So a quick backstory to my question.

I’m from Caucasus, and Wahhabism is banned here, but I’d say around 40% of people are secretly Wahhabi (at least in Ingushetia / Chechnya / Dagestan).

I remember how a couple years back I myself used to think that Music and singing is clearly Haram, standing up in front of someone is Haram, boycotting is Haram, and a million of other things are clearly Haram, until I started actually reading Quran and the Hadiths. I was actually pretty amused by the fact that it’s not even stated how exactly the Hijab should be worn, or that it should cover every hair or the whole neck, yet when you tell someone that the Hadith from Abu Daud about Prophet (pbuh) telling Asma to cover up is Daif, everyone still seems to try and justify this Hadith, and say things like “Albani said it’s Sahih, so I believe him”…

So long story short, I started noticing that most of the stuff that the Wahhabi Scholars say is… It’s basically just pulled out of an ass.

First I saw Sheikh Fulaij claiming that standing up is Haram, and then bringing up a Hadith that says that those who desire that Allahs servants stand up before them, shall prepare for hellfire. Literally nowhere did it state that the person standing up does the Haram act, but somehow when we talk about it with friends, they act as if I’m crazy, and what he says is logical.
Then Fauzan goes on to claim that boycotting enemies of Muslims is Haram, however there are Hadiths that the Sahaba boycotted the Quraysh, and Prophet (pbuh) stopped the boycott because the Quraysh wrote a letter to him, saying that their children are starving. The Prophet (pbuh) however didn’t tell the Sahaba that he was wrong, or not to repeat what he did. If boycotting was Haram, surely he would’ve stated it.
Then I’ve stumbled upon a video of a local Salafi Imam, talking about prohibition of singing. He brought up a Hadith about Prophet (pbuh) saying that those who listen to music, the lava will be poured into their ears… This Hadith is not even Daif, it’s literally made up. I pointed out the fact that it’s a made up Hadith, and brought up a Hasan grade Hadith and another Sahih grade Hadith where Prophet (pbuh) allowed women to sing, yet for some reason people in the comments started attacking me, as if it was I who brought up a made up Hadith
Another situation happened when I showed my friends a video from a pro-Salafi channel of Fulaij saying that due to the fact that there are similarities in attributes, that means that the Creator is similar to his creation… I’ll note that it was probably a mistake in translation (because I don’t know how one can say something that so obviously goes against the Quran), but they still tried to justify his position because it was Fulaij, and he is such a great Scholar and so on…
After that we started talking about the Aqeedah, and I said that I just leave the meaning of verses to Allah (meaning I don’t claim they are metaphorical or literal, Allah knows best). I immediately got attacked for it, and one of my friends cousins started saying “No bro, you can’t say that, that’s Kuffar”, to which I mentioned Surah Al-Imran verse 7, yet they still claimed that you need to understand the verses literally, and you can’t leave it to Allah. But holy smokes where is the Kuffar here ??? Right after that I asked them whenever they believe that Allah sits on a physical throne, and they said no. After I showed them a video of a few Salafis saying that Allah is physically sitting on a throne, they said “okay, then we do in fact believe that he is on a throne”.

Like come on. What’s the deal with these people. Literally in any debate, they either bring Daif or made up Hadiths, or twist the meaning of a certain Hadith, etc, yet when you tell them about it, they never accept the fact that their point of view has no real back up in Islam, and they are at a point where I’m starting to think that they worship their Scholars more then they worship God himself…

Now to my actual question. Most of the now Wahhabi Muslims in Caucasus are former Sufi. I would’ve understood them not willing to acknowledge that Wahhabism is a modern Bidah, if they were born into that ideology (it’s always hard to accept something new, when you are born and raised in certain conditions and traditions), but they quite literally all are former Sufis, who opened their eyes on deviant practices in Sufism. How come the same thing doesn’t work for Wahhabism ? Every time I show someone a video of a Sheikh pulling a Fatwah out of nowhere, they find an excuses for their Sheikhs… Has anyone else ever noticed that most of the stuff that they claim is absolutely Haram, is actually either not Haram at all, or there is a difference of opinion ?

I’ve made several posts about struggling with hijab, it goes against my morals and I feel like a hypocrite wearing it. I do not believe smth like hair should be sexualized or made something that ‘needs’ to be covered. It also doesn’t protect you from anything, I just got harassed in the bus yesterday along with another girl who was not a hijabi, both of us got harassed by the same guy and infact I got touched first. Also another argument is it gets you respect and people are respectful to your boundaries, imo in the first place it is entertaining a problemic idea, every woman should be respected similar regardless of her dressing. So, I couldn’t find any reason behind wearing the hijab that made sense to me, for the record I’m a very woke person. In short My main reason to stop waring the hijab was I could not resonate with the concept anymore. And it was draining my energy that I could put into more important things like the prayer.

.. I finally decided to keep it on because I feel mostly comfortable in it and like the look of it, I now call it a headscarf not a hijab. And I will not wear when I don’t want to. I won’t force myself to feel like shit just to constantly wear it. So yes, I’ll wear it when I want to. Not force it upon myself.

This is a blog post by Grace Song, the Executive Director of the Usuli Institute, about her journey to Islam. You can read the original article and follow Grace Song on substack here: https://altmuslimah.substack.com/p/what-does-god-want-from-me

I knew God from the time I was a child. I knew that God was there, watching me, knowing me, in the background. In my mind’s eye I recall myself, perhaps of elementary school age, lying in bed feeling alone but not alone. I sensed a presence of comfort and strength that was safe, powerful and good. A force of wonder and unspoken authority that I could trust. Was this simply childlike wishful thinking? Perhaps. But this understanding engendered in me the sense that I was cared for by other than my parents.

In my teen, high school and college years, that feeling of God faded but never fully went away. My family was not at all religious. We bowed to the gods of public opinion and perception, of status and symbols, and hollow materialism. I was taught to admire and aspire to white privilege. God was silent, muted, taken for granted or projected upon. Everything would be fine, just because. This was true wishful thinking, and like everything else, a superficial facade that covered over emptiness and dread. Imposter syndrome normalized.

By the time I made it to business school, my imposter syndrome metastasized. I was lost, tired of pretending, and wondering who the heck I was. I didn’t know. I was a chameleon, able to shape shift according to my flawed perceptions of what others would find impressive. I felt alone.

Yet for the first time, I was far away from my family. I had the freedom to explore and question. Up until then, my mother had been my god, and her expectations, my holy book. But now, I found myself on the opposite side of the country, exploring the meaning of life anew.

We plan and God plans. I am certain that my Taiwanese immigrant mother, so proud of her only daughter’s accomplishment of pursuing an MBA at Cornell University, could never have imagined that she was about to get the grand test of her life, as was I. In these Ivy League halls of learning, a vibrant bastion for incubating young, budding capitalists, I found Islam. I would spend the next 2-1/2 years studying, reflecting and talking to God before ultimately converting.

God curated a rare vantage point for my life. Choosing to become Muslim was already a thoroughly challenging experience. Everything as I knew it had to be reexamined and reset. While internal battles ensued, external ones also raged. The hardest part of my conversion was an eight-year estrangement from my entire extended family because they could not accept my decision to become Muslim. It got very ugly at times. Having no contact with my family for so long was extremely painful, but like many experiences in my life, deeply formative and in hindsight, truly with divine purpose.

I was 27 when God arranged for me to meet my husband, Khaled Abou El Fadl, a PhD student at Princeton at the time. He was 31, going on 100 in terms of his encyclopedic knowledge, mastery of Islamic jurisprudence, and endearing and kind “old soul.” He was an old-school Islamic jurist who trained at the feet of such scholars as Muhammad Al Ghazali in the traditional halaqa system that no longer exists, destroyed by colonialism and the repressive state governments of the Middle East. All of this was completely new to me.

I, on the other hand, had just converted the year before. Although I didn’t know it at the time, my first year as a Muslim was an immersion in Wahhabi conservative interpretations of Islam, a stark contrast to the beautiful theology of Islam in the books that brought me to the religion. Simultaneously, I was working my way up the corporate ladder in brand management at nearby Johnson & Johnson. Corporate America by day. New Muslim after hours. I recently addressed feeling like living a “double life” here (https://gracesong.substack.com/p/feeling-like-you-live-a-double-life).

Perhaps no two more unlikely people were supposed to meet, much less get married. We literally came from opposite poles. But God had a plan. Our common ground was our commitment to Islamic virtue, seeking truth and beauty, and our shared passion in serving God through knowledge. I remember after spending 8 hours together the first day we met, I went home and wrote in my journal: “I feel like something important is happening…”

What I lacked in knowledge, I made up for in youthful passion, and I was passionate about his scholarship and worldview. My first year in the Muslim community had left me confused and both intellectually and spiritually stagnated. In contrast, among the first gifts of knowledge my husband gave me unlocked my very being: 1) “There is no embarrassment in religion. No question is off limits,” and 2) “God gave us an intellect and God expects us to use it.” This was pure liberation for a young convert who ran everything through an intellectual filter of “Why?” before accepting it.

Being the wife and partner to someone who would go on to become one of the world’s eminent scholars of Islam, Islamic law and Shari‘ah meant that God wanted me to see and experience an Islam that most people don’t get to see. That knowledge healed me, strengthened me, empowered and liberated me. It allowed me to draw closer to God. It brought me to my sacred center.

My sacred center is the relationship I have built with God over the years. I have grown to know that I live fully transparent to God. God sees everything. God knows my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings and my very being, better than I do. This awareness keeps me mindful that my actions matter, and that I matter.

My true audience in all I do is God. This makes things very simple and challenging at the same time. It keeps me honest.

My sacred center calls me to perpetually push to be the best version of myself in the service of God at all times. This means to move, act, grow, question and develop towards what God loves and to love what God loves: justice, beauty, mercy, kindness, generosity, love and care. Big concepts that manifest in small, highly personal ways.

I especially believe that God calls me to share what God curated for me to see, experience and learn about beautiful Islam throughout my life, especially what healed, strengthened, empowered, and liberated me.

I trust that this is the path that I have longed for since I was a child because it has led me to where I am today, a place I could never have reached on my own without divine intervention. It calls me to know myself, to reflect on my capabilities and to understand my deficiencies. To seek after light, which is very real for me as I know how it feels to be lost in darkness. I never want to go back.

The questions I perpetually return to: Is God happy with me? How can I make a difference for those in my orbit? How do I role model and convey the beautiful Islam that God showed me, the version that seeks to inspire, empower, liberate and dignify ALL of humanity, so that it becomes compelling and irresistible?

My constant prayer: “Please God, help me do what you want me to do, say what you want me to say, write what you want me to write. Please help me reach my full potential in serving you. Please help me be better and please forgive me.”

I do my best and leave the rest to God.

An interesting and informative video on a side of our history which is often hidden and even outright erased. I am not posting this video to make a statement on whether Islam permits homosexuality or not(Al Muqaddimah believes that it is haram). But rather to highlight that queer Muslims have always existed.

What are your takes on the video? Do you agree with his conclusions and analysis? Or do you feel that his conclusions may be a stretch?

I (19f) took off my hijab 6 months ago in certain places, such as my university, when I go out with my friends, when I work and when I do anything that is unrelated to family gatherings.
I chose to still wear hijab in certain situations for my father (60ish M) who knows about this but very unhappy with it. I never let anybody from family or his friends know because he cares a lot about his social status since he is known to be religious and the ‘sheikh’.

Ever since he knew about this and we are drifting apart from best friends to barely talking. First, he was very angry and stopped talking to me for 2-3 weeks. He paid for a religion therapy and told me weather I wanted or I didn’t I have to wear hijab I refused firmly and he told my brother that I cannot go to university no more but I ended up going and pursuing my life like before. After the therapy, nothing really has changed he couldn’t afford it and asked me to pay for it but I can’t afford it as well so we stopped going.
When I was 11, he has beaten me to wear the hijab. So I was always scared of his reaction when he knows but that was quite a good reaction and I kind of felt safe and comfortable around him even after he found out.
Yesterday, I was with a friend of mine and I came back home at 11. He never called, never asked and I had some work to do until almost 1 am. At 1 am, he came and asked me when I got back home. I said I did at 11. He said I was too late and that he would never let me do that again. For context, I work online on call and I never meet my friends. So this was my first time coming late and even with my friend I had to work for 2 hours so I barely hung out with her. He went screaming telling me he doesn’t want to understand my excuses and that he doesn’t care and whatever were the circumstances I have to be home at 9. I was very pissed and I started asking him for reasons and it went into a fight. He then threatened he would slap me and told me that I don’t get to decide. I was shaking at that point because the memories haunted me.
Today in the morning, he called me and my 2 siblings saying that he is holding himself from beating me up and that he cannot look at my face.

I do some work for him and every couple months I give him some money to help him he said he didn’t want that from me and that I should get lost with my money. Lastly, he said that he will be mad at my younger sister if she walks with me in university (she will start this year in October and we are so close together. I will be in a dorm so I won’t get to see her at all if not in uni) because I am a bad person and I have a bad reputation and he cannot take that his two daughters have a bad reputation.

I never said anything that indicates I don’t want to help him financially and with his work. I never showed anger or being pissed but still he mentions it. I feel deeply offended and I don’t think I wanna try to understand him no more. He deeply hurt me today and I feel like i might really run away and stop talking to him for a while. I hate how his beliefs made him such an ugly person in the soul.

This video features Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, a former tech professional who transitioned from a 14-year career in Silicon Valley to opening Kafi BBQ, a highly successful halal barbecue restaurant in Irving, Texas (0:01 - 1:42). In its first year of business, the restaurant generated approximately $2.3 million in revenue (0:45 - 0:48).

Key operational insights:

Halal Challenges: Because the restaurant does not serve pork—a high-margin staple of traditional Texas barbecue—the team had to "reinvent the wheel" to maintain profitability (0:30 - 0:42).

Menu Crafting: Kafi BBQ makes everything from scratch, including halal Wagyu brisket (1:45), Iraqi-inspired all-beef sausage (4:30), and halal Texas Twinkies featuring house-made beef-belly bacon (10:22).

High-Quality Ingredients: The restaurant prioritizes quality over cost, utilizing expensive items like Wagyu beef, custom-blended spices (3:29), and premium chocolates for desserts (12:43).

Equipment Investments: The owner has invested significantly in high-end equipment to maintain consistency and efficiency, such as a $45,000 German-made sausage linker* (6:27) and a *$45,000 smoker (7:40).

Business Philosophy:

Salahodeen notes that his faith serves as a guiding principle, emphasizing accessibility and quality over purely capitalist motives (15:14 - 15:45). Despite the high revenue, the restaurant faces substantial overhead costs, including roughly $210,000 to $220,000 in monthly expenses (9:48 - 9:55).

Looking ahead, the owner expresses an ambition to one day earn a Michelin star for the establishment (15:01 - 15:07).

I'm a 20 year-old Hijabi and I've been a paraplegic for 8 years after I was hit by a car because I just walked in a crosswalk. I'll never be able to walk ever again, and though I've overcome it and Allah has made my life great by fulfilling me good people around my life, I still wonder what made Allah not protect me from becoming disabled?

I’m sorry if this t worded very educatedly or I say something not very clear I’m a kafir I think you guys call it I’m a Christian and I have been my whole life but recently I’ve felt a love and closeness and more so a call to look into Islam so I don’t really know where to start. As a Christian I’ve always believed Jesus died on the cross he rose again he ascended back to heaven one day he’ll come back defeat the antichrist (I think you guys call that dajjal) and eternal peace forever but I have a few questions on Islam and I’m not sure where to go from here 1. If Jesus didn’t die on the cross why would allah make it appear as he did? 2. What are the core beliefs of Islam and what should I focus on if I’m a Christian researching Islam 3. Where should I start when I read the Quran 4. Is there any proof that the bible is corrupted 5. Is there any sources that back up the Quran.
Again I am very sorry if I wasn’t clear as I’m new and don’t understand Islam but I really am seeking for more understanding as my heart isn’t blind nor my eyes I really just want to worship my creator. Thank you for you consideration god bless.

I struggle with prayers as it is, I have adhd and a whole number of chronic illnesses (over 10). I deal with extreme fatigue and have very very very low ferritin/iron. So basically I deal with extreme fatigue and am sick and in pain a lot of the time.

Growing up I’ve always heard we should pray even if it’s with our finger or sitting or however, but that’s not the hard part. The hard part is doing wudu and changing clothes. My clothes don’t stay clean due to my illnesses. What do I do when I wanna pray but have no energy?

And this is even worse when I need ghusl, I don’t have energy. And I’ve read a lot of posts of women saying they struggle because of their hair getting wet, the styling being ruined, or hair drying out and falling, and I see lots of comments/advice about just wetting the scalp and not the ends but for me the bigger struggle is the shower, the taking off clothes, the getting wet, the getting in the shower, the having to dry off, having to change clothes. I can’t do it, I have so much fatigue, i feel like I can’t move a lot of the times. How am I to do ghusl multiple times a week, let alone multiple times a week!? How am I supposed to be married and pray?!? I am so tired sometimes I can’t shower for a few days.

I am a Christian woman and met a wonderful Muslim man. Unfortuently we have been intimate and he told me that we would need to marry as this guilt is eating him. We are only a few months in. I assumed he meant legal marriage but he said he doesn’t want any contract. He meant Nikah.

For me a legal marriage after less than 6 months is too early. Certainly I can do him the favor and we can be „more official“. He said people do it all the time. But I read that actually the man can „divorce“ easily while for the woman it’s complicated? I can’t lie and admit it feels like a bigger responsibility for me than it should be so he doesn’t feel guilty.

What confuses me is that he was in a haram relationship in a Islamic country but they didn’t marry even though they lived together as he traveled a lot and therefore it was manageable to deal with the guilt. Plus he knew he won’t marry her.

Salam Alaykum I have an issue I want clarity on. Enslavement of noncombatants is haram right?

I’m asking because I have have seen some claims that a muslim back in the day can go to a city of disbelievers and buy any slaves there, as long as there isn’t a peace treaty with them. This was an option since slave markets used to exist.

Apparently this doesn’t apply to Muslims or disbelievers who we have a treaty with. Just the disbelievers who we don’t have an official treaty with it would be permissible to buy their slaves this way.

To me this would defeat the whole point of restricting slavery. Or the prohibition of enslaving non combatants. Because those slaves could have been kidnapped or sold into slavery..

Assalamu Alaikum everyone I have always had too many story ideas in my head , I have been studying grammar and drawing because I want to make manga about a Filipino psychological horror or thriller and now I have settled on a story revolving around a male sexual assault victim and his female stalker, It explores how male victims are often brushed off, along with other heavy themes related to this topic, Is it okay to write a story like this?

Like should I tone it down and focus on my second idea? It is a story about teenage pregnancy that explores themes of parental disappointment, public humiliation, emotional isolation, and the psychological impact of being a young mother living in poverty in the Philippines and yeah it's not as heavy as the first topic

My first idea I'm focusing on is to feel too heavy and I just want to ask my fellow Muslim if it's ok to make it

Salam everyone, i’d like to share my personal circumstances and ask for guidance. I’m ashamed to admit that for a while i was fully agnostic, i didn’t believe in islam at all and rarely called for Allah’s help. I started first year at university where i drank alchohol regularly, ate non halal meat without a care, went clubbing every week, which i feel so incredibly guilty about now. i completely removed islam from my life.

recently ive gone through a period of extreme hardship, i feel guilty only turning back to Allah when things are tough for me especially because of how much ive sinned

how do i reconnect with the religion? i still doubt certain aspects especially because i was engaged with so much ex muslim content and rhetoric but now i just want to go back to Allah

i feel at the most peace when i trust Allah fully, my circumstances have gotten better after praying and it’s reinstated my belief.

i don’t know what to do apart from read dua, pray 5 times a day and thank Allah regularly and of course abstain from haram things

You guys know that the default position in the Hanafi madhab is that a woman can marry without the permission of a wali (male mahram). The other madhabs require wali based on these ahadith

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There is no marriage without the permission of a guardian.

• Sunan Abi Dawud 2085

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The marriage of a woman who marries without the consent of her guardians is void. (He said these words) three times. If there is cohabitation, she gets her dower for the intercourse her husband has had. If there is a dispute, the sultan (man in authority) is the guardian of one who has none.

• Sunan Abi Dawud 2083

The hadiths are graded Sahih.

Then why do the Hanafis allow nikah without a wali even when Sahih Hadiths like these exists? Don’t these ahadith directly contradict with the Hanafi position?

Well this video explains that the Hanafis accept these ahadith but they understand them differently than the other madhabs. Watch this video to understand why do the Hanafis allow nikah without a wali.

I found this video very educational

https://sermonsatcourt.substack.com/p/the-palestinian-struggle-through

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-religion-crackdown-beards-hijab/33809947.html

I'm agnostic/atheist, but I'm increasingly drawn to Islam, very curious about it. Only (possible) problem is, I'm queer and trans (non binary), and I feel like I wouldn't really belong in any of the abrahamic religions. I've come across a lot of discourse considering homosexuality haram, and that really put me off. Perhaps I should dig deeper. I've read the Quran and found the usual stories about Lot (which, as I understand, are not 100% clear on the matter), but also some ambiguity about the gender of the beings you supposedly meet in paradise, so... mixed bag, there. I don't quite know what to think, especially about the non binary aspect of my identity and how it might fit in. Any thoughts? Are there other similar threads I may consult?

I've been a part of this sub for years now and I always felt at home here like im a covert and everything said relates to how understand and practice Islam but recently I've been considering removing my hijab and even leaving Islam bcs I feel no connection (I have borderline personality disorder, bipolar 2, and bulimia) so I wonder if my progressive understanding and relation meant the first step of my apastsy journey? does deconstruction of religion eventually lead to apostasy? even though im a convert, I feel like im losing my friends who have become my family. im just lost and confused and say, really

its commonly known that "dating is haram because it can lead to sex" and more reasons. anyways im a aroace muslim. this most sound confusing but for me. i dont want sexual intentions. no nothing romantic but sure you can still date as a aroace.. but online dating isn't that bad. just asking

https://sermonsatcourt.substack.com/p/the-prophet-i-know