maryamjfr

Thank you to everyone for the honest advice and opinions. Honestly if I were to find a Shia man with these qualities then of course I would prefer that, however I haven't met or been proposed to by such men yet even though I know they do exist. Maybe thats due to my age, I'm still quite on the young side. We are living in different countries so in terms of meeting in real life and having physical contact I won't be sinning even though being in this sort of relationship is still not permissible, i know that very well. I have talked to him regarding our future and children and he said he would not mind me teaching the children all about ahlulbayt and muharram and taking them to the majalis, as long as they don't use zanjeer or hurt themselves, which i can understand. He said its our responsibility as parents to inform and educate them as much as we can and then they can make their own choice. Obviously I always wanted to have children who would have the love for Imam Hussain and Ahlulbayt and I want to have a husband who would bring me closer to Allah and go to Karbala with me, understanding the sacrifices our Ahlulbayt have made and mourning for them. Do I continue trying to educate him about Ahlulbayt and wait it out to find out more about his position on issues or do I give up all together? He already respects Imam Hussain, Imam Ali and Imam Mehdi but doesn't know a lot and obviously accepts Abu Bakr as the first Khalifa. I know that Allah has great plans for everyone and I'm praying for Him to show me the right path Insha'Allah.

Assalamualaikum brothers and sisters, From the title you can see the issue I am currently stuck with. I have met a sunni man and hope to get to know him better before we get married. We both started talking casually and there was no flirting. We talked about our families, issues, future plans of marriage, qualities we wish our future spouses would have. After a while, I realised he ticked so many of the boxes for the qualities of my future husband. I really saw potential in him which I never saw in anyone else before. When I told him how I felt, he was really relieved and said he felt the same and he never felt so sure about introducing a girl to his family. We both agreed that we wanted to be with each other with the intention of marrying each other. He is a sunni but a good muslim so Im not worried about the shia-sunni issue. We havent been on any dates since we only just decided to see each other but I was wondering if there was no halal way of seeing him? We are both quite young, medical students with the same mindset and ideas generally and islamically. I have done istakhara by myself and used a Tasbih, which gave a good result, but I was wondering if anyone here could do an istakhara using the Quran for me? I can't really talk to my local mullah about this. so background story aside, is there an islamic way of seeing someone? can someone do an istakhara for me using the Quran since I have a hard time interpreting it? Jazakallah

Thank you to everyone for the replies. It's truly interesting to see it from so many views and finding out things I didn't know before. At the moment as @Son of Placid mentioned, I am viewing everyone as equal humans with an equal chance of entering heaven whether they are religious or not. My current view is that we shall be judged for all our wrongdoings and good deeds. I am not convinced that non-believers and non-muslim theists will not enter heaven. I have seen many people, so have you, who pray and are theists but their actions and behaviour bring pain and discomfort to people... On the contrary, I have seen many many people with no religion or a religion different to mine who treat the people around them with utmost respect and love, even strangers. It's not right to assume that these good people have no chance of entering heaven @Lover of Ahlulbait (ams). @'abdun-Noor I like your comparison to the desert, although I do disagree. I too believe that Holy Books are like a manual and the tool is your soul. Without the manual you may be able to use the machine well and it can last a long time but having the manual and using it allows you to use your soul to full potential and you can refer to the Holy Book for advice too. Similarly, you can search around for different sources and receive tips on how to use this tool better but that will depend on who and what you choose to believe (Hadiths). The manual, Quran, will be your most reliable source. Thank you for the link, I will read it soon. @Tawheed313 Thank you! It sounds very interesting and exactly what I need to read. I will delve into this as soon as my exams are over Insha'Allah. @testingbed1 Not all non-believers are like you described though, although I know your view isn't baseless, there are atheists out there who refrain from these actions and are educated, kind, loving and helpful. As for the going to hell part, like @certainclarity mentioned, I believe that we shall pay for our mistakes and pass through hell to see the state IF you are a pious believer and you deserve to go to heaven. If your sins are great and have not been forgiven, I guess the destination will be hell but only He knows. But then again I'm not sure of how we will be punished in the afterlife. Perhaps everyone will get to experience hell for the unforgiven sins but who knows? Our best bet is to live as good humans and the best versions of ourselves and ask for forgiveness from Allah and from the people we have wronged. @certainclarity I know about Barzakh but never heard of Araaf before! I would definitely like to read the ayas and sources related to both of these so please do share them. My question about the excerpt from Surah Yunus has not been discussed yet but feel free to share your view about that. Also, to add to the discussion.. In Barzakh/Purgatory, souls wait until the day of Judgement and they will still be tested during that time right? And I understand that Barzakh will be good or bad depending on your previous actions. But I have heard that even the good people will have their faith tested during Barzakh and perhaps that people with sins can repent and ask for forgiveness too during Barzakh and have a chance for heaven if they have been forgiven? I would like to hear more about this topic and see different opinions. I know we don't have a clear cut answer for any of what is to follow in the afterlife as it is He who decides our fate in the hereafter but let's all aim to be the best versions of ourselves and continue to treat each other with respect, regardless of our beliefs and views since there will always be differences. Thank you to everyone so far for sharing your views and ideas!

Salaam, I have seen a lot of articles even by non-islamic media and fitness people saying that fasting is a great way to improve your health. It reduces the chance of getting Type 2 diabetes/Insulin Resistance. It gives your digestive system a break from digestion so more energy will be going into repairing cells and removing toxins from cells. Since your body has no "food" to digest, it will stat digesting the stored fat in your body which is good if you want to lose weight. The body digests fat which contains ketones, our brain gets it energy (ATP) from ketone bodies normally anyway but fasting can promote that so apparently it is good for mental health too? I've read it reduces the chance of mental illnesses such as Dementia too but I haven't done my part of research on that so I'm not too sure!

Assalamualaikum everyone, This is my first post on Shiachat so lets see how it goes. Today I spoke to two friends about Islam again. They are both agnostic, one used to be a practising Christian, the other a Buddhist. We talked about religions and Islam and none of us seem to see eye to eye about most of it. What I got stuck on during our discussion is: How are non-believers/kafirs treated in Islam, particularly on Judgement Day? My knowledge is limited but I would like to learn more too about this, as its quite a relevant topic for non-muslims. Personally, I would like to believe that our Lord is omnibenevolent and that non-believers as well as believers of different religions will be judged by Allah according to the good and bad they have done in their lives. I was sent an excerpt from Surah Yunus, 10:4 specifically, saying: those who disbelieved will have a drink of scalding water and a painful punishment for what they used to deny. إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا ۖ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا ۚ إِنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالْقِسْطِ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ Now this was a Sahih International translation they found online. So, main question repeated is: how will non-believers and theists from other religions be treated and judged by Allah? Thanks