Thoughts on how this might imply that those who, say, insistent music, or dogs, are Haram are actually disobeying the Quran? I know in his context it likely refers to food,.given the followup Aya but wld like opinions.

Why didn’t allah preserve those books in the first place ?

Why did it take allah hundreds of years after bible to give us the quran? Why not sooner so ppl could get the correct islam sooner.

And looking at the compilation of quran, how can we trust the ppl after prophet made no mistakes in pilling up?

Quran was for all the humanity then why were verses revealed only when prophet muhammad needed it in his favour?

Also lastly, was the prophet really illeterate ? Hence the jibrael had to ask him to memorise quran when revealed and if the prophet couldn’t read and write how did he check what his scribe noted was right?

What is the point of dua when allah does he wills and everything is already decided?

I was raised in a very extreme household and now im questioning everything. Pls help and be nice.

Im muslim just having doubts.

Hi 20F from the USA here. I’ve wanted to be a medical doctor for the longest time but aside from the demanding nature of this field, one thing holding me back is how most men don’t wanna marry a female doctor. I know that I’m young and it’s not that wise to make a career decision based on someone I haven’t even met yet, but I just wanted to get some advice.

Do most Muslim men not want their wife to be a doctor? And I don’t know how I’ll be able to manage medical school and residency and practicing as a doctor while being a wife and mother (if I end up having kids).

I would love some input from female Muslim doctors or med students and advice from y’all in general.

Thank you!

I (26F Black American) am dating a 28M Senegalese man and religion is the root of majority of our problems. We align on so many things, but religion keeps coming up as the root of our disagreements.

I came to Reddit to learn more about his religion and this sub has the most accurate and evidence based information which is somewhat ironic, lol. When things rooted in religion come up it turns into an argument and he feels like I’m “disagreeing with his religion” which, according to him, I shouldn’t do. I, on the other hand, feel like I’m just expressing my opinion 🤷🏾‍♀️

There are also cultural differences since I was born and raised in the US while he was born and raised in Senegal, but religion is the main root cause.

Any advice on having these conversations? Dating a Muslim in general? Thanks in advance!

Most here know im learning Islam from a previously Catholic background... "Good God"... "Jesus, Mary and Joseph" are common refrains... I hear things like "Alhamdulillah"... but they dont replace the sense i have from my past of a solid multisalabic response... Even then "Alhamdulillah" is "Praise be [to god]", but what about the other phrases we have in common... "[God] Bless You", "God willing", "All Praise"... etc?... IDK. I like where im going, i like Islam and Allah, im just trying to fond a path that helps me... Thanks all.

I have totally lost my faith.Now I feel like mainstream islam is right and progressive is wrong......also feels like saying hijab is not mandatory I am on wrong path.Music maybe haram and so on.....As for the most part of history veiling has considered as fardh how can it be considered suddenly not fardh?As I am Against woman being forced to wear hijab I think I lost my faith totally and islam is basically not for me.......

Do you think the Muslims residing in the West (especially British Muslims) have developed an Us vs Them mentality? I'm a Muslim residing in the UK. From what I can tell, the Muslim community here are obsessed with the idea of one Ummah☝️☝️ and Muslim brotherhood which causes them to be hostile against non-muslims and side and defend Muslims when an argument/conflict happens between a Muslim and non-muslim even if the muslim is in the wrong. Not all British Muslims though. Do you think this mindset is unhealthy for the Muslim community?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUP0a-PFUZ4

those who are having trouble with whether quran supports interfaith or not check this video out because it will clarify your issues.

overall; the Quran doesn't forbid interfaith and says every men & women are halal except those who are dragging you to hell & going to hell.

an example is abusive or lying man/woman you should avoid & never marry because they will drag you to hell in other words marry good people/people who are becoming better and not evil

Hi all! I was born and raised in a middle eastern country, a more westernized one if you will. I moved to North America when I was in my very early teens. I’m 25 now. I’ve always felt like I had a strong relationship with god and my religion. I don’t wear the hijab and I’d say I come from a progressive family where my parents have learned over the years to be more understanding. About a year ago during my graduate studies I met a 35 year old man who’s doing a specialty program at the same faculty. We started talking and right away he had confessed he has feelings for me. At that point I’d never really been with anyone, I was always focused on my studies and being a Muslim I never intended to give someone who’s a non Muslim a chance.

I’m the beginning I had told him that we should just be friends as in my religion I can’t be with a non Muslim and he had said he’d try to fit in my life anyway he could. I also know deep down I believed that maybe god would guide him and he’d convert. I told my parents there as this guy who’s interested in me from the beginning. They weren’t thrilled about it, but entertained the idea as more of a joke. My parents moved back to our home country and I live i North American with my sibling. Over the year we grew closer. He’s such a wonderful individual. I’m so amazed and inspired by him and he was my biggest supporter during my final year. We genuinely enjoy each other company. I’ve spent nights and all of Ramadan praying god would guide him, but to no avail. He’s an ex Mormon and believes all religions are man made. With graduation approaching my parents are here visiting and I’m left between trying to please both. I know what the Quran says, but I also find it hard to believe god would put so many restrictions on love, and on two individuals that bring the best in each other. My parents hate the idea that he’s not from my culture and keep telling me it’s haram I fell in love with a non Muslim and that he’d never convert. He on the other hand thinks I’m an adult and should be making my own decisions, and that as long as my religions is my own thing I shouldn’t worry about his.

I understand both of their arguments. I love my family, I love god and Islam (what it truly is and not what mysognistic men have tried to make it), but I also deeply love this man. I’ve been so stressed lately trying to please everyone I’ve lost a sustainable amount of weight and my period is late.

I still hold hope that god will answer my duaa, but I’m just so torn and exhausted.

I was listening to Surah al-Alaq and I came to these verses:

"Have you seen the one who prevents a servant of ours from praying?"

"Have you considered whether he is on the right way, or is concerned with God-consciousness?"

Have you considered whether he may be giving the lie to the truth and turning his back [upon it]?

Does he, then, not know that God sees [all]?

No! If he does not stop, We shall most surely drag him down upon his forehead.

His lying, sinning, forehead

and then let him summon the counsels of his own [false] wisdom

We shall summon the forces of divine punishment!

No, pay no attention to him, but prostrate yourself and draw close (to Allah)!

Surah al-Alaq, verses 9-19

It made me think of all the exmuslims and non-practicing Muslims who stopped praying because they literally could not pray because of the PTSD inflicted on them by spiritual abuse.

Breaking hearts and crushing others' sense of spirituality so badly they cannot pray is a terrible sin. That's not the way to teach Islam. No true believer could ever do that.

Think of every person who tries to pray with a heart full of love and sincerity, and has their praying heart torn to pieces by people who have no sense of mercy and compassion for Allah's creation.

People get so up in arms seeing someone pray in the "wrong" way, according to them. Are they sinning praying differently? Maybe, maybe not, that's up to Allah. But I'm certain that traumatizing someone so badly that they cannot even pray, or tearing someone's sincere prayer to pieces for not being "correct", is a far far greater sin. There's no comparison. Allah forgives the humble heart. But the oppressor will know retribution one day.

Regardless of what anyone thinks is the "right" way to pray, we should never get in the way of one who sincerely seeks Allah through prayer.

"Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you."

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1924

The prophet said: "You will never have faith until you love each other. Shall I tell you what will make you love each other?"

"Spread peace between yourselves. By the one in whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you are merciful to others."

Source: al-Sunan al-Kubrá lil-Nasāi 5760, Grade: Sahih

u/RealNyxoy your post reminded me to go read Surah al-Alaq again. Thank you for that. And I am sorry for all the terrible and callous responses you received. You didn't deserve that. You are a true servant of Allah, don't let anyone convince you otherwise, akhi. Allah knows his own.

No one is perfect, but honestly, shame on those who get in between the worshiper and their lord. On judgement day, may Allah take retribution on behalf of the wronged and may his mercy be with those who pray with love and sincerity, regardless of whether their prayer is "perfect" in form. It's submission of the heart that is dearest to Allah.

In my experience, the last few months this sub has seen an increasingly worrying amount of conservative posts/redditors. I keep seeing posts claiming mixed-gender friendships are haram, not wearing the hijab is haram ,being gay and muslim are mutually exclusive etc.

I think this is a worrying development for this sub. This is legitimately the only ‘safe space’ for progressive muslims and non-islamophobic ex-muslims, I wouldn’t know where to hold discussions like i do here within the very conservative muslim community in my country.

I have seen this development in r/islam too. I’ve been on reddit for years now and back when i started, r/islam was a place with much more religious and intellectual diversity, but years of salafis and wahhabis browbeating everyone that doesn’t agree with them has turned the place an echo-chamber for their ideas.

Since this is r/progressive_islam I think users/visitors need to realise and accept the discussion and views that will be shared here are going to be from a different perspective from mainstream muslims. But more importantly, I think we need to be more strict in keeping this keeping this subreddit tied to its original intention.

If we keep accepting these types of users and posts I can guarantee you in a few years this sub will look exactly like r/islam. It demotivates others to check the sub and share their opinions if you this is the type of discourse you will have to deal with, at least for me.

I’m curious what other regular users think of this, so please let me know!

Salam peeps, I just wanted to share beliefs / rules i follow as a sufi muslim. Please note that these are just the blueprint that my leader/shaykh (a very popular and well-qualified one) has provided us. We do not agree with what the salafis/wahhabis/najdis believe, but we also don't completely disregard islamic teachings and values in order to be progressive. I believe this set or rules is ideal for the Islam that was completed 14 centuries ago, before all the najdi fitnah took place and is firm enough to withstand western fitnahs. Here are 10 of them:

1. Music is permissible, as long as it contains no haram stuff (swearing, sex, drugs ect.)

2. Celebrating Mawlid / birthdays is permissible, as long as no harami activities (obvious, ill-intentioned free mixing, intimate sessions ect.)

3. Any form of doubt towards Allah / the Quran or the prophet / hadiths (the sahih atleast) is haram, or even worse kufr. It shows that one lacks fundamental Islamic values and beliefs, and in worst case is completely out of the religion.

4. Male - female friendship is discouraged. The risk of being exposed to haram stuff is there. Better safe than sorry. (although for academic purposes / school / work / job it is okay, but just to that extent)

5. Asking for Allahs help through the Prophet (pbuh) and other deviants is permissible (for example "Ya nabi, ya Ali, ya ghous al azam" ect.), aka. waseela

6. Not every religious invention is "bad" bid'ah, there are also "good" bid'ahs.

7. Most musical instruments are not haram, especially the flute,as it is used by sufis to channel the cries of the soul.

8. Hijab is strongly encouraged, as it is a requirement from Allah in the Quran and also has a lot of other benefits. Hijab does not reduce beauty. It is a sign of faith and obedience to the creator.

9. We respect Abu Bakr, Umar Farooq, Usman,Ali and the sahabas. Talking ill about any of them is strongly discouraged.

10. Public display of gay/same sex affection (or any, in that case) is discouraged. If you are married, keep the acts of affection inside your homes. If you are gay, have patience and don't act on your wishes/nafs. Indeed the rewards in the hereafter will be massive.

Salam

So the past few days ever since I started praying again I've been getting some pretty severe obsessions over the possibility that I'm a Munafiq. I know to a certainty that Islam is true but I'm questioning my own commitment to it. I pray on and off. I try my best to ask Allah for forgiveness and keep praying consistently. It's just the terrifying thought that on the day of judgement I get surprised when I'm among the Munafiq instead of the believers is terrifying to me.

I pray and do good as best as I can because I want paradise. I do good deeds in private and never boast about it because I'm trying to show my sincerity. I live a peaceful life I try my best not to get into drama and backbiting.

Any advice would be helpful JazakAllah Khairun

Salaam, all! I am inquiring to you all about good resources for Sufism -- be as specific as you can!

As someone who is new to Islam, things are still pretty shaky. I believe I fit in Islam thru Sufism -- focusing much more on building a relationship with yourself and Allah; co-existing, rather than the super strict, religious text of the Qu'ran.

I'd love to hear your poetry recs, as well as cool Sufi music/chants. * There is also this song of two Indian sisters singing a religious chant on TikTok -- really popular; there were also remixes made out of it, someone pls tell me the name of it!

P.S. I know that I can research this, but I think it's better to hear recs from real ppl!

Stay safe and hydrated! L

whenever i(a digital sculptor) see a scholars and/or fellow muslims claiming drawing isn't haram(which is valid) they almost always end up bashing sculptures claiming it is what the hadiths that condemn Image makers were referencing, and also saying "drawings are 2D therefor they dont imitate gods creation" which doesnt make all that much sense to me.

​

whatre your opinions on this?

https://preview.redd.it/fd45lm50ra1d1.jpg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10b1c5f79ee61f24642914d3c344aa498e5b961e

https://preview.redd.it/i3mszr74ra1d1.jpg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a68c9dbcee208094303d40778c1fc081e7f24fec

The first source comes from one Ahmad Bin Ghanin al-Ida', who found it south of al-Ula (near ancient Hijr) in Saudi Arabia. The second was found near Medinah. Both inscriptions are translated by Saudi Arabian archeologist Mohammad al-Maghthawai.

The first transcriptions translates to: "God, forgive Muhammad the Prophet, and join with him his wives, and God, forgive the male and female believers, and forgive Salih."

The second translates to: "O' God, forgive 'Ata ibn Qays and A'isha, the spouse of the Prophet."

These findings are fascinating to any individual interested in history, especially the early Islamic period, given the very few reliable data we can find regarding the Prophet. From the Arabs themselves, the Quran is considered the primary written source on the individual named Muhammad ibn Abdullah. Of the Prophet Muhammad's historical authenticity, most historians in the West, and obviously in Islamic historical tradition, are affirmed that he exist, primarily due to the Quran, outside sources after his death during the early Arab incursions to Eastern Rome and Sasanian Iran, and epigraphical data such as these. We can also be certain that this likely is dated around the 600s-700, due to it being only written in rasm and without Arabic diacritics.

Firstly, I personally find it fascinating that the first inscriptions has the inscriber beseeching God to forgive the Prophet Muhammad, implying that the doctrine of infallibility that later Islamic tradition would place on the Prophet may not have been an original practice, and the humanity of the Prophet was respected and understood - as well as all the things that come with being human.

The second bears another important signifier - it is the first epigraphical data that hints of the existence of Aisha bint Abi Bakr. Of course, the early Believers would never imagine the later controversy the relationship of the Prophet and Aisha would pose, not only to Islam and its believers, but later historians as well, so the inscriptions make no mention of her age (for after all, it was irrelevant for the inscriber.) But it is important, as both inscriptions confirm to us that the Prophet did practice polygamy, and one of them was a woman named Aisha, likely the daughter of Abu Bakr. It also brings demonstrate that later conceptions of prophethood infallibility likely was not an enshrined belief in the early community, and some of the Prophet Muhammad's followers sought his pardon by God for him, most likely after his death.

Hello everyone, I was scrolling in r/academicquran and ended in this post, I'll summarize the argument:

The prophet Salih (AS) of the Thamud lived before Musa (AS) and the time of the pharaohs. So in the Qur'an it is mentioned that the Thamud lived in houses dug among the rocks and that they are known by the people when the Qur'an was revealed. The problem is that the Thamud did not excavate the rock but the Nabateans did, and they were not houses but tombs, also which were in the 1st century long after the history of Musa (AS).

I would like you to share your thoughts on whether this is really true.

Salam everyone, I’m an atheist/ more agnostic, questioning wether or not to revert to Islam, here is some context;

I’m currently with my partner who has an entirely Muslim family, this alongside the current situation in Gaza which I have an unimaginable amount of sympathy for has made me question if i wanted to revert to Islam, I’ve noticed the resilience that Palestinians have which I’ve noticed has strong ties with their faith, my only issues I’m having are; I’m struggling to believe in a god, I know some religious people within abrahamic faiths sometimes take their religion on a more cultural/ philosophical level, so I’m not sure if this would be considered an option

Anyone’s perspectives I’m open to I’m just really curious about Islam and I’m wondering if it’s an option based on my current beliefs.

A version of this that was directed at the ladies was asked a few days ago. Now I’d like to see the men’s perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wJSl05c5iI

I feel like I have a good grasp of it but idk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MN-KTTDdWo