Struggling to Hold On to My Deen
As-salamu alaykum everyone. I've been in a rough place for a while, and honestly, I don't even know where to begin. Things just kept piling up, you know? For a few months, I was doing so well in my deen. I was also in a halal relationship, with proper family involvement, and I truly believed it would lead to marriage insha'Allah. But it ended because his family wasn't happy that I'm from a different country. That pain cut really deep. That situation isn't the only reason I've stepped back from practicing, but it's a big part of it. It felt like a betrayal, like I was just cast aside. These kinds of rejections seem to happen to me a lot, and it hurts to get so hopeful about someone you care for, only to lose them so suddenly. I don't have a huge circle of people close to me, so losing that connection felt like losing my whole support system at the time. I just feel abandoned. It's happened before, but I really thought this time would be different. My self-confidence has taken a huge hit because of it, and I'm really unhappy with how I look right now. What upsets me the most is that people-and especially other Muslims-can still be like this: mean, unreasonable, and racist. I know our beautiful deen doesn't condone this behavior at all, but being treated this way so often makes me want to distance myself from anything to do with that community. I think that's why I've pulled back. I hate the idea of sharing the same faith with people who can act so harshly. My iman is still there, by Allah's grace, but maybe my love for the community or the cultural aspects around it has faded. For now, wearing my hijab is one of the few things I'm holding onto tightly.