Hadeel

Salam,
I'm totally lost on what to name our baby girl due in a couple months. She will have a twin brother, my husband is already set on the name Ibrahim for him. So that leaves me with naming the girl. 
What are some names inspired by Prophets or Ahlulbayt, like some names that maybe they named their daughters, or pious relatives? But that are a little less common? Or something beautiful from the Quran. The baby name list websites give me a headache. 
I named our first daughter Fiddha if that helps. 
Also plz make dua that everything goes well for us, twins was a surprise and we also have 2 other young kids to care for so def need the duas. 

And the shariah courts are not much help either.
many (and let me stick out my neck by saying even most) won't be bothered to get involved; too much risk and 'controversy', and if either or both of the parties involved are influential in the community, they might even lose their patronage or resident 'alim status for being 'too meddlesome'. After all, the obligation imposed on them by their turbans is to deliver florid sermons on Ali (عليه السلام) and his sons (ams) each Muharram and Ramadan, not to enforce the system of justice that they stood for.
People might complain that my views are jaundiced and that I am being unnecessarily bitter. Yes, I am bitter from seeing several sisters trapped in unhappy and abusive marriages with no way out, and how the clergy, including those as high as the maraji's wukala', won't do anything about it despite having the power and the authority to remedy the situation. The callous irresponsibility of the clerics is worrying.
 

As I mentioned somewhere in a different thread, I don't have a community. I'm in contact with some Sunni converts, but I'm not fully comfortable around them as they don't know I'm a Shia. Going to any of the local Shia communities is not really an option either. I have tried in the past and due to how ethnic they are I struggled. Distance is also an issue as I do not drive.
I will also like to add that I am an adult with a job. However, I live with family because of high living costs. I actually first converted to Islam when I was about 17 years old, but then left shortly afterwards because my family found out and started bombarding me with Islamophobic propaganda. I'm 32 now and their views on Islam haven't really changed.

Idk, might just be hard because of see all these women wearing proper hijab and such, yet I can't do any of that. The only hint that anyone would even have that I'm a Muslim are the occasional times that I actually pray.

Salaam! I am a half Iranian half American woman. My father is Iranian and came to America to go to university and met my mother there. I always wanted to learn more about my Iranian and Islamic background. Professionally, I am a licensed doctor of clinical psychology with a private practice called Bayt al-Qulub. I work with all people but many of my clients the last few years have been muslim because I prefer to work from a heart-centric relational framework rather than a secular psychology framework. I applied to a Masters in Moral and Ethical Philosophy program at Al Mustafa Open University in Qom, Iran and was accepted last week. I feel this program with help me on a personal and professional level to increase my insight and self-awareness. 
I tried to log in to my account but when I try to reset my password to do that I keep getting an error message. Today I looked online and discovered America placed sanctions against Al Mustafa University in 2020. I don't know if these two things are related and how I can take my classes as I would like if they are.
 
I have a few of questions:
 
1) Are these sanctions still active or have they been dropped?
2)Are there any Americans here who have taken courses at Al Mustafa University? If so, what was your experience?
3)Is there any way I can take the classes if there are sanctions? Such as get an exemption or something else..
 
Thank you for your consideration to this matter. 

Salam alaykum, I’ve posted on this forum before regarding this situation. Long story; I’m a 22 year old girl, I ran away from home at the age of 18 after calling the police on my dad because he beat up my mom, and had verbally threatened to kill her. He had been physically, mentally & emotionally abusive towards me, my mom, and my younger sister before that. I ended up living in a womans shelter for a while, and now I live by myself. I’ve been in therapy ever since. I have to be honest and say that I have lost my faith quite a bit. I had no contact with my parents for 2 years, before I met them again after my dads trial, that got «cancelled» because it was severely impacting my mental health. I then had contact with them for a month, before going no contact again for 2 years, and then having contact with them again, ever since I’ve had contact with them for a year now. Sorry if that’s confusing btw. It’s been a bit turbulent, but for the most part I’ve been capable of setting a bit of boundaries with them, and meeting them monthly. My dad has not been physically abusive towards anyone ever since, but has still been verbally abusive towards sister & mom. My mom’s family has ever since been informed about what happened, and they know, but they live in Asia, and can’t do anything, they have advised my mom to divorce my dad, and call the police if he shows up again, my mom has been lying and telling them that he doesn’t live at home anymore. He was advised by both CPS & my some relatives about living elsewhere, and he did do that for about a month, but was basically always there except for at night. The way I got contact again with them last year, was because my sister ran away because my dad got mad (verbally abusive), my mom and sister attempted to leave and stay at my moms coworkers place, but eventually my sister ran away, because it had happened so often and mom always went back home, and she was terrified of going back home, she came to me, we had contact secretly for two years, but I didn’t know what had happened until she came to my door. My mom ended up not eating, not drinking, and while this happened my dad had left, and somehow my uncle in Asia found out my mom was all alone at home not eating not drinking, and called his son living in a country close to us, and told him to check up on my mom, he did, and ended up calling me telling me my mom was sick, I got there really quickly, and was obviously worried, and sat there for a while going over the same things (we’re scared of dad & don’t want to live with him). He ended up coming when he found out I was there, and started crying and giving the same promises he’s given a million times before, about how he’s gonna change, and how much he missed me and had been wondering where I was each night. Anyways I’ve had contact with them since, and several times my dad has gone mad, and my sister has been staying out late to avoid being home, mom has panicked, called me, I’ve had to navigate the situation.
Back to the current situation, on wednesday night my dad got mad and started yelling and my sister heard him say he was gonna beat her up, so she got scared, put on her shoes and ran out, she sat in the building for a bit, too scared to go out, while he was calling her a bunch, first he messaged her telling her nicely to pls pick up the phone, the rest were quickly him cursing (too put it mildly) and telling her to pick up the phone, and that she’s ruining her family, and then he ended up saying that she can go to h£ll, and that she’s never welcome back. She came to me, and  yesterday out of worry for mom I called up my uncle, and told him what had happened we went there and we just ended up being lectured, about how we can’t just run away, and if we cut contact once more they’ll never talk to us again. After all this I went home, and soon was called by my sister where another situation had occured, and my sister was packing up her stuff because she said she didn’t want to live there anymore, my mom was telling me over the phone to tell my sister to stop, and that she’s killing her, and she’s gonna try to kill herself, and how she’s already attempted to kill herself because of this, while my sister was saying that dad’s never gonna change. 

It’s extremely safe to say that another «episode» will happen, my dad will get mad again, and start threating to beat them up, and other verbally abusive things, my sister has no plans of staying in that home, and my mom will never divorce him, or support my sister moving out. I don’t know what to do, I’m completely lost, I don’t have any plans of cutting contact with my parents, but sister doesn’t mind that happening, I don’t know what to do when the situation comes and my mom starts saying that she’s gonna kill herself again. I literally am reaching my end, I can’t keep on doing this, I feel like I’m losing my mind, I don’t live there anymore but somehow I’m still involved in every problem they keep on making there. I am not mentally stable, and each time something like this happens it takes me a long time to get back from that, I literally don’t know what to do and feel like I’m gonna explode. I want to slam my head into a wall each time this keeps happening. Mom just wants us to be with her irregardless of where that is, and keeps saying he’s not gonna do anything to you guys, he promised, he’s done that a bunch of times before and has broken them all of those times. And psychological abuse is also horrible, my sister won’t stay at home no matter what, it’s literally a matter of time before my dad gets mad about something else. I don’t know what to do with myself. She keeps on saying she’s gonna kill herself, and that we’re killing her, and that we’re ruining her life, I can’t keep on hearing this again and again, and going through her sobbing, starving herself, and not drinking or sleeping. I literally don’t know what to do. My sister is 19. I’m so tired. Police has been involved before, mom lies and says dad hasn’t done anything to her or us, mom looks at police and cps as her enemies. Only relatives in this country is dads side of the family, they all blame me for calling the police back then, and say they’ve forgiven me, and that I don’t realize how horrible what I’ve done is, and how I’m not white and I can’t call the police etc, and how outsiders can’t be trusted, and how no one loves me besides my family. I don’t really think I need forgiveness for that. They’ve known he’s been abusive since we’ve been kids and all they do is give him a talk, and two or three times when we were kids take us in for a couple of days or so but we’ve always had to go back to the abusive household. My dad kept talking about how I have to stop being so sensitive and have to move on from the past, and how I have to forgive them because they asked for my forgiveness, I have c-ptsd, and he keeps telling me everyone has ptsd, and how I can’t resign from life and give up because of that, which I haven’t done, my life is just going much slower while I’m trying to heal, and how God tells people in the Quran to be strong no matter what they go through, but I’m just so exhausted and tired.
I feel so much guilt for my sister being back home, she’s my younger sister and I love her so much, and hate that this is a never ending problem for us.

the legal age of marriage in Denmark is 18 so you would have to wait 1 yr.
11 years is somewhat of a large age gap but not unheard of. Have you spoken to her? Would she be willing or being forced?
I dont think you should marry out of pity so look at some other factors.
Are you ready for marriage and supporting someone? Is she going to be compatible with you in the long run? In my experience most arranged marriages take about 2 years to settle down. Could you see yourself marrying her if she was only 3-5 years younger than you? If so, then there must be things you like about her so focus on those things. In my opinion, if age is your only hang up, then you should overlook it and proceed with the best of intentions and inshallah Allah will bless you for it.

No. I love how easy recommending mutah has become.
Like I'm gonna go ask family members if I can do mutah with their daughter. Don't you realize how absurd that sounds?

Please help me out. I am very depressed. My mother got diagnosed with  advanced cancer. Which dua. Salat. Amaal. To do. 
Also if anyone can perform ziyarat on her behalf or pray at shrine. Please help

Salam, I'm in Mashhad for 2 more days and will try my best to do ziarat on behalf of your mother inshaAllah at Imam Ridha (عليه السلام) shrine. I'm not sure exactly how to do so, do I have to know her name? If anyone knows plz let me know iA. 
Everyone on Shiachat is already in my duas btw. 

Nobody disagrees with having good leadership, but it's another case of easier said than done. Leading a town is different than leading a mosque, and mosques go through the same power struggles every decade - imams vs boards, boards vs themselves, community vs boards, etc. Some disputes will be on legitimate theological grounds and not just personal or moral grounds - which maraji` to follow, politics, which cultural practices to encourage, where money should be spent. There are also many sociological and legal nuances that go into building a town - what we see today in the West is the culmination of centuries of work and (in some cases) pain. This is people's lives we're talking about, where someone lives is very personal, and tens of millions of dollars would be spent just for the very basics.
The Jonestowns of the world are the extreme example, I would suggest you research Islamberg, Baladullah, the Islamic Party of North America, etc. I have a shaykh that grew up in an intentional community, and while he has some fond memories of it, it seems that almost all of these initiatives are doomed from the start.
Any communal initiative requires us to understand the Muslim diaspora. The diaspora largely consists of middle class urban professionals. They like to move to cities with an existing Muslim population, centres, halal foods, higher education, and ways to mingle with people from that country. We may be better off creating institutions that serve those communities, like in Dearborn or elsewhere. You can't redeem everybody - even in any town in any Muslim country - but you can educate, uplift, and create a lasting impact, rather than putting all your energy and money into a faraway hamlet. I think the Muslim community can become a real force for good in the heartlands of North America, once their priorities are set right.

There is a book on this topic called "The Benedict Option" by Rod Dreher, written from a Christian perspective. He explores a few different options, from setting up intentional communities (like what you mention) to other models that don't involve leaving the city.
There are a few fundamental hurdles. One is that, other Muslim communities have tried this. Typically they don't last more than a generation, because the children don't always share the values of the parents, and many want to go to universities or find a job in the city. Secondly, internal disputes are pretty inevitable, which cause people to leave or prevent people from joining.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle is that Muslim immigrants largely came to the West for dunyawi reasons. Sure there are refugees who fled danger, but the majority came here to improve their quality of life. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but for many Muslim immigrants, living in an all-Muslim community is not high on their list of priorities, otherwise they would've stayed in the Muslim world. Shia centres were established mainly to commemorate Muharram, anything else is an afterthought.
Thinking out loud, we live in a time where physical separation is probably becoming less important. Living in cities has their problems, including the many corrupting influences that exist in 2023, but we truly are capable of living intentional lives anywhere in the world now. We choose what to watch on television, we choose what to follow online, we choose the schools we send our children to, and Muslim families are everywhere now for friendship/comradery/marriage. What needs to change is not so much physical separation, but a mental and cultural revolution. If the larger community cares only about becoming a doctor, making money, maintaining some random culture and language, and making white people happy, then it doesn't matter if Muslims establish a community on the Moon, it won't be of any benefit to them.

Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Rahim
 
As you all know from Islamic History, when the persecution in Mecca became too intense, the Holy Prophet went to Medina with a group of muslims to establish a 'homeland' for Islam and muslims that was physically separate from the kuffar. 
I have been thinking about this for a while now and would genuinely like input / thoughts from others. 
While we, as Muslims living in the West are not being physically attacked by the kuffar (at least this is not common at this time), our Islamic values are constantly under attack, being threatened, our children are being forced to learn things that are not part of our value system, we are being forced thru various ways to accept values that are against Islam or face serious threats, etc. This is leading to a general state of confusion amoung our youth and a general sense of dread amoung our older people. So here is the question. 
Is it time to physically separate ourselves, as Muslims living in the West. Is it time to establish our own communities that are physically separate ? Or is this a bad idea / not necessary. I am not sure and I go back and forth about this. 
At least in the US, there are many religious communities that have physically separated themselves in this way; The Amish, The Mormons, etc. It is lawful to do this in the US and it can be done, logistically. 
I have read the fatwa of marjaa on this and they all basically say the same thing. If you can keep your religion in all it's aspects, then you are allowed to live in a Western Country. At the same time, if you cannot stay away from haram, are forced to do haram in order to survive, or cannot keep the religion of your kids and your family safe in this way then you are obligated to move to a muslim country or any place where you can do this. I think for many of us, it is becoming more and more difficult and in some cases impossible to do this, with haram readily available on every corner and all the haram that is being continuously normalized in Western society and new forms of haram being legalized all the time. 
So is it time and do we need to start thinking about doing this, i.e. establishing a conceptual / ideological / legal / logistic / financial strategy for doing this ? 
BTW, I will be monitoring this topic. Any OT or trolling posts will be deleted / hidden. 
Also, before some people say 'Oh, well we have places like Dearborn...', let me just say that is not what I am talking about. Dearborn has all the issues that any other Muslim community living in the US has, all the issues I talked about. The only difference is that there are more Muslims and more Shia in one physical location vs other places in the US. Other than that, there is no difference between Dearborn and any other Muslim community in a Western Country. Just as a example of this there is a 'gentleman's club' (i.e. strip club) within spitting distance from the largest mosque in Dearborn. This mosque also has a school where little kids have to walk past this 'club' on their way to school. If the Muslims / Mumin actually controlled anything in Dearborn, at least they would have been able to solve this issue. This issue has been going on for more than 20 years and still not solved. 
Also, before people start saying, 'Oh lets just buy a piece of land and start building...'. this is step 20, lol. There are alot of other steps that need to be done before this. This is why I called this thread 'Concepts and Framework'. Step 1 is deciding if it is even necessary, desirable, and possible. I believe it is possible, btw, but would like to hear other thoughts. 

I don't think this is exclusive to women. 
Perhaps she is making a bad decision to share, based on the impulse of the moment and her traumatized state.  
Perhaps she lacks social and community support, so rather than venting to a few trusted friends, she vents into the internet void.  
Perhaps she is sharing to warn others so they avoid her mistakes, or to normalize  the experience, possibly making it less traumatic for others.  
I don't think there is going to be one answer that applies to all cases.  

I know there are a million different ways people go thru trauma. For me, when I am going thru an event like this, which I would consider a severe trauma, I like to be around as few people as possible. Just a few family members or very close friends. I don't like sharing this experience with other people because I think putting my trauma out there for the world might also traumatize others and this would increase the trauma for me, sort of a negative feedback loop. I guess not everyone feels that way. 
I know this was not her intention, but I know some sisters  who don't want to get married because they think that all marriage end up unhappy and then in divorce. This video would tend to back that up, but again, I don't think this was her intention but it seems to me that it kind of has that effect, on some people. 

If this year has taught me anything, it's that death is the only guarantee in life, death is unexpected, and death is near. If you were told you had a terminal illness and will die in 1 month, would that make the decision to fast during this next month any clearer? All we will have soon is our book of deeds. Mathematically, if there is any good time to write good deeds in your book, it is during Shahr Ramadhan, when deeds will be multiplied. You know in your soul you will regret not taking advantage of doing the right thing in this month, whether the regret is something you will feel sooner or later, you will definitely feel it. Listen to that inner prophet that is telling you to do the right thing. 

I've been a guest in this site for some quite time and never really thought of sharing my art but that's going to change.
 I'm very glad to share some with the Shiachat community:
Unveil your soul

 
 @ireallywannaknow  
 

4. The Infallibility Cloak | The Dictations

In this episode, we discuss the phenomenon of humans draping themselves with a cloak of infallibility and how that impacts the way they interpret themselves.
Please don't forget to subscribe, like, comment and share on the video! Thank You.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3uMffsORAY
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:05 An Arabic proverb: It's a goat, even if it flies
4:15 Putting an infallibility cloak over ourselves
6:00 Verse of the Quran
8:20 How we justify our moral vices
10:45 i) Reconstruct the moral perception
23:30 ii) Changing one's language
26:50 iii) Comparing with others
28:20 iv) Attributing responsibility to others
31:15 v) Blaming others
33:25 Infallibility cloak on others
35:30 The Halo & Horn Effect
42:30 Importance of learning about Islamic history fairly

In His exalted name.
 
The Beneficent, the Merciful – the One God to whom all praise is due forever, the Lord of all the worlds. He is far beyond the Seat that encompasses heaven and Earth, the Throne that encompasses all intelligible knowledge, and the Will that delivers all sempiternal possibilities. Sight comprehends Him not, yet He comprehends all sight. Imagination comprehends Him not, yet He comprehends all imagination. He has given us names to call Him by, descriptions to recognize Him by, and signs of His truth in the horizons and in ourselves. He was there before there was a “there”, and He existed before there was a “when”. He is apparent in His power, yet He is hidden from comprehension. All things submit to Him, knowingly or unknowingly. He created us, sustains us, nurtures us, takes us to- and-fro, and brings us back to Himself. He is closer to us than our jugular vein, yet the near is not near to Him, and the far is not far from Him. He carries us on the sea and on land. He carries the Throne and those who carry it. Eyes do not recognize Him by way of sight, but hearts recognize Him by the realities of faith. Praise be to Allah.

May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon His Servant and His Messenger, Muhammad (s) – the one who found us on the edge of a pit of Fire and delivered us, by Allah’s permission. Allah created the Jinn and the humans so that we may know Him, and none knew Him better than the one for whose sake the cosmos was created. Allah is the Merciful (al-Rahman), so He sealed His message with His mercy to the worlds, the Beloved of Allah (s). He was heralded by the prophets, as his light was transferred from pure loins to pure wombs, generation by generation. He called to the way of his Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation. He patiently forbore persecution and fought in the cause of Allah until he prevailed. May Allah grant us his intercession and that of his Household.

May the peace of Allah be upon His Friend and His Comprehensive Argument, `Ali (عليه السلام) – the vicegerent, deputy, and brother of Muhammad (s). He was to Muhammad (عليه السلام) as Harun (عليه السلام) was to Musa (عليه السلام) and as Sham`un (عليه السلام) was to `Isa (عليه السلام). He was the one who was fought in the interpretation of the Quran just as the Prophet was fought in its revelation. He was the one who fought the oath-breakers, deviators, and traitors, just as the Prophet fought the idolaters. Muhammad (s) was the City of Knowledge, and `Ali (عليه السلام) was its Gate. Muhammad (s) was the House of Wisdom, and `Ali (عليه السلام) was its door. May we be divided into his camp on the Day that humanity will be split between his lovers and his haters.

May the peace and contentment of Allah be upon all the prophets, saints, martyrs, and righteous men and women.

This is a complete translation of the Dictations (Amali) of Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. `Ali b. Babuwayh al- Qummi (d. ~ 380 AH), commonly referred to as al-Shaykh al-Saduq – the Truthful Shaykh. The Amali consists of 97 assemblies (majalis), which were delivered between 367 and 368 AH. Born to another prominent scholar in the holy city of Qum, it is reported that Saduq’s birth was a result of a supplication made by the Mahdi (عليه السلام). Saduq authored some of Shiism’s most seminal works, including Man La Yahduruhul Faqih, Kamal al-Din, al-I`tiqadat al-Imamiyya, Kitab al-Tawhid, Ma`ani al-Akhbar, `Ilal al- Shara’i`, `Uyun al-Akhbar al-Rida, al-Khisal, Thawab al-A`mal, and others.

Very little academic attention has been paid to the four Amali books of the Buwayhi period. This particular book mostly contains a compilation of the narrations used by Saduq in these assemblies, rather than the commentary or the discussion that he presumably offered alongside them. Many of the reports in this book are corroborated by other compilations from this era, but many are unique. The Amali was probably penned by an unnamed disciple of Saduq. Most assemblies took place on Tuesdays and Fridays in various places, including Mashhad, Tus, Rayy, and Nishapur.
Most of the narrations compiled in this book fall under one of three categories: (1) encouragements for certain meritorious practices (such as special fasts), (2) stories of prophets and saints, often with clear moral lessons, and (3) the virtues of `Ali (عليه السلام) in particular and the Ahl al-Bayt in general. Some reports are thematically organized, and some are topical to the annual occasions of the Shi`i calendar.

From the contents of this book, we can only surmise that these assemblies were intended for a public audience. It does not focus on fine legal or doctrinal areas of disagreement, but on exhortations (mawa`ith) and recommended deeds. In the 4th century AH, Iran was incredibly diverse, and most of its population was probably non-Twelver. Unlike most Twelver books of hadith, most of the reports in Saduq’s Amali go back to the Prophet Muhammad (s). This may be due to the universality of his authority; as well as a demonstration of Saduq’s ability to narrate the virtues of `Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt through prominent companions and tabi`in. The sihha and the hujjiyya of many reports seem secondary to who is actually narrating them. The book contains no disparaging remarks against the first two caliphs or the wives of the Holy Prophet. Interestingly, there are many positive reports about Zayd b. `Ali b. al- Husayn, as well as chains that return to Zaydi authorities. Saduq also offers a thorough introduction to Twelver Shiism in the 93rd assembly.

The Amali’s focus on character-building, stories, faith, stoicism, and the love of the Ahl al-Bayt makes it a powerful introduction to the core values of Twelver Shiism and universal Islamic principles.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to those, without whom, this work would not have been possible. I thank Hassan al-Qadri for his constant support and for commissioning me for this translation project. I thank Yahya Seymour for his graceful encouragement and inspiration. His mind demands the absolute best from his peers; and his teachings inspired the diligence needed to give this work the depth and breadth that it deserves. I thank Houda Salih, my superior in classical Arabic, for answering my sporadic translation questions and for assisting me with idioms that escape my imagination. I thank Sajad al-Saadi for elegantly assisting me with translating a sermon in the 90th assembly. I thank Zahraa Rizvi for her preliminary translations of the 27th, 28th, and 29th assemblies, which served as a base for my renditions. I thank William Chittick for his translation of the Treatise on Rights, which also served as a base for my translation of the same report. I thank Idris Samawi Hamid for filling my heart with the love of Ahl al-Bayt and the discipline needed to complete a work of this scale. Lastly, I thank my dear and beloved parents, who introduced me to Allah and His Messenger, the Quran and the `Itra, and to Arabic and English. Their teachings, their love, and their support continue to play a pivotal role in my slow progress on the pathway toward God.
https://thaqalayn.net/book/29?fbclid=IwAR1pDX7rjvi6AxykgW_x316oKcc1IqfBM-CMIGw17zmKeb1dHP_AOE8OfS8

It hurts children who, by default, will lack a father or a mother if they are adopted by a same-sex couple.
It hurts boys who are being chemically-castrated by doctors.
It hurts teenage girls who think that removing their breasts ("top surgery") will solve their bodily insecurities.
It hurts people by promoting a lifestyle that has a greater risk of STDs.
It hurts people who are undergoing experimental hormone therapy with long-term consequences.
It hurts women who now have to share bathrooms with individuals with penises.
It hurts people who are now exposed to public nudity, not for an event, not for a day, but for a whole month every year, and sometimes longer.
It hurts people whose gender dysphoria is being affirmed and rationalized by the medical and educational industries.
It hurts expression by coercing people by law to use new pronouns and adjectives.
It hurts those who are now at a 40% risk of attempting suicide.
It hurts 21% of a generation that identify with it (21% of Gen Z now identify as LGBT. Why is it doubling every generation?)
It hurts a society through further identity politics and division.
It hurts. Stop saying that it doesn't.

This is not a mindset consistent with belief. Our prophet is said to have remarked once that even if you knew the last day is at hand, if you have a sapling in your hand, you plant it. This hopeless mindset ironically damages the judgment that you wait for. 

We can change all of this! The kids know we can.  I know we can; I've always known. I don't know why old folk my age (and yours?) have all decided to simply remain alive until they die.  What is the point of life if not to be an active part of The Creation? 

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin wa Ale Muhammad wa ajjil farajahum
الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : رُبَّ أخٍ لَم تَلِدْهُ اُمُّكَ.
Imam Ali (ﷺ) said, ‘Many a brother was not given birth by your own mother.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 5351]
الباقرُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : المؤمنُ أخو المؤمِن لأبيهِ واُمِّهِ
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (ﷺ) said: ‘A believer is the brother of another believer [as if] from his own mother and father.’ Mizan al-Hikmah which narrates from: [al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 166, no. 2 and 7]
الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : على التَّواخِي في اللّه‏ِ تَخْلُصُ الَمحَبّةُ
Amir ul-Mumineen Ali ibn Abi Talib (ﷺ) said:
‘Love is purified through cultivating friendship for the sake of Allah.’
From Mizan al-Hikmah which narrates from: [Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 6191].
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (ﷺ) said:
‘A man’s love for his brother is part of his love for his religion.’
From Mizan al-Hikmah which narrates from: [al-Ikhtisas. no. 31]
 رسولُ اللهِ‏ِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) : النَّظَرُ إلى الأخِ تَوَدُّهُ في اللّه‏ِ عزّ وجلّ عِبادَةٌ
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Looking at a brother you love for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, is [an act of] worship.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 74, p. 279, no. 1]
Allahuma salli 'alaa Muhammad wa Aale Muhammad Kama Salayta Alaa Ibrahim, Innaka Hamidun Majid

Ok y'all.  I'm going to need double duas. I just got cc on an email informing my usual supervisor that I'll be substitute teaching an 8th grade English class tomorrow at the request of the principal during the time I'm scheduled to interview! As far as i can tell, the substitute assignment IS the interview. 
I can math or science all day! I can muddle through history.  I don't know the first thing about teaching English! Wish me well behaved students.  
It's tomorrow.  I'm a bit nervous.  

Even if I had no religion, I would then advise heterosexual people against doing things against their own nature. Doing so would cause disharmony in the mind. Deep down a person has certain inclinations, and to go against them puts the mind/soul & body in a state of disharmony. An inner conflict would exist. A problem with the secular narrative is that it even tells heterosexual people that there is nothing wrong with them going against that nature.
Do not just think about the harms to the self, think also about societal harms. And there a number of things that could be said about this.
Do not forget that there are verses of the Quran other than the ones related to this story which condemn such relationships.
However to say that the story of Prophet Lut {a} has no condemnation of homosexuality is going against what is apparent in the story. You can argue that the divine punishment was because of "rape and domination and intimidation" and I would go further and argue that the punishment was because they rejected the criticisms of a prophet (not for any actions on their own). Regardless of the reasons for the punishment, you cannot say that homosexuality isn't being condemned because to do so would be to admit that "rape and domination and intimidation" of women is allowed. 7:81 "Most surely you come to males in lust besides females" - if this is about rape then does it mean raping women is allowed? Is the verse saying 'you rape men instead of women'?
The punishment may be for rape or for whatever other reason, but that doesn't mean that homosexuality isn't being condemned.