u/st_anger67

I am planning to study at Southeast European University and move to Tetovo. I want to eventually live in Tetovo or Skopje by buying a house. Can anyone share insights about the university or the city? What should I expect? How's life there? How foreigner friendly is it, do I have to know Macedonian or Albanian? What is the cost of living, safety, general atmosphere? How is the university? What's the property market in Tetovo and Skopje, and which city do you think i shoud move to later? Really appreciate any insight, thanks in advance!

I deliberately cut myself today. I am thinking of suicide. As a Baha'i what's gonna happen to me if i kill myself? Can you tell me what the Faith says about my situation? Can you provide writings about self harm and suicide from the Faith?

EDIT: Hey guys thank you so much for the comments and for caring about me and trying to help me! FYI I am okay and well! Imma be taking therapy as soon as I can as I already have a lot of symptoms of BPD, autism and OCD.

I've been struggling with a couple of questions and I'd really appreciate hearing how other Bahá'ís understand them.

1. The oneness of humanity

The Faith teaches the oneness and unity of humanity, but when I look at the world, I find it really hard to believe in that ideal. There are people who commit horrific acts, exploit others, spread hatred, and seem to have no remorse. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "Why should I want unity with people like that?"

I know unity doesn't mean approving of injustice but I still struggle with the idea that humanity as a whole can ever truly unite. Humans seem deeply flawed, and history is full of violence, prejudice, wars and conflict.

The Most Great Peace seems impossible when you look at the human history. I mean just observe the world right now, it is still full of violence, wars, and many bad people exist in society.

How do you reconcile the Bahá'í teachings on the oneness of humanity with the reality of human cruelty and selfishness? Are there writings from Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, or Shoghi Effendi that helped you understand this better?

2. Why does God send us trials?

Another question I wrestle with is about suffering and tests.

In the Hidden Words, Bahá'u'lláh says things like we should seek trials from God and be patient in His tests. I don't fully understand why. If God loves us, why would He send us trouble in the first place?

This is especially difficult for me because my life has already had its share of hardship. Sometimes it feels like I'm already struggling, and then I read passages about God sending more tests or trials, and I don't know how to reconcile that with His love and mercy.

How do you understand these passages? Are trials something God actively sends, or are they simply part of living in this world? How have you made sense of this teaching in your own life?

I'm asking these questions sincerely. I'm not trying to argue against the Faith or provoke anyone. I genuinely want to understand how other Bahá'ís think about these issues and whether there are writings that helped them.

Salutations, everyone. I want to know how Baha'i faith handles the Quranic and hadith material on the finality of prophethood. I want to actually work through it with people here, not get redirected to Baha'u'llah's writings and left there.

I already know the standard responses — the cyclical/dispensational reading of "seal of the prophets" and the Kitab-i-Iqan's argument that all Manifestations are expressions of one Reality so "first" and "last" aren't fixed points. Please don't just repeat these at me.

What I'm actually stuck on:

1. Quran 33∶40 — khatam al-nabiyyin.

How is this verse get interpreted by Baha'i Faith? What's the strongest linguistic case, from Arabic usage itself rather than from Baha'u'llah's own authority, that khatam doesn't mean strict finality?

2. Quran 5∶3 — "This day I have perfected your religion for you." Nearly the entire classical tafsir tradition reads this as marking the completion of the religion/law. Is there a real Quran-internal counterargument?

3. The hadith side. Various ahadith stating that Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet. The famous "final brick" hadith and the "no prophet after me" hadith tied to the Aaron/Manzilah narrative are about as strongly attested as hadith get — agreed upon by both Bukhari and Muslim, multiple independent companions. I do want to understand how we're actually supposed to hold this material.

If your honest answer really is "read the Iqan," please tell me which specific passage addresses this and why, rather than just naming the book.

Thanks for engaging seriously!