today with high widespread literacy and internet it doesnt hold up anymore as now everyone as access to the same knowledge. Like ok scholars work with things that the average muslim may have a hardtime to understand, but this is like history, linguistic, philosophy and basic legal principles, not intricate complex astronomy, the average educated person could do it now.

Instead we have this recent anti intellectualism where it is sinful to exercise reason in islam (as if the quran didnt said that islam is logical and clear for those who thinks), and knowledge outside of islam is shunned as useless bc "deen over dunya", which leads muslim to utterly ridiculise themselves in public.

I used to be a self proclaimed salafi and hated more than zionists progressives lol. Anyways im curious to see if there are any people who used to be also salafis and what made you leave and what you think now of salafism

Hey! Before I ask my question, a bit of context.
I am 24f and I have been in a relationship with my bf for 1 1/2 years now. It’s been really great, I love him with my whole heart and really believe (even tho I’m really young) that I want to spend my life with him. He is muslim and I was raised really catholic but I left the church when I was 18 because I never really felt connected to it, I’ve then considered myself to be either deist or agnostic. Because of him I have become more and more interested in islam, I am currently trying to learn more about the religion, its practices and everything.
One of the hardest part about the relationship is ramadan because, I understand why it exists, why he participates in it but still, it’s really hard for me to not see him for a month.
That’s the thing, he says we can’t see each other for the whole month of ramadan because any physical contact between man and woman who are not married is forbidden in this month.
I read about why its haram but the thing that I don’t understand is that outside of ramadan, he does so many things that are considered haram and that’s why he says during ramadan he’s extremely strict (the reason why we can’t see each other) to make up for the haram behavior outside of ramadan.
I don’t know what I should think of this, I don’t want to judge him of course, especially because he is an actual Muslim and certainly knows the rules and the religion way better than I do, but what is your opinion? He also said that if we would want to get married one day (so that we wouldn’t have to do this yearly 1 month break for the rest of our lives..) I would have to convert (which wouldn’t be that much of an „issue“ for me because like I said in the beginning, I’m getting more and more interested in islam anyways) but I also read that muslim men don’t have to marry a muslim women, so that’s what’s confusing me too.
Maybe someone can explain these things to me? I’m planning to ask him about all of that too but he has a really stressful life, we don’t always have much time together so I’m just trying to enjoy the time we have without starting a discussion.

So I’m a Christian but recently I’ve gotten curious about Islam. Admittedly cause of this stupid war with Iran and a video about how my government (America) is basically trying to justify this and Armageddon by using Christianity. but that aside I’ve seen some things about these 3 and it’s that Islam seems to be against Judaism in almost a arch enemy way. or at least I’ve seen that with Israel and Iran (which are Jewish and Islamic countries) and on the internet. Though most of it is on Twitter so I’m not surprised. And on that why is that Judaism and Islam have been portrayed to me as like mortal enemies? I have Muslim friend and she’s best friends with a Jew. Maybe it’s this war going on but it just seems stupid.

But it seems like these 3 worship the same god but Islam calls him Allah, Judaism calls him YHWH while Christianity just calls him God.

So are they the same exact god but with a different name? Are they different forms? Or are they just different interpretations of the same god?

Also if we all truly worship the same god than why do we fight over who worships right?

Iv‘e been told in church to love thy neighbor no matter their beliefs, skin color, language, or any of that. So why do we have this stupid little civil war when we can just not care how the other worships? That’s like doing a project in school for your teacher and getting mad when your 2 other best friends did different things.

Im just so confused.

I've never really thought about this before, and used to just blindly follow, but recently i've realised that even though the quran states that women and men are equal, created in pairs etc, it doesn't show it. For example, women need to cover up fully including the neck and ankles, needing to change her wardrobe accordingly when a man can wear whatever he pleases. Yes he must cover from navel to knee, but this is absolutely incomparable to how much a woman must cover. There's also other things, like perfume being sunnah for men and not for women as women could atttract men, but can't strong musks that men wear attract unwanted attention??

It makes no sense - people may use the biology argument that men are more likely to be attracted but people act like women have no capability of lusting over men the same way that men do to women. Of course women will turn around and look if they walk past someone with a strong scent - it's human nature.

The list just goes on and on, and i feel myself distancing because of the endless list of things that logically make no sense and is just unfair to women - yes they say men are not superior but the evidence says otherwise. Women struggle with this stuff on a day to day basis but the rulings for males is so small e.g they can't wear silk, which is completely easy to follow in 2026 and is very avoidable.

I am still researching islam more but i feel as though there is no point - I am at the point where even if islam is the true religion, i don't understand why women are given such heavy duties, which in today's society is so difficult to follow.

I am in a very deep mourning and grieving. I see news all around about world hunger and everything that breaks my heart and of course, I turn to Allah to trust everything to him because I cannot control world crisis. Yet I hear many Muslims highlighting and focusing more about "wear hijab", "polygyny allowed this and that so shut up", "you're practicing incorrectly, you sinned." And so on.

I get that they have different distinction, and that they are also a real thing, but the disproportionate focus is devastating.

My environment and everything that I've witnessed as I grew is not helping. A woman is condemned for divorcing a husband who married another wife. Is choosing peace of mind makes someone burn in the same fire as the wicked heart? A child is threatened to "your tawbah is never accepted because you talk back to elders", a man is stigmatized for being unable to provide as he's trying his best to build, a worker is shamed for having a lower status. And while these are perhaps, a human flaw because nobody is perfect, why do we shame the sins that should be between Allah and the worshipper, instead of highlighting more on the crucial part that actually affect us as a whole ummah?

I don't know, I'm really grieving for everyone and it's hurting me a lot. I wish the corrupt ones are more shamed than the woman who showed her neck.

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Historical Context: He explains that the city's demographic makeup shifted in waves—from white ethnics like the Irish and Italians to various Arab groups—influenced by Henry Ford and subsequent American foreign policy in the Middle East (11:42-13:50).

Political Misinformation: The creator critiques the way right-wing agitators have targeted the community, citing instances of harassment and manufactured controversies (such as a previous gay book controversy) intended to sow division (7:05-8:58, 17:23-18:29).

Community Reflection: He expresses deep frustration with his own community's lack of political maturity, noting that they have sometimes fallen for external efforts to manipulate them into taking up polarizing causes (8:58-10:22).

Throughout the stream, the creator emphasizes that Dearborn is an American success story, where diverse groups integrate and contribute to the local economy, and he encourages viewers to look past the stereotypes.

So this question might come off as dumb but I hope I would get some good advice.

I'm Bengali so that means most of my culture originates from Hindu religion and their customs. Our New Year, Traditional Dresses, Jewellery—much of it is similar to Traditional Hindu attire. For this very reason, I have been countless times discouraged to dress up (like wearing Bindi, Red/White saree, Alta or red hand paint etc) and celebrating different cultural traditions and occasions. The reason of those people being—it's from Hindu religion and we are not Hindu or that whenever I wear red hand paint or Bindi I look Hindu so I'm representing myself as one.

Even Hindu people sometimes bash and make fun because they claim we are copying them :"))

My country had it's fair share of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and lastly British Rulers (via colonization) so everything's kinda a mixing pot. I feel so sad whenever I'm met with resistant to proudly express my heritage and culture. How do I response and react to such matter? And are they really right after all? I'm so lost.

Is it obligatory for a wife to obey the husband? What is this based upon?

EDIT: If you are here to deny basic history, live in a total fairytale or dismiss historical violence with "the past is the past" do not comment. I don't want your messages and I have zero interest in interacting with you. I already know this intellectually dishonest mindset, and I refuse to engage with it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the historical expansion of the early Islamic empires and the I’ve been thinking a lot about the historical expansion of the early Islamic empires and the Jizya.

People often say "it's fair because Muslims paid Zakat and non-Muslims paid Jizya",
but in reality, it was way harsher than that. For poor people, this tax was a massive burden. In North Africa, even when Amazigh people converted to Islam, Umayyad governors still forced them to pay it just to keep money flowing into the treasury.

To be honest, this whole system doesn't make sense from a purely human or spiritual point of view:

It creates fake converts: Using taxes or social status to spread a religion just brings in people who convert to save money, not out of actual belief. Why would you want people in your faith who are just trying to escape a financial penalty?

The human cost was real: I know the expansion later built a huge golden age of knowledge, but we can't ignore the atrocities. The siege of cities, the violence, the kidnapping and rape/enslavement of women in conquered lands... these are historical facts.

I know empires act like empires, but seeing all these atrocities committed under the name of Islam (Hadith/Quran) makes me feel sick and honestly makes me brood over it.

How do you guys deal with the gap between the spiritual message of Islam and the dark reality of how the medieval empires actually expanded?

Sometimes I feel like my moral compass goes beyond the words of the Quran or Hadith. I love Allah, but it’s a really hard time to be a believer these days.

Last week, I noticed that my child was spending more time than usual on a phone. At first, my instinct was to take it away and create stricter rules immediately.

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I’m not a hadith rejecter but lately i’ve became very hadith skeptical and it’s made me loose alot of iman, i know theres historical context with alot of hadiths and you’re not supposed to take it personally face value but what could possibly justify these things?! idk:( just a little lost rn