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Salaam I hope everyone is doing fine. I have been going through a lot from a past month now...from failures to heart broken and then quitting Uni...this all has been a quite burden and stressing for me....but the one thing that I have noticed is that my faith in Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has increased immensely...for which I'm really thankful... But I'm still in the process to realise it doesn't matter what I want... the only thing what actually should matter is what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) wants for me....and that's the best thing...he knows what's the best for me..no doubt Still deep inside of me there are some regrets, anxiety, a sea full of tears and I think it is important to go through a point in your life where everything seems out of control. Once you get to that point, it’s hard to know where to start. The bad news is that it will be hard, for sure...but the good thing is that you will get through it. Why I'm saying this is that I know...many of us are going through some hardships and many are not motivated to carry on ...many of us will be saying..."Why this always happens to me??? Why I'm the only one ?? Why god..." Stop blaming Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) ...start asking yourself... where did you go wrong...how can you improve...stop being stubborn... just learn to move on! It's okay to not be okay...and that's normale...please don't be harsh on yourself...it will take time for the situation to get stable. And I'm sure I'm not the only one ... there are many people who feel the same...and please be open to discuss such matters.... I know some of them hides their pain and keep it to themselves (that's what I used to be)... believe me this finishes you innerly... at least talk to someone who you believe can help you out with your problems and don't forget that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is always with you:) Wasalam

Assalamu alaykum everyone. I hope you are all in the best of health insha'Allah. I'm in a dilemma. Despite the obvious stress of going to university this September during a global pandemic there's another problem. I come from a low economic background and the idea of me being able to pay tuition (£9000+ annually) is unrealistic let alone having to pay for university equipment i.e a laptop (especially since university is going to be online for half the year if not more). In a normal situation someone would take student loans and a maintenance loan. However, both of these include interest being added each year (not in my benefit but to them when I pay the university back). I know that interest and riba is a great sin which is why I'm asking for everyone's advice/help. I've tried applying for Muslim loans and charities however they either to be too little to match my cost or are bias in what degree you must take to be eligible. For context I'm looking to study Middle Eastern Studies combined with Arabic at a prestigious university. This in mind, I wanted to make a big impact insha'Allah through this degree. I've been told that it doesn't matter therefore that there is interest added as I am insha'Allah going to be able to give back to the community. However, I also realise that I can acquire such knowledge without going to university and I don't care too much about the experience. Additionally, I am much more interested in going to howza in the future (maybe in Iran) when I become independent in the future insha'Allah as I am very much interested in Islamic studies/theology. With all this said: 1) What was your own experience with university? 2) How to tell one's parent? Jazak'Allah brothers and sisters.

yo yo yo what do all people study and where do you guys live? What do you want work with? Lemme start: I live in Denmark and I study for law. I guess I want to be a lawyer. your turn xx

Assalamu alaykum. Question: In which situation a Muslim woman can live in another home in a halal situation in a home that is not her family house? 1)in a single room but in a house(or apartment)with only men\guys(or one man\one guy) that are not mahram to her. 2)in a single room in a house\apartment in which there are men and women(or guys and girls)inside 3)in a single room in an only women house 4)in a double room with another woman(girl) in a house with other men or men and women 5)in a double room with another woman(girl) in a only women house I'm talking for going to college. Or in generale as well.

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. Which is the view of Sistani on women working on a place where there is intermixing? Are there specified jobs that a Muslim woman is allowed to do? And what a Muslim woman is preferred to study at University? And if our parents,or one of them push us to study something in particular,we have to study what our parents or one of our parents wanted us to?

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Which are the better degree courses(or jobs) for a Muslimah? And which in an Islamic State and which in a non Muslim state?

Salam guys, maybe I'm asking for too much, but could you please make dua for me? I have my entry test for med school next week and in mid april they'll tell me if I got accepted to med school or not. So could you guys pleas make dua for me that I'll inshallah get accepted ? Thankyou in advance

UMSL philosophers win nearly $1 million grant from John Templeton Foundation JAN/22/2019 | POSTED BY STEVE WALENTIK Philosophy Professors Jon McGinnis and Billy Dunaway won a nearly $1 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to examine the writings of medieval Islamic thinkers for answers to questions of contemporary philosophy of religion. (Photos by August Jennewein) What started as a conversation over beers at a local tavern has led, more than a year later, to $1.1 million in research funding for two members of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Professor Jon McGinnis and Assistant Professor Billy Dunaway concocted their idea to bring together medieval Islamic philosophy and apply it to contemporary questions about the epistemology of religion, and they secured a grant of $933,000 from the John Templeton Foundation plus additional funding from UMSL to support the project, entitled “The Christian West and Islamic East: Theology, Science, and Knowledge.” “We’re going to start looking at figures who never were translated or even known in the Latin tradition, and yet who are still dealing with the same sorts of problems and questions,” McGinnis said. “What can we know? What is the relationship between science and the claims of religion? If there is a God, what is God’s relation to creation?” These are questions that contemporary philosophers of religion continue to explore, but existing discussions don’t draw on the writings of medieval Islamic thinkers. “Their answers to those questions haven’t been explored,” McGinnis said. “They’re the ones that Templeton is interested in. The Arabs were interested in them, and their arguments are highly sophisticated and really good.” McGinnis and Dunaway hope the grant will help them bring more attention to this area of study and help inspire more study from younger scholars in the early stages of their careers. “We want to involve older scholars, but a lot of times older scholars have their research program set and that’s what they do,” Dunaway said. “The whole point of this is it’s something slightly different than what’s being done already.” They plan to invite academics from different regions of the world, including the Middle East, to conferences or workshops each of the next three summers. They will be opportunities for individuals to present their work but also to become more familiar with texts to which they otherwise might never be exposed. The plan is to hold the first two workshops at UMSL, but the 2021 event will take place at the University of Oxford in England. “Given the current political climate, bringing folks from the Middle East over here may be more difficult,” McGinnis said. “It’s just a fact. So Templeton said, ‘We’ve got these contacts in Oxford …’ And we’re like, ‘Oxford? We’d love to be in Oxford.’” With the grant, McGinnis and Dunaway also plan to award research stipends to promising young scholars. They hope to fund at least one master’s student in the Department of Philosophy to serve as a research assistant. They also plan to bring a visiting scholar in Islamic philosophy to the UMSL campus in 2020. They hope that individual will deliver a public lecture, just one of the events they intend to hold to involve the public. McGinnis and Dunaway want the project to help generate scholarly articles, presentations, an edited volume and a special journal issue that examines the contributions the Islamic tradition can make to contemporary debates. McGinnis, who chairs the Department of Philosophy, has spent much of his career researching medieval Islamic thinkers, an area of study that also includes some Christian and Jewish philosophers writing at the time in Arabic. His interest developed during his time studying classical philosophy as a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. He noticed much work being done on the writings of Greek and Latin philosophers. But a gap existed in between them. “What was happening is as classicists were working, they were coming up against this wall that was the Arabic language,” McGinnis said. He received a fellowship to learn Arabic and spent time studying in Egypt. It has paid dividends throughout his career since, helping him gain access to ideas from prominent thinkers such as Avicenna, Averroes and Moses Maimonides, who remain largely overlooked in the English-speaking world. Dunaway’s work has been centered more on ethics, metaphysics, epistemology and the philosophy of language. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and went on to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford under John Hawthorne, a noted epistemologist who also works in the philosophy of religion. McGinnis has served as one of Dunaway’s mentors since Dunaway came to UMSL four years ago, and they meet regularly – occasionally off campus at Three Kings Public House in the Delmar Loop. “In good philosophical fashion, we were sitting over a beer discussing his paper, which was drawing on the Medieval Latin philosopher Duns Scotus,” McGinnis said. “I said, ‘Oh, these Muslim guys I read are kind of interested in a similar problem and have similar but slightly different answers.’” The more they talked, they realized the potential of bringing these two disciplines together, and Dunaway knew from his time with Hawthorne that there was a chance the Templeton Foundation might fund just such a project. They’re both elated that instinct was correct, that their formal proposal was accepted and they’re beginning the work. “It’s a lot of fostering more intellectual engagement by getting people with the different norms and expectations of different intellectual communities together,” Dunaway said. “The hope is that after the project is done people continue with the connections they’ve made and there’s more engagement and diversity in the intellectual environment.” https://blogs.umsl.edu/news/2019/01/22/mcginnis-dunaway-templeton/

Salamun Alaykum, My name is Mehdi. I am from India and I am travelling to Salt Lake City, Utah, on 29th Dec. I will be attending graduate program at the University of Utah. I need to know Shia brothers and community centres who can help me get a rented apartment near the U (zipcode :84102) (The apartment should not be expensive). We are 3 students(the other 2 are not shia) who will reach SLC on 29th Dec 11pm. Kindly help connect me to the Student body/ Shia centres around here in Utah. I need this urgently done. Thank you for your help.:)

سلام عليكم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم So I’m currently a second year medical student and many times during my day I think about dropping out and studying religion aswell as going out to protect the shrines either in Iraq and or Syria. What do you guys think is the best way to handle these thoughts is what I’m thinking not worth it? Should i stick to medicine and forget about these ideas. I know if I do I won’t regret it, I feel like that’s the best way to serve Allāh, muhammed(PBUH) and his progeny.

As salamu aleikoum, As a law student, I would like to know if there is any hadith (shia if possible) about acquiring secular knowledge. I know there are a lot of hadiths about acquiring knowledge but I wonder if these hadiths only speak about religious knowledge. I recall a mollah talking about one of our Imams (as) giving a long chemistry lesson to someone though. Also, I heard that one is not considered a true shia if there is anyone better/more successful in their village. Again, I don't know what exactly this hadith means. The mollah stressed that as a muslim/shia you should be the best at everything you do, although he didn't mention any narration about that (starting from 7:30).

Asalaam Alaykum, I am looking for someone (a lady) who can chat or speak with me online to practice my English. I reside in a EU country. Since English is not my second language this why I like to practice so I get into university Inshallah. Can anyone please help me? I did a search on the net but I could not find much. I am just looking for someone reliable with whom I can share ideas about topics of my interest. Please help me. I am very much eager to learn. Thank you and may Allah bless you all. Sara

Salam Alaikum my dear brothers and sisters, I'm starting college in two days please make dua for me to succeed in all of my classes and pass with straight A's. jazakallah khayr

Visit these sites and complete university education at home with out giving any money. http://www.udacity.com/ https://www.edx.org/ https://www.coursera.org/

Salam, Is there anyone here who completed their undergrad in science or is doing it? What major exactly? What are you doing with your degree in science or what do you plan on doing with it? Are you doing a masters/phD now? I would love to know. I'm really grateful to have the privilege of getting an education, but I'm feeling really stuck and a little bit hopeless tbh. There's too many options as to what you can do, but everything is just so competitive and demanding!! Also, everyone talks about going into med/pharm/dent/optometry etc after their undergrad... but is there ANYONE who went into industry? Like work in a lab or something? If so how's it like? I don't want to graduate and still be deciding on what to do ._.

http://ou.miu.ac.ir/ Al-Mustafa Open University as a responsible for disseminating Islamic doctrines, offers its online and offline courses in various Islamic (e-learning based) spheres; have a look!...

I recently entered a university and I wanted to attend its functions I have previously attended school and college functions and I have always studied in co-education.I belong to a practicing shia family which is why hijab has always been a big part in my life.at all functions and events i have never taken off my hijab neither do I ever intend to do so but my mother has become so insecure ever since i entered university(even though I have never done anything wrong or immoral).She tells me to take a chaddar to the function and wants me to not go if possible.I am always over conscious of over doing thus even if I do get all dressed up I never stand out because you know how girls are now a days being over dressed and flashy but my mom is getting angry and keeps telling me that I don't listen to her anymore and I don't follow hijab and my body shape is showing she expects me to wrap a blanket around me and then go out. The university I am in is known for it's really out of limits rules and discipline but since it is the only well known art college in Pakistan I could not miss the opportunity but I am really getting tired of my mom's insecurity and over the top demands that I am unable to fulfill considering the surrounding that I am living in.I realize that she might be right in an Islamic point of view but that makes me hate Islam in a certain way I also want to enjoy my university life and have fun like everyone else but the way my mom is imposing hijab onto me is just pushing me further away from Islam and making me feel trapped and bound. "Islam is suffocating" says the heart as I try reasoning with it day and night trying to have fun and still not cross the islamic limits.... :/

Salaam Alaikum dear brothers and sister: I am currently enrolled in a course in my university called: Pathways to Enlightenment. This is a required senior seminar course, but the specific topic/course focus was allowed to be selected by us. For this class I am to write a 20 page research paper on a topic of my choice. ​Here is a description of the topic: Research Paper: Students choose their own area of interest that emerges from (or merges with) the course theme of Enlightenment, and then write a series of four 5 page essays that will eventually form into a whole. Think of this as a book with a title that includes the word Enlightenment, and then chapters that indicate an engagement with the different disciplinary lenses we’ve been using. These papers require a use of common course readings AND original research materials. The “chapters” will need to be revised in order to create a fully coherent whole turned in during the final exam period colloquium. Conferences with me throughout the writing process are required. For my topic, I decided I will be focusing on the topic of Karbala and Muharram, and how this is a sort of "enlightenment" particularly for Shiite Muslims. Since I will need to look at the topic through a historical lens, I was wondering if anyone could provide me to some academic, well-researched articles pertaining to the topic of Karbala, and perhaps the history of Islam following the death of Muhammad pbuh. I know there are many, many resources out there; therefore, I was wondering if any brothers or sisters knew some great works on the topics of the history of Karbala, or a general history following Muhammad's death, a general timeline, etc. etc. All resources would be greatly appreciated. Salaam.

(bismillah) (salam) My friend is currently studying at a college, under the British curriculum. His parents had planned for him to complete his O and A-levels. However, after somebody spoke to them, they have now also started considering their child to pass SAT exam. They think this is a compulsory exam to pass. My questions are: 1. Are not SATs to be considered only if a student is looking to enroll in American universities? And if a student has plans of studying at a UK university, then are not O and A-levels sufficient? 2. If a student completes her A-levels, but then chooses to study at an American university, can A-levels suffice nonetheless, or must one sit the SAT exams before enrolling at the university? I would really appreciate if any posters can complement their answers by citing links to official websites, discussion forums, Q&A websites, whichever be available - I need to share these with the friend's parents. Thank you. (wasalam)

SallamAlikum, first of all I want to thank the people who have been answering my question and really helping me learn. May God bless you. My question I have now, it's quite personal: I am a student right now and studying Criminal Justice, I have a job that is waiting for me to help me get my foot in door for when I graduate (IA) as Assets Protection. But just recently I've been really wanting to go to Hawza, and study this beautiful religion. The more I think about it, I end up going back to really wanting to go to Hawza and do something that involves educating Islam and such. If I were to go to Hawza it would be in London (I reside in the U.S): http://www.islamic-college.ac.uk With Allah's help and guidance, what can I possibly be or do with a Islamic Studies degree? Is there jobs out there for sisters in this field? I want to do something that will spread the Message of the Holy Prophet and his Holy Progeny. But of course at same time; I need to make a living. Also, let's be honest; I do want to get married...I'm afraid I won't have a good Muslim brother to marry because I am CJ major. Although know this is my interest and didn't find interest in anything else. And I for sure won't force myself to do something I don't like. Wallah, I am lost and don't know what to do. I just need opinions, should I just stick with finishing my education in CJ and do something in that field. Or should I just go for it and study my religion and try to find something to do in the Islamic Studies field. My Allah Guide us all to the path he sees is right for us and make him proud.

Salam Alaykum, Does anyone know anything about studying physiotherapy in Iraq or Iran (preferably Karbala, Najaf or Qom)? Any information whatsoever would be helfpul. Jazakallah.

Salam. Is it a good idea to marry someone before starting university? Would you do it?

Salamun alaikum, Am I subject to khums in the following context, I study in a university abroad and my parents take care of my expenses from university fees to pocket money. However, I do not get a fixed salary; money is sent to me whenever I require it. With regards to the following context while taking into consideration that I have never paid khums before due to my ignorance, I have three questions: 1) Must I pay khums in such a context? 2) According to Ayt. Khamenei, if I have never paid khums, do I need to pay the khums of all the years since my bulugh? Thank you very much in advance, Wassalamu alaikum we rahmatullah wabarakatuh

Salamalaikum, YAM, All praise is to Allah swt who helped me get through this excruciating examination session. I thank Him for giving me the strength and endurance to get through it all. Introduction and whom this is for Alhamdolillah i finished a very stressful session of engineering exams last week, which was arguably the most stressful time of my life. Since I've been working very hard for the last couple of months, I thought I will share my revision techniques with fellow momineen/mominaat on SC. I am an Engineering student and this guide is aimed at players only, who are aiming to bang out a minimum of 10+ hours everyday. However having said that, it doesnt mean that you cant cast down this guide into something less intensive.Since Iam an engineer (and i hate writing essays) and if your reading this you've got exams (i.e less time to spare), I shall endeavour to bulletpoint as much as I can in order to share my experience. Before I begin, may I remind everyone that revision is a lifestyle, not a regime!! 1) Focussing and staying positive * Engineering is one of those courses where there is truck loads to study in very little time. It can be daunting at times as to where to start and there is always a feeling that says I cant do this. The first steps of this guide is to murder that feeling! Seriously!Dont waste time by procrastinating i.e thinking about studying but not studying at all! You can do it and you will do it! If others can then so can you! * Start your day in the name of Allah swt, the Panjetan e Paaak a.s and then remind your innerself of the the above^^ (i dont mean the woman!) It is imperative that psychologically and mentally you beginin a happy state. * Work in groups! When you are banging out 9-15 hours a day revising, there will be times where the most simplest of things look very complicated. This is where it helps to have more than a pair of eyes looking at something as different people think differently. * In addition to above, you might save time by splitting a module into components. For e.g Adam does oscillators, I study operational amplifiers and George studies BJTs. Then after an hour you teach each other which collectively saves time and resources. * Another important thing is your approach. Usually in engineering, it helps a lot to simplify problems for e.g converting something very complicated into equivalent circuits, sketching graphs, making assumptions etc. This helps you to a) break down the problem B) look at it from a different point of view. I always start from bottom to top. From this is mean approach the problem from a very low level of analysis and then apply more complicated techniques. Usually big problems are solved with simple low level thinking. 2) Time table * I didnt have one, solely because i start procrastinating and hence adds to my stress levels. The most obvious thing to do is start early! More on this in the end * Also what i found really helped was to juggle between different subjects. So for e.g i would study nanotechnology in the morning and finish the day with electromagnetics. The reason why I did it this way is because last year i planned out a week/two for each subjects and when it got close to the exams, I couldnt remember anything! * What i did use was this for other minor things : https://play.google....su.astrid&hl=en I am sure there is an iphone equivalent somewhere! 3)Sleep more by sleeping less *Yep. I found this very very efficient. Sleep for 6 hours at night followed by 2, 30 minute power naps during the day. They both work as revision breaks + help u catch up with sleep (duh!) *However the above could be easier said than done as it takes time to train your body to this new lifestyle. Apparently this is how our ulema study as well by sleeping less at night but taking power naps during the day. * Also when you lie down on your bed, before you doze off try and recollect everything you learnt. Just picture all the equations/theories/proofs as it helps you think about them involuntarily - which they say is much better than normal thinking. 4) Study space and people * The study space should be well lit and adequately spaced. I love to spread all my files and folders around the room lol! * Work with like minded people. They help you and you help them. Simple as that! * Because of the above, I didnt bother with libraries as due to the complexity of my course, it is impossible for a person to get a 1st class by studying solely on his own. Hence the emphasis on group study. So we found a lecture theatre that wasnt in use and that was our study space! 5)Allah and the Ahlulbayt a,s Yes your revising hard....but that doesnt mean you have an excuse not to pray! Also say YAM all the time! All halal knowledge comes from the Ahlulbayt so dont forget them. * There are plenty of duas you can find on duas.org with regards to exams and that. 6) Facebook, SC and other distractions *Ok it is very hard to not to distract. So to get around it, we had setup a facebook group which had every1 from our year group. Here we would ask each other q's and discuss solutions. So when i went on fb, i would mainly use it to see wagwan in the group AND also see what others are up to. * As for SC and other websites, this is where the group that you work in helps. They motivate you and you motivate them. They stop you from slipping and vice versa. 7) Nutrition and exercise *It is very very very important that you eat healthy, clean and nutritious food. Your mind and body is working extremely hard and it is very important that you fuel it accordingly. Please dont bother with kfc, subway etc etc. They will make you feel sleepy, tired and will make you fat! (think about what your potential wifey would say!!) * If your are following 3), after my 30 minute nap, I would get up and do some pushups to feel lively. It is very important that you exercise adequately to compensate for all the time your sitting down on your bottom revising. 8) Backup your work * I have a lot of files on my computer which i just cannot afford to loose. Hence i got a dropbox (free one) and synced all the important files every few hours. * Also bought an external hard drive (just in case!) * If you've got essays and other text files, use google docs. 9)Thoughts and if i could go back then... * Although i started revising early, my proper revision 10+ hours started 3 months before the exams and it still wasnt enough near the end! So i would start much earlier! * An obvious thing which you probably hear all the time but seriuosly i learnt it the hard way. Keep up to date with what is going on in your course everyday! * Buy a mac and not a pc :D ! Still regret buying a windows machine! * Eat healthy! Cant emphasise on 7) enough. I was kfcing near the end of my exams as i couldnt be bothered to pack any lunch and i ended up with an upset tummy near the last week of exams! * Do more past papers *Smart revision - only revise what you need to. Getting a 1st is all about exam technique i.e knowing what to revise and how to do so. Talk to the people in the years above who have done the same exams as you last year. They might have some revision 'tips'. * Manage your time efficiently. As in dont cut off completely with family and friends but then at the same time dont socialise too much either. As i said before, I am an engineering student and I'm more comfortable with maths than words. Hence apologies if I've made any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes (and also it is past midnight here!). Hope it helps and yea feel free to ask about anything which i havent covered! Good luck and i shall finish this post with 1) i.e you can do it!! BULB!

(salam) Anyone some experience on academic writing? Does someone has an example maybe? I have to write like..on globalization -> an academic research with: - Title - Introduction (background) - Literature review - Thesis - etc. Or is someone able to guide me in this process? It's kind of the first time I'm doing this. All help would be welcome. :D (wasalam)