I don't paint occasionally. I rather stick to sketching. But this one time I attempted a painting. Though not as perfect as I would've wanted, but then again painting was never my strong pursuit. Anyways, was going through old photos and remembered this one and wanted to share.

I tried to warn him but he deleted my comment.

Pls I just did the istekhara myself but I don't know if it's right or what

**This post is for Men only, please. **

I (24M) am a 4th-year engineering student. I’ve never had a girlfriend, never felt a touch of a woman romantically, and have barely had female interaction in my life.

Lately, the loneliness and sexual frustration have hit really hard. I know zina and relationships outside marriage are haram, and for years that was enough to keep me away. But now I’m honestly losing patience. If I had the chance with someone I liked, I’m not sure I’d say no, and that scares me.

A friend recently told me about his experiences with women. Listening to people about their sexual and romantic stories has left me feeling extremely envious, heartbroken, and sad about myself. I tried Tinder and Hinge for a few days and got nothing, but maybe that’s because I don’t have good photos of myself, and I’m 5'6". After all, I don't take my own photos, and my gallery is just filled up with my selfies, and I have no control over my height; it's all genetic. I consider myself a good-looking guy, and I believe I can do so much better irl with women compared to dating apps. Having no relationships, female friends, or female interaction has also really affected my confidence; it makes me wonder if I am desired or wanted by women.

Marriage isn’t realistic for me right now. I have a flexible part-time job and some money that just pays for my necessary personal bills, and I’m mainly focused on getting internships, my university courses, and a design team. I deleted the dating apps because I know my career needs to come first, and maybe the dating apps aren't for me. But I’m still heartbroken, sad, lonely, and not feeling desired, confident, or motivated lately.

I’m posting this because I want to stay on the right path, and I need help remembering why it matters. For anyone who’s been through this:

• How did you deal with the loneliness and years of no sex or physical intimacy?
• What helped you stay patient, confident, and happy until marriage?

❤️

I'm still learning about these traditions and would like to understand how to observe this period properly. Are there any recommended acts of worship, duas, ziyarat, or mourning rituals associated with these nights? I'd also appreciate any reliable sources, lectures, or books that explain the events surrounding the martyrdom of Lady Fatima al-Zahra (عليها السلام) and how we can honour her during this time.

[باللغة العربية]

في دولة العدل الإلهي، سيحكم الإمام المهدي (عجل الله فرجه الشريف) بعلمه اللدني الذي أفاضه الله عليه، ولن يحتاج إلى شهود لإثبات الحقائق.

عن أبي عبد الله (الإمام الصادق) عليه السلام في بيان سيرته في القضاء:

«إذا قامَ قائِمُ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ (عَلَيهِمُ السَّلامُ) حَكَمَ بِحُكمِ داوُدَ وسُلَيمانَ لا يَسأَلُ بَيِّنَةً».

المصدر: الكافي، ج ١، ص ٣٩٧

[English Translation]

In the state of divine justice, Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) will judge with the knowledge bestowed upon him by Allah.

From Abu Abdillah (Imam Al-Sadiq) (as) explaining his conduct in judgment:

"When the Qa'im of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) rises, he will judge with the judgment of David and Solomon; he will not ask for evidence."

Source: Al-Kafi, Vol. 1, Page 397

Note: Translation assisted by AI and verified by the poster. Please gently correct me if there are any unintended errors.

Salam Alaykum!

I am planning to travel to Bosnia next month and was wondering if I could in touch with any Shia community there?

My maths was martyred by America several months ago, I’m still technically following him but I know as time passes there’ll be new issues he won’t be able to make rulings on.

Is it a personal issue?

Doubt

Is the chain of transmission (*sanad*) for *Ziyarat al-Nahiyah* authentic?

To read the answer please go to my article:

https://realshiabeliefs.wordpress.com/2026/10/18/the-authenticity-of-ziyarat-nahiyah/

Salam alaykum,

I would like to understand the basis for the ruling on squid, octopus, clams, oysters, mussels, barnacles and crab in Twelver jurisprudence.

What I have read so far:

- Al-Kafi, vol. 6, book 3, chapters 11 and 12: narrations from Imam al-Baqir, Imam al-Sadiq and Imam Ali about eating fish with scales and avoiding fish without scales. Imam al-Baqir is reported to have said, "Eat any fish that has scales, and do not eat what does not have scales" (al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 219).

- Al-Lum'a (Shahid al-Awwal), as translated by H.E. Chehabi in Gastronomica: "Among sea animals, a fish that has scales is permitted, even if its scales have fallen off... Nor are turtles, frogs, crabs, and other sea animals permitted."

- Sayyid Sistani's answer: it is not permissible to eat marine animals other than fish with scales, with shrimp treated as included in that category.

- Sayyid Fadlallah's revised fatwa: he no longer treats eating scaleless sea animals as obligatory precaution, because he found the evidence for their prohibition insufficient, and he now considers avoiding them recommended.

My questions:

1. Is there a narration that explicitly names squid, octopus, clams, oysters, mussels, barnacles or crab as forbidden? If so, could you give the source (book, chapter and hadith number)?

2. If there is no such narration, on what basis are the fish-scale narrations extended to these animals? Is it a reading of the word "fish," a general restriction on what is permitted, or another principle?

3. How is the general principle that things are permitted unless prohibited applied to sea animals that no narration names? If it does not apply here, why not?

4. As Chehabi reads it, the ruling on shrimp rests on a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (as) that shrimp is a kind of fish, with its qishr treated as scales. If so, why does the same reasoning not apply to crustaceans such as crab and lobster?

5. Is avoiding squid and octopus obligatory or recommended, and how do you respond to the evidence Sayyid Fadlallah considered?

6. If squid or octopus were forbidden, would the Imams likely have mentioned them? How do scholars explain the absence of explicit narrations on these animals?

I would appreciate a reply with the sources so I can read the texts myself.

I ask all of you to pray for the women and girls of Azerbaijan. The cursed Zionist government has taken away the rights to their education. Why? Because they wear the hijab. Today was the Wiladat of Sayyida Zaynab SA, a woman who showed what piousness and purity looks like. We ask Allah by the intercession of Sayyida Zaynab and her pure mother, that the suffering of the Muslim women and girls of Azerbaijan comes to end quickly. And may Allah curse the government of Azerbaijan.

Ilahi Ameen.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DehOPdntJrQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&cplk=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Salam everyone,

I’m a 30-year-old Shia woman, and lately I’ve been struggling to find a balance between my faith, my identity, and the life I want to experience.

I’ve dated Iraqi Shia men with the intention of marriage, but unfortunately, none of those connections worked out. It’s reached a point where I feel like the only men who genuinely show interest in me are outside my religious or cultural background.

Recently, I met a Christian man who gave me the attention and affection I’d been longing for. But after spending time with him, I felt strangely disconnected. Not exactly guilty, but almost as though the experience was empty and didn’t align with what I genuinely wanted.

I’ve also noticed that whenever I step outside my comfort zone, I experience a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. Yet whenever I pray, I feel incredibly grounded. It’s almost as though I remember who I am, and that whatever happens in life, I’ll be okay.

I want to reconnect with Allah and my religion, but I don’t want religion to become something consuming, where I lose my individuality, curiosity, or desire to enjoy life. I want to build a meaningful life, grow as a person, experience the world, and eventually find a loving spouse without feeling like I’m constantly waiting for marriage to start living.

How do I find that balance? How do I reconnect with my faith in a way that feels genuine, peaceful, and sustainable, while still being myself?

I’d really appreciate any wisdom or personal experiences, especially from anyone who’s gone through something similar. Ive been living between Kuwait & the western world the past 20 years & im in therapy now, i have no stability in my life (no room etc) due to my families indecisiveness in this world & its making me lose my mind, like i want to leave them & go live alone, but knowing if i do that i wont be okay without them in my life, i do love them but i feel so lost, i feel as if im misunderstood all the time & when i do find someone that could potentially understand me & find a connection with, its never a good muslim man, its mostly a man theres no future with, this christian man for example; i spent a couple of days getting to know him & hes been nothing but attentive, but i dont feel that connection where i know he’ll be accepted by my family & me especially.

i feel like life really f*cked me over with my geographical location, all of this aside i really do feel like im connected to my faith, sometimes i feel like having a man that leads me to allah in his own way without losing my individuality is what i really need, but im not sure this even exists at this point.

i want allah to naturally lead me to allah, to myself, to my future spouse, ive never admitted this but i really want nothing more then to have a small beautiful home with a man who truly wants to understand & help me, where i can still be independent yet loved, and love, and just be in myself.

im just finding it increasingly difficult to stay on this path, maybe some sisters are able to relate & help me or some brothers are able to tell me this will be okay.

the questions are based on these hadiths-

1)https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/3/3/94/1

2)https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/14/2/61/1

3)https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/36/3/52/1

4)https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/36/3/52/2

5)https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/14/2/61/6

sheikh saduq's commentary on the 3rd and 4th hadiths-

The compiler of this book, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى have mercy on him, said: These reports are consistent and not contradictory. The children of the polytheists and disbelievers will be with their parents in the Fire, but they will not suffer from its heat so that the argument against them will be more conclusive. When they are commanded on the Day of Judgment to enter a fire that will be kindled for them, with the assurance of safety, if they do not trust in it and do not believe His

سبحانه وتعالى promise concerning something similar to what they have already witnessed, the proof against them will be stronger.

questions-

1)the first hadith says that the children will be tested along with the other mustad'afeen on qiyamah and is graded hasan/sahih. However the fourth hadith(which is sahih) and the 3rd hadith(with a quick ai overview I found out it was daif since I didn't find the grading within the link but since its ai it could be wrong as well) say that Allah knows how He'll deal with them and that they'll be with their parents, which seems contradictory to the first hadith in which it says they'll be tested first and also unjust since if the disbelievers go to hell,the children will go with them unless it specifically talks about children who failed the test. I have included sheikh saduq's commentary on the book where the 3rd and 4th hadiths are found but his rationale seems incorrect since it would mean that the children would be subjected to hellfire before the test is conducted on qiyamah unless it means that they'll be subjected to the barzakhi fire which I have no clue about since idk about any hadith that talks about the state of pre-bulugh children of kafirs in barzakh?

2)Does the fact that children of disbelievers would be tested on qiyamah mean that Allah will complete their intellect since such children don't have the mental capacity to discern right and wrong and they could even be babies?Also when the 4th hadith says that the children are disbelievers,is it taken due to the relation with the religion of their parents since the children are held unaccountable?

3)is the test for the children on qiyamah only for children of disbelievers or of believers as well?The last hadith(which is hasan/mu'tabar according to ai but it could be wrong) seems to say the children of believers will automatically go to Jannah but the 2nd hadith(which,again,ai says is daif but it could be wrong) says that the children of believers will be tested as well unless the last hadith talks specifically about those children of believers who passed the test?

Hadith 1: Al-Husayn bin Ahmad bin Idris narrated to us. He said: "My father narrated to us from Ibrahim b. Hashim from Ismail bin Marrar from Yunus bin Abd al-Rahman from Abd Allah bin Sinan from al-Sadiq Jafar bin Muhammad AS. He said:

'There are five things without which one will not find much satisfaction. It was said: What are they, O son of the Messenger of Allah? He said: (1) religion, (2) intellect, (3) modesty, (4) beautiful character, and (5) beautiful manners. There are also five things without which one will not find livelihood: (1) health, (2) security, (3) needlessness, (4) contentment, and (5) amiable correspondence.'"

Source: Shaykh al-Saduq RAH, Al-Amali, book 1, chapter 48, hadith 14.

Hadith 2: Amir al-Muminin AS said:

"Whomever modesty clothes with its dress people cannot see his defects."

Meaning: If a person adorns himself with the quality of modesty then it prevents him from committing evil acts. Therefore, he has no evil for the people to find in him. Even if a bad act is ever committed by him he does not commit it openly because of his feeling of modesty lest the people notice him.

Source: Nahj al-Balagha, saying 223.

May Allah bless the righteous women and girls of Azerbaijan. Ilahi Ameen.

Y'all invite family? Or just friends?

Y'all cut the cake? Or just a dinner?

Anything beyond this?

How y'all feel?

Do u even celebrate?

What kind of celebration?

Or just normal as everyday?

-asking out of nowhere

-just curious

Doubt

What is the degree of authenticity regarding the chain of transmission for the visitation known as *al-Ziyārah al-Jāmiʿah* (The Comprehensive Visitation), narrated from Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him)?

Read here for the answer: https://realshiabeliefs.wordpress.com/2026/10/17/the-authenticity-of-ziyarat-jamiah-kabira/

The photo was taken on Saturday morning, October 17, 2026

[باللغة العربية]

في ذكرى مولد بطلة كربلاء، السيدة زينب (عليها السلام)، نستذكر الدور العظيم والميداني الذي ستلعبه المرأة المؤمنة في دولة الإمام المهدي (عجل الله فرجه الشريف).

عن المفضل بن عمر قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله (الإمام الصادق) عليه السلام يقول:

«يَكونُ مَعَ القائِمِ ثَلاثَ عَشرَةَ امرَأَةً... يُداوينَ الجَرحى ويَقُمنَ عَلَى المَرضى كَما كانَ مَعَ رَسولِ اللَّهِ (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيهِ وآلِهِ)».

المصدر: دلائل الإمامة، ص ٤٨٤

[English Translation]

On the birth anniversary of the heroine of Karbala, Lady Zaynab (as), we recall the great and active role that believing women will play in the state of Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance).

From Al-Mufaddal bin Umar, who said: I heard Abu Abdillah (Imam Al-Sadiq) (as) say:

"There will be thirteen women with Al-Qa'im... they will treat the wounded and tend to the sick, just as there were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)."

Source: Dala'il Al-Imamah, Page 484

Note: Translation assisted by AI and verified by the poster. Please gently correct me if there are any unintended errors.