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Assalamu alaikum - Born Muslim but drifted from praying

Assalamu alaikum. I was born into a Muslim family; both my parents embraced Islam after a war that lasted about four years. They found each other and later separated. After a difficult divorce, my two siblings and I stayed with our mother. After the divorce my mother turned fully to Allah (MashaAllah) and is diligent with her prayers, even trying to pray when she’s at work if she can. But my siblings and I slowly drifted away from regular prayer. We stopped praying and have even told our mom we prayed when we didn’t. Every time I lie about it I feel like crying. It’s hard and I feel so guilty for her - she went through so much. My younger sibling has basically left the faith but hasn’t told her. My older sibling tries to pray but says they can’t feel the connection to Allah anymore. I’m the same: when I try to pray I just don’t feel anything. My thoughts wander to how my back should be straight or whether my legs are exactly right, and then on to other things. My mom always talks about how praying makes her feel so light and blessed to have found this way of life. And I sit there nodding, knowing her hope for a full Muslim household is slipping away. When we try to tell her gently that we feel distant from Allah, she tries to talk to us and pushes us back toward the faith, not accepting that we feel disconnected. My mother is kind and gentle with us, but when it comes to Islam she’s devoted and wants us to be too. My heart breaks. Whenever I try to come back to prayer I realize I’m mostly doing it for my mother, not for myself or for Allah, and that makes it feel hollow. I don’t know how to change that - I’ve read a lot about reconnecting with Allah but nothing stuck, and I ended up giving up. I’m sharing this because I don’t know what to do and I feel torn between wanting to ease my mother’s pain and wanting a sincere relationship with Allah.

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Comments

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Sending love. Your feelings are valid. Maybe talk to a female imam or counselor who understands drifting faith without judgement. Sometimes a fresh voice helps more than family pressure.

+18
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Honestly, stop lying to your mom - it’s eating you up. Tell her you’re struggling and ask for patience. She loves you more than appearances, I think. And try to pray privately without expectation, just for practice.

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You’re allowed to question and feel distant. Faith isn’t a straight line. Try reconnecting through things that move you - Quran recitation, nature, charity. Little sincere acts can rebuild feeling, not instant perfection.

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I’m in the same boat. I used to overthink every movement in prayer and just felt fake. What helped was focusing on one line of dua and the meaning, not the posture. Don’t be too hard on yourself, girl.

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This hurt to read. My advice: be honest with your mom when you can, gently. She might be sad but she loves you; hiding it feels worse long-term. And try different types of worship - dhikr, listening to Quran - not only formal prayer.

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Wa alaikum assalam. I’ve been there - pretending to pray to keep peace sucks. Maybe start small, just two raka’ahs with no pressure. Little steps helped me reconnect slowly. You’re not a bad daughter for struggling, just human.

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