Why can't I feel connected to Islam?
Assalamu alaikum. I've never really felt religious, even though my family and everyone around me are practicing. I just do the basics, but it never brings me peace or love for Islam. When it's time to pray or anything Islamic, it feels like a burden. I struggle with many things: praying, reading Quran, and especially wearing hijab-that's the hardest. Lately, I only follow out of fear of punishment and my family's expectations. Any good in Islam gets overshadowed by what I see as negative, and I honestly can't find much I like about it. Even as a child in Islamic classes, things felt unreal-the stories of the Prophets, rulings that seem outdated, and stuff that feels unfair to women (in my view), plus actions of the Prophets that confuse me. I wish I could just believe like those around me, but as I grow older, my faith weakens. Learning more makes it worse, and I almost wish I could forget what I know so I wouldn't leave. I thought maybe I needed more faith, so I tried praying more (felt nothing) and studying more, watching lectures, speaking to my teacher-but I'm always disagreeing and doubting. So much of it doesn't sit right with my morals and who I am. Still, I don't want to leave Islam. I don't want to go to Jahannam. I wonder why Allah made me this way. I'm not being disrespectful-just sharing my thoughts and hoping for advice from my brothers and sisters in faith.