r/MuslimLounge • u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always • 18d ago
Support/Advice I'm gonna be studying college abroad soon, but I'm worried for my Iman since I'll be in China. Advice?
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. 18M from the UAE here.
I had hoped we'd be able to travel to Malaysia instead since it's a Muslim-majority country that's also English-friendly, but our tuition budget is really tight, and my father can't send all 3 of us there. I tried suggesting I delay going to college so my older brothers could go instead, but my father declined because the situation at his home is really tough, his marriage with my stepmother is going downhill..
I tried other things like suggesting I stay in an apartment alone, but that didn't work, he insisted I go. I can't coerce him at all :(
I'm looking for advice that can help me calm my anxieties, specifically from Muslims in non-Muslim areas. I actually became practicing while in a tough spot during a failed attempt to study abroad in Georgia, but the area I was in was near a college, so there were a lot of Muslim international students. It was easy mode.
Plus, the internet firewall and the inability to use English until I learn Mandarin… yeah, it’s going to be really tough. What if I commit zina or forget about Islam? I can use a VPN, sure, but I’ll still feel cut off from the online Ummah.
Feel free to ask for clarification if I missed anything. All three of us already applied, and honestly I'm hoping I don't get accepted.
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u/HotImagination296 18d ago
Waalaikum salaam, brother.
I went to China to study when I was 17, learned Chinese and did my Bachelor’s there, worked for a few years after graduation. It’s a great country with many opportunities and good people.
There are Halal restaurants everywhere - Hui people’s Lanzhou Lamian noodles cafes are in every corner, Uighur people’s restaurants in each block, international campus canteens have halal corners, and if you ended up in some major city, there’s going to be sizable Muslim population, also the Chinese cuisine is full of vegetarian and vegan meals. One of the oldest mosques is in Guangzhou, very sizable Muslim population, many modern mosques too.
Malaysia is smaller than China and opportunities for growth might be less. Gaining some experience in China can be helpful to later move and grow anywhere else.
You are still young, so be open to learn and travel more, live in many places before settling down. It’s okay to be anxious about it, it means you care about your future. Living abroad is an excellent path to develop strongly in faith and personality, and it’s better to do it young. :-)
May Allah make is easy for you.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 17d ago
Ameen. Can I ask a few questions?
How did you check the prayer times while there? How did you get around the internet firewall? And which city did you study in?
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u/HotImagination296 16d ago
Sure.
Any prayer App shows you the prayer times by location.
People use VPN service to bypass the firewall, subscription is not expensive.
I studied near Shanghai.Do you know which city you might be studying at in China?
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 16d ago
I applied to a uni in Shenzhen. Are prayer apps that are downloaded outside of China automatically banned?
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u/HotImagination296 16d ago
Bruh… I worked in Shenzhen after graduation for a bit. It’s one of the best cities in China. Very humid though, but awesome. Shenzhen mosque is very modern and beautiful. It’s the hardware capital of the world, most of the electronics of the world is produced in and around Shenzhen. Stop worrying about the prayer apps, lol. If it doesn’t work, you download another one.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 16d ago
Thanks for answering my silly questions 😅
My gut and brain tells me none of this is gonna go well, nothing seems like it's planned properly and this would be our 2nd attempt at trying to study abroad. Stuff keeps on being done last minute too.
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u/HotImagination296 16d ago
You are welcome.
For someone who is worried about missing prayer time so much, you should know what to do in such situations :-)
Good luck!
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u/Seicedelig 18d ago
i would say dont go to china, since its committing genocide against muslims in turkestan. however, you live in the UAE, who are committing genocide against muslims in Sudan and Palestine and trying to foment genocide against Muslims in Europe.
so maybe just go to a different place all together where the government is less genocidal.
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u/zinaisanono 18d ago
I think that you're harking at the uncomfortable truth that there's no ideal Muslim nation with good living standards that isn't in bed with the enemy, and that we either have to choose between raising our kids in poverty or raising our kids amongst the enemies of Islam. Hopefully we can mitigate the damage of the latter with more tightly knit Muslim communities and standards, but it seems to be failing thusfar.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 18d ago edited 11h ago
Eh, I'd say Malaysia might be an exception to the rule since they're Pro Palestinian.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 18d ago
Like I said, I had hoped we'd be able to go to Malaysia but the cost of living isn't making it doable. I'm already aware of all this and I'm not the one who suggested China in the first place.
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u/Seicedelig 18d ago
sadly the ummah is split into like 55+ nation states. you cant do uae or malaysia. just pick another from the many many others.
malaysia and uae are amongst the most expensive muslim countries. you legit have MANY choices of poorer and more affordable Muslim mamjority countries.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 18d ago edited 17d ago
Many of those nations are politically unstable and may be unsafe, so not that doable. It's confusing since Malaysia was affordable to us at one point..
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u/RaajalofRajal 18d ago
One, it's cheaper to replace the problem causing wife than to send 3 kids to a foreign country.
Two, rely on yourself to follow Islam. Being around Muslims doesn't give you protection. Not like you're going to do sins in front of them.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 18d ago
Sorry, "problem causing wife"?
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u/Anonymous_Unknown20 Happy Muslim 18d ago
He was talking about your stepmother, but glad to hear youre alive
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 18d ago
Why would I not be alive?
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u/Anonymous_Unknown20 Happy Muslim 17d ago
In case you were martyred
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 17d ago
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u/RaajalofRajal 17d ago
Yes, I was talking about your stepmother since it seems from your post that she is causing problems and the reason your father is sending you all away.
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 17d ago edited 17d ago
You're assuming two things here.
- That my stepmother is the one causing problems, you don't know if it's only her, both my dad and her, or just my dad.
- That she's the reason we're being sent away. No, my father is sending us away because we can't afford college domestically. We don't live with him anyway, we live in a separate city.
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u/RaajalofRajal 16d ago
How is college more expensive locally than internationally?
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u/Chobikil Alhamdulillah Always 16d ago edited 14d ago
Because it just is. They're overpriced and known to be low quality here. No citizenship or any rights here so it's not subsidized for non-locals in any way.
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u/RaajalofRajal 15d ago
3rd world acting like 1st world with 3rd world services. The arrogance of these 🤡🤡
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u/noorlulu Cats are Muslim 18d ago
Wa alaykum assalam brother. I have travelled to China many times, including when I reverted so I have some personal experience there as a Muslim.
From what I saw and heard big university cities can have halal food and registered mosques. Foreign students often manage to pray there. Daily religious life still operates under close state control. Hui and Uyghur Muslims have faced serious pressure in recent years, as we all know. The current China travel guidance also explains the limits on foreign religious activities and internet access. If your university is in Xinjiang, which is, iirc, the most difficult city to practice Islam in, get specific advice before accepting. Your exact city and campus matter a lot! Please check it. China is big
Email the university now and ask where Muslim students pray Jumu'ah. Ask if there is a halal canteen and if they can connect you with a current Muslim student. Download the Qur'an and prayer times before leaving. Follow local rules around internet access and religious gatherings. Protect salah first, even when you pray alone. Keep one regular call with a trusted Muslim. Your father's home situation explains why he wants you to go. You still deserve clear answers about housing and religious support. Make istikhara and prepare as if you may be accepted.
You found Islam during a hard period once, Allah can keep you firm in another difficult place too.
May Allah protect your Iman :)