When did you realise you needed to stop making the same dua because it was harming you?
Assalamu alaikum - I hope this doesn’t come across as strange. I’m a woman, and for about 3–5 years I kept praying nonstop to get married. I tried to do my part: got (and still getting) an education, exercising, moved to a bigger city, met new friends and told them I was looking (but no one was interested), met people at work, tried apps, stayed active on Instagram and Facebook, even reached out to some men. The last man I liked I messaged and he left me on read. That past year has been really hard. I used to make dua almost every night in tahajjud, when it rained, while fasting, tried to be good to my parents, gave charity, and cried out loud in the middle of the night when no one could hear. I searched for Laylatul-Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan, spent the day of Arafah in dua - I honestly don’t know what I didn’t try. But I’ve reached a point where I think: if it was best for me, Allah would have granted it already. This has become unhealthy - I don’t sleep properly, I wake up many times at night, I obsess and develop negative feelings about myself. What hurts most is the silence. I believe Allah is The Giver, The Responsive, Most Merciful; I don’t doubt His attributes. Still, the lack of an apparent answer is breaking me. I know Allah doesn’t owe me an answer, and I had so much hope. I told some things only to Him and was convinced He would respond. That silence is what pains me the most. So I’ve decided, for my own well-being, to let go of this particular constant dua because it’s feeding delusions and damaging my health. I need to create a plan to live a content life even if I remain single. I’m asking other Muslim women: what are your plans? How do you live and find meaning when you accept you might remain unmarried? Edit: I’ve read many posts saying “never stop making dua,” but right now that relentless hope is pulling me away from salah and from feeling close to Allah, worsening my thoughts and health. I need practical ways to move forward while maintaining my faith.