u/No-Day-4693

I was born and raised in a Muslim household, and I’ve identified as Muslim my entire life. I never really questioned my faith before because, honestly, it was simply what I was taught to believe. Now that I’m actually examining it for myself, I’m finding myself with a lot of questions that I never felt comfortable asking.
One thing I’ve been thinking about is how religious people, whether they’re Muslim scholars, Christian priests, Buddhist monks, etc., can become so convinced that what they’re doing is objectively right. In Islam especially, I sometimes feel like there’s a sense that Islam has the ultimate truth and that everything outside of it is somehow inferior. Even things like halal meat are explained through specific rules about how the animal is slaughtered, but I still struggle with the more fundamental question of whether eating animals at all is morally necessary.
Then there are much bigger questions. If God is truly omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly merciful, why would He create a world containing so much suffering, hatred and injustice? Why would slavery ever be permitted? Why would women be given restrictions on their freedom, clothing, travel, or behaviour because of men’s desires? Why would God allow people to suffer terribly and then punish them eternally for choices He already knew they would make?
And if everything is ultimately written by Allah, how does free will work? If God already knows exactly what I’m going to do, including every sin I’ll commit, why am I ultimately responsible for doing it?
I also struggle with the idea of God wanting to be worshipped. If God is perfect and doesn’t lack anything, why would He need human beings to praise or worship Him? Wouldn’t it be enough for Him to want us to be compassionate, honest and good to one another?
Another thing that bothers me is how much of life can become labelled haram. Singing, drawing, modelling, certain clothes, travelling without a man, showing certain parts of yourself, etc. Sometimes it feels like religion can become so restrictive that there isn’t much room left simply to live. And when I question these things, I’m often told, “It’s in the Qur’an.” But that’s exactly what I’m questioning. If I’m asking whether the Qur’an is divinely authoritative, quoting the Qur’an itself doesn’t really answer that question for me.
At the same time, I don’t want to pretend that I feel nothing toward Islam. I actually like praying. Prayer gives me comfort, and there’s a part of me that genuinely wants God to exist. But I also wonder whether that comfort is evidence of God, or simply something humans naturally experience through prayer and spirituality.
I also don’t think suffering proves that God doesn’t exist. I just don’t understand how suffering is compatible with a perfectly loving and merciful God. If God created love, hatred, free will and everything else, why create a world where hatred and suffering can become so extreme?
Maybe I’m approaching all of this completely wrong, and I’m genuinely open to hearing different perspectives. I’m not looking for people to simply tell me that “Allah knows best” or that I need to become more religious. I’m trying to understand the philosophical reasoning behind these things.
If you believe in God, how do you reconcile God’s supposed love and mercy with suffering, injustice, free will, punishment and the moral questions surrounding religion?

I was born and raised in a Muslim household, and I’ve identified as Muslim my entire life. I never really questioned my faith before and used to pray because, honestly, it was simply what I was taught to believe. Now that I’m actually examining it for myself, I’m finding myself with a lot of questions that I never felt comfortable asking.
One thing I’ve been thinking about is how religious people, whether they’re Muslim scholars, Christian priests, Buddhist monks, etc., can become so convinced that what they’re doing is objectively right. In Islam especially, I sometimes feel like there’s a sense that Islam has the ultimate truth and that everything outside of it is somehow inferior. Even things like halal meat are explained through specific rules about how the animal is slaughtered, but I still struggle with the more fundamental question of whether eating animals at all is morally necessary.
Then there are much bigger questions. If God is truly omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly merciful, why would He create a world containing so much suffering, hatred and injustice? Why would slavery ever be permitted? Why would women be given restrictions on their freedom, clothing, travel, or behaviour because of men’s desires? Why would God allow people to suffer terribly and then punish them eternally for choices He already knew they would make?
And if everything is ultimately written by Allah, how does free will work? If God already knows exactly what I’m going to do, including every sin I’ll commit, why am I ultimately responsible for doing it?
I also struggle with the idea of God wanting to be worshipped. If God is perfect and doesn’t lack anything, why would He need human beings to praise or worship Him? Wouldn’t it be enough for Him to want us to be compassionate, honest and good to one another?
Another thing that bothers me is how much of life can become labelled haram. Singing, drawing, modelling, certain clothes, travelling without a man, showing certain parts of yourself, etc. Sometimes it feels like religion can become so restrictive that there isn’t much room left simply to live. And when I question these things, I’m often told, “It’s in the Qur’an.” But that’s exactly what I’m questioning. If I’m asking whether the Qur’an is divinely authoritative, quoting the Qur’an itself doesn’t really answer that question for me.
At the same time, I don’t want to pretend that I feel nothing toward Islam. I actually like praying. Prayer gives me comfort, and there’s a part of me that genuinely wants God to exist. But I also wonder whether that comfort is evidence of God, or simply something humans naturally experience through prayer and spirituality.
I also don’t think suffering proves that God doesn’t exist. I just don’t understand how suffering is compatible with a perfectly loving and merciful God. If God created love, hatred, free will and everything else, why create a world where hatred and suffering can become so extreme?
Maybe I’m approaching all of this completely wrong, and I’m genuinely open to hearing different perspectives. I’m not looking for people to simply tell me that “Allah knows best” or that I need to become more religious. I’m trying to understand the philosophical reasoning behind these things.
If you believe in God, how do you reconcile God’s supposed love and mercy with suffering, injustice, free will, punishment and the moral questions surrounding religion?
And if you’ve questioned the faith you were raised in, how did you approach that process?

I broke up with my boyfriend, and I’m not even sure how to explain why.
The confusing part is that I think I still love him but I’m not sure I even understand what love is supposed to feel like. Sometimes I wonder if what I feel is love, attachment, anxiety, fear of losing someone , thinking you’ll never find someone as good as him , as perfect as him .
We were long distance. He was genuinely perfect , he was patient, loyal, and loving in a lot of ways. He put up with so much from me. I hurt him more times than he hurt me. I said things I didn’t mean during arguments, broke up so many times impulsively before, and expected him to somehow understand what I meant without me saying it properly. I carry a lot of guilt for that.
At the same time, I don’t think I was getting what I emotionally needed either.
I’m a very physically affectionate person, and long distance made that incredibly hard. I also value little gestures. My first birthday away from home was one of the loneliest days I’ve had, and I think I secretly hoped he’d do something small ! maybe make a little edit, send a cake!It never happened. I know gifts aren’t everything, but to me those gestures make me feel seen.
I also struggle a lot with insecurity. The thought of him finding other girls sexually attractive would genuinely eat me alive. I know people find others attractive, but emotionally I couldn’t cope with it, and I don’t know if that’s something I need to work on or if I simply need a different kind of relationship.
During arguments he called me egoistic, hypersensitive, lifeless, and heartless. At one point he even told me I should feel guilty for the rest of my life because of how much I’d hurt him. Maybe he was speaking from pain, but those words stayed with me.
I think the biggest issue was that we just didn’t seem to understand each other. I wanted someone who naturally matched my energy, more like a fun thing , we don’t have to call everyday like he knows we are tg and not ldr so we can meet everyday who won’t be a distraction , understood the way I express affection, and clicked with me without everything turning into misunderstandings. I kept expecting him to “get” me, and he expected me to communicate more clearly. We loved each other, but it often felt like we were speaking different emotional languages.
So now I’m left wondering:
Did I leave because we were fundamentally incompatible?
Or did I leave because my insecurities and unrealistic expectations got in the way of a good relationship?
Has anyone else loved someone deeply but still realized they weren’t the right person for you?

I’m in a hostel(17 F), I went to a summer camp before I came here and I got lice there ! No one here has lice and they didn’t even expect me to have it ! I was sharing my bed with multiple people and they found out I had lice but it seemed that they aren’t active ! I thought I’ll change my room and I felt bad so I cried ! I was hyper sensitive and they all like hugged me so bad even tho I didn’t tell them it’s because of that but I think they figured ! We slept tg last night but I still feel embarrassed what should I do

How to clear nda as a pcmb student with 60% within 40 days !