As-salamu alaykum - I want to learn Islam but I'm facing some difficulties
As-salamu alaykum! I’m a Korean who previously shared my wish to learn Islam. First, thank you very much for the kind responses and advice before. I had to remove that post for personal reasons, and I’m sorry about that - I hope you understand. When I wrote earlier I was overwhelmed and a bit all over the place. There’s so much I want to study that I didn’t know where to start. Many people suggested I go to the Seoul Central Masjid. I’ve already completed the basic aqeedah and fiqh course there, and their beginner programs are really good. Still, I have a few problems right now. I work Monday to Saturday and only have Sundays off, and my hours are fixed unless it’s a national holiday. Because of that it’s hard to attend regular classes at the masjid. My choices are basically self-study with books or trying to find a mentor, but both feel difficult. As a beginner I don’t think learning completely alone is ideal. If I don’t understand something or get stuck, there isn’t much help available, so I worry I might learn things incorrectly. On weekdays I finish work at 7 PM and get home around 8 PM, sometimes later, and by then the masjid office is usually closed. Finding a teacher with strong Islamic knowledge in Korea is also tough - Islam isn’t widely practised here, so mentors are rare. I have two kind teachers, but they’re very busy and I feel awkward asking them every little question. The language barrier is another problem: I don’t speak foreign languages. Before, when I had questions I tried to find Hanafi fiqh answers that fit, but that has limits because sometimes nothing exactly matches my situation. For reference, I intend to follow the Hanafi madhhab in fiqh and I’m inclined toward Maturidi aqeedah. My goal is to learn Islam step by step from the basics, but I feel stuck at the start. Beyond beliefs, I’m unsure how to handle everyday situations here. For example, pork is very common in Korea and I run into dilemmas like: “What if lard gets on my clothes?” or “What if soap suds from a plate that had pork splash on me?” I know fiqh covers daily rulings, but I don’t know how to study it in an organized way. I really want to continue learning, but I’m not sure how to progress given my situation. What should I do? I’d be grateful for any practical advice, brothers and sisters. I used a translator to write this, so please forgive any mistakes. P.S. I keep my profile private because I’m uncomfortable sharing personal details online due to anxiety - I hope you understand.