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Salaam alaykum, I am very proud to present the culmination of nearly ten years of research on the Twelfth Imam, al-Hujja b. a-Hasan, al-Mahdi, al-Qa'im, the Patron of Time, peace be upon him. This is by far the most comprehensive English work on the subject. It is a compilation of the most ancient and most reliable hadiths on the Mahdi from Twelver Shīʿī sources. Learn about the birth of the Twelfth Imam, his occultation, his ambassadors, his inevitable return, Islamic eschatology, and much more. Paperback now available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1790653827 E-book available: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Qaim-Appearance-Established-Narrations-ebook/dp/B07L2K8GW2/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1543840819&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=the+rise+of+fthe+qa'im Big big thanks and duas for those who helped me in this project. Namely, @Abu Nur @Ibn al-Hussain @Cake @Abu Tufayl @Hannibal May you be rewarded for your assistance. ---------------------------- "... an essential compendium concerning the concept of the Mahdi in the English language ... A highly welcomed effort, it is useful for researchers as well as those wanting to understand the idea of the Mahdi within the context of the classical literature on the subject." -- Sayyid Hussain Makke "... a fresh and insightful approach to the translation of traditions concerning the twelfth Imam and the rising of the Qa’im ... it is my hope that this work will be of benefit to all seekers of knowledge who wish to become further acquainted with the Twelfth Imam (ajt) and his coming." -- Shaykh Vinay Khetia "A long awaited and much-needed work for the English-speaking world. In an age where skepticism regarding religious beliefs is prevalent, the author has collected many of the reliable traditions on the subject of the Mahdi (a) and has made them readily accessible." -- Sayyid Ali Imran "The most comprehensive hadith compilation about the twelth Imam present in the English language." -- Dr. Taymaz Tabrizi "Trained in both secular academia and in the sciences of the seminary Bilal Muhammad combines the very best of both worlds especially when it comes to his methodological rigour in selecting the narrations of this work." -- Dr. Francisco Luis

Assalaam Alaikum all, with all due respect for my sunni brothers and sisters, this post is mainly directed for the shia members of this forum. This is a very long rant that I have been wanting to do for a while and want to make it clear from the beginning, this post is NOT meant to be a show off and I DO NOT WANT your sympathies, admiration or praises in anyway, but rather I need to say this so that hopefully it can bring out happiness from anyone who is feeling depressed, motivation out of people who don't have the energy anymore, and most of all an increased thankfulness to the All Mighty. The reason is because I have observed a lot of people in the shia community (especially here in the West) that are really taking their faith and shia identity for granted and do not realize the blessing that they have been granted. I was a sunni who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. So yes even though my family was regular moderate hanafi sunnis, I was raised with a full salafi-style education until I moved to Canada. I was pretty much wahabi-style sunni and all my life-long friends were sunni, every single member of my family was sunni, and only till the age of 23-24 is when I converted to shia-ism AlhumduLilah after a lot of research. Things were ok in the beginning as I mostly kept my faith to myself, got married (and was even able to convince her to eventually to become shia lol) but after a number of years obviously enough people noticed the way I prayed and other practices etc and I had to reveal my faith whole circle. Now obviously this lead to a lot of heat with people, my dad didnt give me much resistance, but my mom till this day has had a problem. I do have a cordial relationship with them now, but every once in a while I have to endure her snidey remarks about shias do this and that bida and how wrong they are etc which really gets under your skin but what can you do, I just keep quiet and endure it. With regards to friends, I actually lost a couple of friends who I considered my best friends (heck our parents knew each other before we were born, they were practically like my brothers) who don't speak to me at all now despite my several attempts to reach out to them (even apologizing if i did anything wrong to them), one of them even threatened to kill me if I became shia (during my research days), let me tell you it really is a mind-buster when someone you have known and had a very close friendship with your whole life for 25 years to just out and say that seriously. Luckily he was all talk and no bite lol. But now as my children are getting older I have noticed a huge change in all my other friend’s attitude as well, in our weekly and monthly friends’ get together they exclude us a lot now, as I get the feeling they don’t want our “practices” or kids’ practices influencing their kids (when ironically a lot of them are moderate-liberal, it’s only shia practices that disturb them as opposed to all other faiths lol). This isolation from them is very depressing and sad since we have all known each other for ages. And the few times we do get together honest to God I never bring anything up but they will always bring up “How shias are misguided, and they do this wrong and that wrong etc” and if I even dare to say something back they act all butt hurt and accuse me of arguing unnecessarily lol. So whenever in the rare circumstances we do meet up I tend to stay quiet. NOW I KNOW what some of you may think here: “You’re better off without them”, “who needs friends like that anyways”, “You have now much better and real friends in the shia community” etc etc, and all of that is absolutely correct 100%!!! But the reality is that even though with the tons and tons of new beautiful people that have entered my life and are much more beneficial for me to be around with, I will never have that life long bond or closeness with them as I did with my old friends. That trust, childhood and teenage memories, old times reminiscence is just not there with them and will never be like it was with all my old friends which brings about a great deal of sadness. The more important thing to take notice of here is even though I became shia about 10-11 years ago, it took a long time to become use to the small small ibadah here and there which was only recently as it was never a common practice throughout my life. These are things such as reciting Dua Imam e Zaman A.S, Dua Kumail, Dua Tawassul, Ziyarat Ashura, attending majlises, sharing in tabarruq/niyaz, going on Ziyarat Trips, doing Umrah and Hajj the right way, praying and fasting the right way etc etc. These ARE ALL THINGS that I missed out on and only started practicing a few years ago whereas all those blessed individuals who are born into Shia families are blessed with practicing from the day they are born. I’ll never forget how after my first ziyarat trip when I came back with my ziyarat group I saw at the airport how all of the group members were welcomed back from their parents, families and friends with hugs, kisses and sayings of “Ziyarat Mubarak” and how my mom came to pick me up with just a look of annoyance and a belief of me just having wasted my time in Iraq/Iran/Syria etc. To conclude, again repeating the first line of my post that this post is NOT meant to be a show off and I DO NOT WANT your sympathies, admiration or praises in anyway, I am now a grown man who is over these things and AlhumduLilah have an extremely happy life and family with tons of beautiful people in it and the knowledge and faith system based upon the Ahle Bayt A.S (something that is far better to have than this whole universe in my hand). This post is for the fact that whenever any of you are feeling down, depressed, frustrated, unhappy about something, or just generally those people who take their faith for granted and ignore a lot of important things in it, PLEASE REALIZE HOW BLESSED YOU ARE. How blessed you are to have been born with the shia faith, -how blessed you are to be born in a shia family, with each of whom you can talk to regarding the Ahle Bayt A.S and religion versus those who cant -how blessed you are and how many blessings you have gotten due to reciting Dua Tawassul, Ziyarat Ashura, Dua Kumail etc. etc. from a young age -how blessed you are when you do ziyarat or other religious practices the right way and get commended and congratulated by your families -how you have grown up with lifelong friends who are of the same faith and how you still have and maintain those relationships And many many more things like this, please never take your faith and life for granted. The MAJORITY of muslims are devoid of all these blessings. And it’s very hard for them to come to the path, I’VE EXPERIENCED IT! Do you think it’s easy for a person to become shia when they have been sunni or any other religion all their life? Do you know how much they have to give up, how many things and relationships they have to sacrifice to change? What kind of alienation and isolation they have to face? It’s very very hard, you all should do sajdah and thank Allah SWT everyday (those of you who were born in the faith), consider it a huge blessing and be thankful for it every second of your life.

There is something fundamentally erroneous about the foundation of the tweet in the OP. It justified being nakedness for the sake of empowerment. Who said empowerment is the end-all, be-all that we must all strive for? Who said that we must sacrifice what is so clearly forbidden in Islam for the sake of empowerment? In most of these discussions about hijab, I tend to favour the women's side, and advise people to not be too quick to judge and that the best way of inviting someone to do the right thing is not to chide them repeatedly, but to be kind and be patient. But this tweet goes far beyond that; it doesn't just say be patient and don't treat people who may dress in a way you do not think is appropriate poorly, it tries to say immodest clothing is, by itself, right, as long as it serves to empower a woman. That logic is fallacious, and entirely un-Islamic. It erodes the foundations of belief and morality in Islam. The counter argument to all this is always what's wrong with empowering women, a segment of the population that has historically been subjugated. It's not like her immodest clothing is hurting anyone. Firstly, if that logic were to be applied consistently, then consider the following scenarios: What if a man says public masturbation empowers him? He's not hurting anyone, is he? So, should we all be OK with that? What if tomorrow a couple says public sex empowers them and makes their marriage stronger? Should we say it's 'OK' just because they're technically not really hurting anyone. So, do you want your kids seeing random people doing that in the park while they are playing? Secondly, sure, her immodest clothing won't hurt anyone physically, but there is more to life and the well-being of individuals than physical health. Immodest clothing leads to decadence and immorality in society, which ultimately leads to disharmony, chaos, a breakdown of social institutions and has a severe effect on the mental health of individuals. Over time, the latter two will always lead to an adverse effect on the physical health of people, as they lead to increased crime. Whether these crimes are directly related to immodest clothing (and are thus of a sexual nature) or just violence from pent-up anger/frustration or breakdowns of marriage because someone cheated, the fact is there will be a rise in crime. Thus, even if we want to only consider the physical health of individuals as our definition of 'harm', yes, indecent clothing will ultimately hurt someone. It's only a matter of whether the hurt comes immediately and to just one person, or over a few decades and affects the whole society. It will hurt. And it will hurt both men and women. When society at large is dysfunctional, one particular sex isn't excluded from the suffering. Everyone suffers.

Salam a new shia site opened this Thursday in Qum http://islamplus.net/

How sweet! A few years ago, in a department store, a young girl (maybe 7 or 8 years old) was watching me and I felt she was curious about my hijab. I said hello to her and her mother and smiled. She asked me if I was a nun because of my head cover and modest clothes. I was really touched that she thought I looked religious, and this gave me a chance to tell her and her mother that I was a Muslim and that Islam teaches women to cover their hair as part of their modest dress, similar to nuns who cover their hair. I was friendly and smiled a lot, and I hope that they remember that Muslims are friendly and peaceful people.

Salam guys. Just wanted to say I've been comming to this website for years now just reading about things and keeping up to date with my fellow shia brothers and sisters. But I never made an account until now. The reason I made this account was to basically explain what I'm going through on here and get some feedback from you guys because I just don't feel like talking to the local Sheikh here. I just want to clarify that my faith is strong, I pray 5 times a day, I don't drink (I have before but I quit over a year ago for the sake of Allah). And I also do Salatul Layl from time to time. So my relationship with Allah is strong I'd say. But basically I'm a 23 year old man & I've been going through some pretty bad stress/depression lately. It is the worst it has ever been in my life. I used to be such a happy and positive thoughtful person with nothing but positive thoughts, feelings, and emotions. And I actually still am from time to time. But these past few months have been so difficult for me sometimes. I have been getting so many nervous break downs that I lost count. I cry so much because of all the stress that sometimes I can't even control it. My negative mindset has become so bad, that I have gotten to the point of literally telling Allah to take my life (This happened a couple times in the past week. I'm not suicidal at all & I would never kill myself let me make that clear). But the fact that I have even had these negative thoughts and feelings ever cross my mind when I'm not even that kind of person, just goes to show how much my depression and stress has taken over. My mindset has become so negative that I feel so hopeless for my future and all that. The reason for all this is basically because to be honest, I haven't accomplished anything in my life really. I dropped out of college first year, and ever since then, I've worked jobs here and there & I've just been getting by in life. I'm in debt over $10k. I keep having to borrow money from my parents and its embarassing I know. But long story short, it has all started to hit me that I'm actually getting older, with not much of a future in sight (I'm working on something right now so Inshallah it pays off, but I'm not gonna rely on it because everything I've done before I have failed at). I quit my job over 6 months ago to work on something that I thought I would start doing really well in, but clearly not. Now I'm just broke, looking for a job again, and seeing where life takes me. It just gets so difficult thinking about all the time wasted in my life, doing different things, and succeeding at none. I've robbed myself of a life, because I barely even go out really. I don't even have my own car, I'm always borrowing my parents. I had to borrow $8k from my dad to pay off a loan recently I couldn't pay off. But yeah you guys get the point. Sorry for making it so long but I really wanted you guys to get the whole picture. But with all that being said, it is the realization of lost time and money, that is starting to hit me. The reality of getting older with nothing to show for. All I do is make dua to Allah, in all my tears, stress, anxiety, nervous break downs. And sometimes I feel better for a bit after, but it goes back to the same cycle of repeating the same dua for help, the same anxiety, and same stress. Is there more I can be doing? Am I being tested right now? I can't really tell what's going on anymore because my judgement is so clouded. I put my full faith and trust in Allah, and I know he would never let his believing servant down. But what is he trying to say to me, if there is anything to say. I'm so confused. Do I just keep being patient & see if this new project I'm working on pays off? I've done all I can, and it just gets keeping getting more difficult every now and then. Thank you. And I apologize for making it so long.

Looking at Karbala through a purely modern socio-political trend, which many even religious people do, it is hard to recognize the reason why Husayn went out. But to use that same logic: isn’t it significant that most people today know who Zayn al-Abideen is, but not the caliph of his time? Many of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs are just details in the textbooks of history, while today we still still talk about the Imams 1,400 years later in a foreign language on a foreign continent. Isn’t that a sort of victory, that they preserved their school for hundreds of millions of people today? All the caliphs combined can count their coins, that’s not all there is in life.

There is a difference between sacrifice and suicide. Say a brigade of 200 tanks and 5000 soldiers are invading, and the only way they can invade is over a bridge, resulting in thousands of deaths if they cross. And your ownly choice is to run in and blow yourself up and create a blockage to give the civilians time to escape. Is that suicide or sacrifice?

So the other day me and a couple others were around someone who recently got married (he is like 4 yrs older than me) and he was telling everyone go get married and giving advice... but then he started to detail his "experiences" with his wife in a very graphic way which made me a little weirded out. I told him bro stop talking like that about your own wife, but he said this is educational bla bla bla Anyway long story short, this isn't the first time I see Muslim guys talking like this. They share inappropriate jokes all the time. Imo it is never okay to share private matters except to.. maybe a doctor for health reasons? Even then its still weird a bit. Do you guys share my disgust? I don't think private matters should be talked about.

"Harun" comes from the Hebrew word "Aharon" (אַהֲרֹן‎), which may mean "exalted". "Ali" has the same meaning in Arabic: high, exalted. In Egyptian, Aharon meant "warrior lion". Ali's title is Haydar, which means "lion". It is certain that this meaning was long forgotten before the 19th century deciphering of the hieroglyphs. Talk about providence ... Prophet Muhammad (s) said to Ali (as), "You are to me as Aaron was to Moses." (pictured: Aaron's name in hieroglyphs)

Your sister committed a major sin which carries with it a penalty, punishment. It doesn't matter what you think about it or what she thinks about it or what this guy thinks about it. The reality is the same. The guy whom she did this with will also be punished. What exact form that punishment will take, whether the majority of it will occur in this life or the next, I don't know. But it is either on it's way or some of it has already reached them. That is for sure. Zina(adultry) is a major sin because it destroys families, communities, and sometimes nations, as you are already witnessing. That doesn't mean that she is beyond hope and is destined for hell. The problem with major sins, such as adultry, is that they could lead to the 'sealing of the heart' quickly. The 'sealing of the heart' in Islam is a spiritual state in which the person no longer feels the need to ask God(s.w.a) for forgiveness and feels that they are somehow 'different' than other people so they are 'justified' in committing the sin. When this happens, the person is, in reality a kafir, disbeliever in God(s.w.a), although they may still claim to be muslim or have a muslim name. We pray to Allah(s.w.a) to save us from entering into this state. With sins that are not major sins, they will lead someone in this direction if not repented for, but this happens very gradually, over a long period of time, so they have more time to contemplate and think about their actions and hopefully to seek forgiveness from Allah(s.w.a). As long as someone acknowledges their sin(s) and is sincere in trying to make amends for them, it means that they are not a kafir and their heart is not sealed. Allah(s.w.a) will eventually forgive them, although it may be a long and difficult process. If she repents and endures what part of the punishment will come in this life with patience, perhaps Allah(s.w.a) will forgive her and restore her soul to it's original state (i.e. before the sin). The first step in repentance is acknowledgement (at least to one's self) of the gravity of the sin and sincerity in attempting to make amends for the wrong action. If you don't feel the guy has done this first step (i.e. he is still blaming others, his culture, etc, or not acknowledging that this was a major sin he did) then I don't see the point in teaching him anything. I am American and was raised in the US, in California, a very liberal state. Even there, it is not considered 'ok' to commit adultery. It is not part of the culture, like you said, I disagree with that. People do it, yes, but this happens in every country on earth (I have traveled to Middle East, etc). Is it more common in the US, maybe, but that doesn't mean it is 'part of the culture' i.e. considered acceptable and 'ok'. The main difference is that in the US, people don't go to as great of lengths to keep it secret, like they do in other places. If he is sticking to that line of bs, and using as an excuse for his wrong and haram act, then I don't really see any point in teaching him about Islam, your efforts will most likely be wasted. You have probably read that ayat in the Holy Quran about rain falling on a smooth rock. It is life giving rain, but when it falls on a smooth rock, it just slides off, without doing the rock any good. It is only when it falls on fertile soil that it has benefits. Before spending your time, effort, and energy to teach someone, you must decide if they are fertile soil, or a smooth rock, because your time is valuble too, and Allah(s.w.a) doesn't want you to waste it. Time is the most precious resource we have, once we lose it, we can never get it back.

Allah swt answers those who pray in three ways: he says 'yes' and grants their prayers he says 'no' and gives better he says 'wait; and gives the best ruqaya101... @3wliya_maryam, keep praying, you will get the best in sha Allah, youre always, ALWAYS, in my prayers and theres no one that can ever take your place my darling. @2Timeless (tatlim), @Khadim uz Zahra (kardesim benim) , im so glad I met you people, may Allah open your pathways to the success and happiness you deserve, and may your efforts not go to waste. I find it so funny that I placed you two on the same line. @Ibn Al-Ja'abi the poems you send are so cool, I really pray and I really do see you as the poetic historian you dream to be. @Asghar Ali Karbalai, jazakallah brother for all the advice you give and for all the sellams you send, ghani still is watching out for you. @Sumerian, in sha Allah you will wait and that libnaniye will come, a shia one too but please dont bring our family tree down (my name is in there, keep it cool) ... all jokes aside, lift your head up, and work hard, your efforts will surely not go to any waste. @Lion of Shia, no one hates you mate, maybe this what it seems like, but trust me, theres someone out there who looks up to you. stay the same way you are unless you change for the better and dont let anything or anyone put you down! tag anyone you guys think may need this. oh and one more... @RepentantServant, I really pray that I did enough for you, and I wish I could do more, but I believe that youre in the best category of all, He certainly said 'wait' and will give you the best. ameen. I will continue to pray for you.

Inshallah everyone's hopes and dreams are fulfilled. You need this yourself ruqaya, it's okay to listen to your own advice, may Allah reward you for all your patience and kindness. I wanted to add @King and @IbnSina, thank you for being such kind and caring older brothers, may Allah bless you both with amazing lives. @laithAlIRAQI and @3wliya_maryam there's a light at the end of the tunnel, inshallah you spend your whole life in that light. @Gaius I. Caesar and @LadyNadine may Allah bless you both, you deserve it. @ali_fatheroforphans you sound like a genuine person, inshallah you're rewarded that (also thanks for appreciating my nuggets of gold lol). @Sirius_Bright omg how did I forget the person whose dreams I haunt? Inshallah your nightmares end and all your dreams come true bhai!

I mean the guy only dropped 80,000+ tons of bombs killing scores and scores of people, deliberately targeted civilians for war advantages, sexually assaulted women, etc. May Allah's laa'na be upon him and all those who supported him in such endeavours.

imam is chosen by Allah not by inheritance or age always imams had this situation not just imam sajjad but also rest of imams ,

I hope to be a leader and inspire people the same way Hussein (as), Hassan (as) and Abbas (as) inspired me. Hence I aim to get into politics, that way for me seems to be the only way to make a permanent mark.

I would run as far away as I can from a woman that perpetually seeks out social media attention.

salam congratulations on the birthday anniversary of our beloved #ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) and his grandson #ImamSadiq (AS) Lets share our love #weLoveMuhammad#salamislam #newmuslim #converttoislam#islamiclife #muslims #islamicquotes

Salamu Alaikum! I live in AK and we just had 2 big earthquakes. It's a state emergency. My husband says it's the coming of the Mahdi. We're already at home now. Roads are dangerous right now. Are there any Duas I can make for the earthquakes? Shukran.

Some of the responses here are pathetic. It is one thing to condemn and even curse oppressors but it is another thing entirely to act like a bunch of lunatics with no akhlaq. Especially given you see so many hypocritical and self-righteous posts about akhlaq on this forum. How this is helpful is beyond me. No Prophet or Imam would ever behave this way.

This problem starts at the top, although the ones who follow are also responsible. For example, masjids in the US are privately financed. These take alot of money to get the building, mortgage, fix-up, pay utilities, etc. This money comes from a few wealthy individuals in the community,mostly. These wealthy individuals come from a certain ethnic group. Because they spent a significant amount of money, they expect certain things. They expect that their ethnic group is the dominant one in the masjid (i.e. makes the decisions about what programs will happen and what programs will not happen). Thus, their group becomes dominant and all other groups are made to feel inferior and thus they will not attend and think of the that masjid as a 'X ethnic group masjid' and controlled by 'X family'. Even within the ethnic group, you have families who do not feel comfortable because they have no representation in the leadership of the masjid / organization so they are made to feel like second class citizens. When I first reverted to Islam, I thought that it was only reverts who were made to feel alienated and ostracized because they were not Pakistani / Iranian/ Arab/ etc. What I found out is that even within, say a Pakistani mosque, if you are not from the same region or the the same village as the financiers of the mosque, you are also ostracized, though it is not as intense, and different since you know the cultural rules and norms. So you are made to feel, not as an alien, but as an outsider In Dearborn, even amoung the Lebanese (and this is well known by almost everyone), if you are from X group of families or from X Village, you go to this masjid and if you are from Y group of families you go to this other masjid. If you are Iranian, you go here, and if you are Pakistani, you go here. Again, this is almost completely a problem at the top, with the leadership. You saw this blow up a few years ago with the incident in the Islamic Center of America, in which Sayyid Qazwini attempted to challenge this ethnic system (He is Iraqi and the founders and controllers of the masjid are Lebanese from Bint Jbeil, a small village in South Lebanon). They allowed Sayyid Qazwini to be there as long as he didn't challenge their authority in any way, but once he did, they pushed him out. The things that are going on between the Lebanese and Iraqi communities in Dearborn are really ridiculous and petty, since these are two group of Shia (and also Arabs who share a common language and also culture) So, unfortunately, the masjids and organizations have become a way, not to spread the message of Islam and to strenghten brotherly and sisterly ties between muslims/a in the geographic area, (which is the true function of a masjid), but for a certain group of families from a certain ethnic group to establish their control and dominance over their little 'slice' of the community, like a fiefdom. The US government also cooperates to keep these people in power, because they want Islam to be represented to the American people as a petty, tribal religion that has nothing to offer the American people. The US Govt fully understands that the only practical way a non muslim can access the muslim community in the US is thru their local masjid or center. It is in their interest to keep these centers with the appearance of a foreign, weird, and unwelcoming place. This appearance is maintained thru the leadership of the masjid or organization. The US government operates within the US in much the same way they operate outside the US, divide and conquer. If the community is divided, they can have authority over all of them and noone will ever gain enough support to challenge their authority. I though for a while that the solution was to find an alim who was sincere and pure whom the entire community would accept. This is the solution, but I don't see anyone like this anywhere in the community, and I think, under current conditions, even if someone like this comes about he/she won't be accepted because of the tribalism and pettiness that currently exist in the top levels of the leadership. I think that, for now, if brothers and sisters want to make a difference, they should 'think small' and try to get involved in small projects in their local communities and do the best they can. Also, I didn't mention any particular masjids or centers by name, because I know there are a few 'less serious' cases of this phenomenon. The smaller the center, the less prone it is to this and if brothers and sisters feel that the leadership at their particular center is good and sincere, then they should definitely support them and work with them, fe sibilillah. Also, I mentioned the incident at the Islamic Center of America, but I am not telling brothers and sisters to not go there. I don't feel like I am welcome there (because of certain incidents which I won't go into), but if other brothers and sisters feel that they can connect with Allah(s.w.a) in this center and get spiritual benefits from it, then absolutely don't stop going or switch. I realize that my perspective on this may be different from others, and their perspective is just as valuble as mine. Bottom line, you should go where you can feel a sense of community and elevate your deen.

I don't see this as a crisis but as an overdue movement, despite the chaos. The US has a moral obligation to receive these migrants. US government intervention and foreign policy of intrusion and disruption holds the majority of the blame for the instability and grinding poverty in Central America. However, there needs to be an immediate comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system. Like it or not, migration is only going to increase. The whole asylum process has to be more accommodating so that migrants will find it to their advantage to register formally and not cross illegally. That is much more likely to happen if medical, educational and social needs are determined and addressed. If migrants feel safe and secure and not worried about basic life needs, they will have much more autonomy and be far less likely to be prey to Latino gangs and to rich "compassionate" Americans looking for domestic and field slave labour. Do not expect these people to be honest about criminal backgrounds and health status. They are desperate and will say anything to to get into the country. With encouragement to follow through with screening - at least a photo and fingerprints(?) are put on record. It is also naive to think that anyone is going to leave once they have crossed the border - they have absolutely no intention of returning and will have a lot of support to stay from other new migrants, migrant organizations, and from Americans in general (such as sanctuary cities). It is a political hot potato to hold migrants (especially children) in detention but they can be traced if given ample social, medical and educational services. Providing these services free of charge to the individual is safer and much cheaper than dealing with the social and criminal outfall of people in need. It is also a much more effective path to develop contributing, healthy, happy citizens - the building blocks of a successful community. Economic migration is happening, in large numbers, all over the world. Rich countries have most often gotten rich off the backs of the poor - through political intervention creating instability; through mock aid programs with agendas, etc. It is way past time to redistribute wealth and opportunity and to give back.

My youngest son won't eat meat - he just doesn't like it. My second son went through a vegetarian phase but grew out of it one day when some chicken we were eating smelled really good to him. It's not difficult to be vegetarian and healthy and eat natural foods, but it's nearly impossible to eat normal, natural foods and be vegan and meet all nutritional needs. There are synthetic vegan foods that claim to meet nutritional needs, but I'm skeptical. Most of us do eat too much meat though. Really, once per month is probably nutritionally sufficient for most of us, once per week for active or young adult.

@Islandsandmirrors You can't say that we have set our own standard of clothing when we follow the divine laws of God. There is a clear difference when the standard is set by a group of random people in society or when it's set by a representative of Allah, such as our Prophets (as) and Imams (as). People who are okay with unislamic clothing, choose to submit themselves to their own lower desires. These type of people base their reasoning on their own logic which is limited and is bound by some standards set in society. Even if they think they are 'free', in reality they are blind. This is why the Quran considers such people as blind who base their life on their desires. People of faith submit to God. When faith emnates in the heart, you have this drive to follow the divine laws of God. We dress this way because our dress brings us closer to God. There is a sense of divine goal of us wanting to attain nearness to God. But yeah, regardless we should never think less of any woman who dresses a certain way. We can enjoin good and forbid evil the correct way. I may of slightly gone off topic, but you get my point right?

To be a good Civil Engineer inshallah. Also I wanna battle Islamaphobia in some way (not exactly sure how rn)