Feeling Distanced from Faith Because of Society - Assalamu Alaikum
Assalamu Alaikum. recently ive been feeling more and more bitter toward society and people in general. it feels like many of us are drifting away from original Islamic teachings and picking up habits from other cultures. men seem to be getting greedier and more prideful, misusing responsibilities that were meant for good. women are becoming more westernized in behavior, sometimes ignoring duties and trying to please people instead of pleasing the One who created us. when i was younger i used to question certain islamic rulings because they didnt make sense to me. boys in class and even my Islamiat teacher would joke and brag about “men’s right to have four wives.” seeing things taken out of context made me doubt the religion itself for a while, but i kept telling myself Allah must have wisdom behind it. that’s what helped when i finally read the quran with translation around 15 or 16 and learned the context. this modernized version of islam has become so common that even some parents seem affected. instead of asking “what does islam say?” their concern is “what will society think?” some parents force the hijab on their daughters without explaining the wisdom behind it, expecting immediate acceptance. instead of having honest talks with sons about lowering the gaze, avoiding major sins like pornography and masturbation, respecting women, and not abusing power or freedom, many parents let sons do as they please and favor them over daughters. ive had many younger girls tell me they sometimes struggle with faith because if you havent read the quran or ahadith, islam can look like it favors men: men dont have menstrual cycles or childbirth, some cultures prize sons more than daughters, there are misconceptions about polygyny, honor killing happens in certain cultures, men often move more freely in public, etc. these social realities confuse them. i try to share what i know to help, but i remember being like them in my early teens. after being sexually assaulted twice as a child, i entered adolescence full of anger and hatred toward males and life. that anger grew and i isolated myself. by Allah’s mercy i met a sister online who had converted from christianity to islam and she helped me see not all people are bad. still, i keep struggling with anger at societal, cultural and in-law pressures and at this watered-down version of our religion. there are so many other issues i dislike in the modern muslim community - couples behaving like boyfriends and girlfriends are a must before marriage, married women discouraged from leaving harmful marriages, men preferring brides with certain degrees or pedigrees - but this is already long. my main point: im not perfect. no one is. my iman is weaker than many others, and i fear for this generation and those to come. thats why lately ive had real struggles with faith, constantly reminding myself that islam itself is complete and pure, and that many of the absurd, made-up standards i see arent from islam. but it gets harder to keep telling myself that every day. any advice, duas, or reminders would mean a lot. jazakAllah khair.