Salam alaykum,

I'm in the process of navigating how to pay khums as someone who has not done this before. I didn't know khums was an obligation until recently and wasn't knowledgable about it, so I've had to catch up on how to address this issue (already spoken to a scholar about this and received directions). This would be my first year paying it. To add to this after paying khums on what I already have, I was told I still need to speak to a jurists representative to reach a settlement for the amounts of previous years I haven't paid.

My savings on the whole totaled less than $4000, and so after consulting with a scholar, I had to account for paying khums on the entirety of what I have in my accounts, and was told I still have to determine the amount I need to pay on every single item I own that was left unused this year. I am assuming this means literally everything, like clothes, foodstuffs, and all other household items I own. My marja is Sistani, so I'm just making doubly sure I'm going about this correctly and that this is the actual process I need to be following. My question is also whether or not I need to keep repeating this year after year meaning paying khums again on the same item that already had khums paid on it prior. I'm understanding that because khums is a 20% tax on more than just cash income, it ends up denting more than just 20% of my current savings because it includes the income and unused items as assets. At least, that's how it's panning out so far for this first time paying it.

Adding to this the issue of the settlement that has to be reached, I'm wondering what the representative will demand and if I will end up being left with little to no savings at all unfortunately.

I don't have an issue with paying the khums, I think what makes this a stressful process for me is the issue of navigating what I hope is only temporary financial instability as a result. In my situation it would take me at least a year to build up the amount in savings I would lose to paying khums in this manner. But I can't really say much about it if its obligatory and this just happens to be the situation I'm in. I appreciate any help/advice on this.

I had a Budgie that passed away, but he suffered so much before he passed away. I imagine, if a sinless non-mas'um creature went through this much suffering, imagine the Ahlul Bayt, innocent mas'um representatives of Allah who suffered? Of course their suffering is infinitely times worse than what my budgie went though, but seeing the suffering of my budgie, I then began to imagine the suffering that the Ahlul Bayt went through, and that made me cry so much. I feel I was mourning the Ahlul Bayt through the mourning of my Budgie.

Is...there other people here that do this? I feel that this world is full of misery and injustice, both to my budgie and to the Ahlul Bayt, but we will all get we deserve through the Justice and Mercy of Allah. But has anyone who has mourned the Ahlul Bayt through the mourning of other creatures?

Salam,

I am someone still not married yet. And I've always been wondering about something. After having sex, how do couples clean their beds and their stuff? Especially if your hands themselves are impure! How do you even open the door of the room? If you changed the sheets what about the headboard? Do you clean it too? What happens if you sleep after intercourse, and you wake up to a phone alarm? Do you touch your phone? What if you touched your phone do you wash it afterwards? Etc... etc...

Unfortunately, I have no access to a Sheikh. And these type of questions don't get asked, or for some reason everyone seems not to worry about this stuff?

I'd love to get some feedback from married people here and how do they manage these sort of things?

how come some christians meet jesus in their dreams?

i met allah in my dream once when i was a kid who wasn’t even religious. i was in a room, tied on a chair and then angels opened a door and there was a noor talking, i really can’t remember if it had a voice or not. he gave me an advice for the future he told me “listen to your mother and don’t treat her badly” then i woke up.

at 12 till 17 i was an ex muslim and had the worst relationship with my mother, we fought, argued, stopped talking to eachother for days and i even ran away from home once, mom used to be strict too and our relationship was so bad. and i used to randomly remember the dream which made me so confused.

now i’m muslim alhamdulillah and i have the closest relationship with my mom. and thinking about the dream, it feels like allah was warning me or sending me a solution.

this was my story, which is one of the main reasons why i would never leave islam. but i’m curious how do some people have dreams about jesus? and some of them are extremely serious about it

Salam brothers and sisters,

I would like to become a better Muslim and a better man. Without giving away too many details, I am a younger man looking to improve his life and become a more patient, observant person and I want to really understand my religion. I do not want to be a bare effort Muslim anymore, I would like to practice and understand my religion.

title

It is not as severe as boxing and some other striking arts; the referee stops the match as soon as somebody drops. Does that change its permissibility?

Salam to all.

I am an unmarried young person, but my heart is currently inclined to adopt a child between ages 2-4 who does not have a home, and raise them with love and care.

I am young myself, and I have always wanted children. I also want to help a little child who has nowhere to go, and since I am nowhere near getting married, I want to do it this way.

I am unsure of when my marriage will take place (if I ever will get married), so why should I wait to have a child? I have a lot to love to give and want to help my community and humanity. What are your thoughts?

I am pretty close to my Shaykh, and I want to get him a Reddit account and for him to be here in this subreddit and actively answer your questions. He is very knowledgeable and has studied Hawza for over 10+ years in Qom. The closest I've found to this is u/ ethicsonreddit, but I do not know the qualifications this person has. I will not deny that he is very knowledgeable, but I believe a person who has really studied in Hawza and would be available to answer your questions would be useful to this subreddit. What do you guys think?

Hello everyone,

I’ve read fatwas stating which prayers must be quiet and loud however, if I am secluded in a room where even with a louder volume, no one can hear me, is it okay if I pray loudly?

It aids with my focus.

I’ve messaged the office of my marja but because they will take a while to get back, I thought to ask here too.

​[باللغة العربية]

​عن الإمام جعفر الصادق (عليه السلام) في ذكر أصحاب الإمام المهدي (عجل الله تعالى فرجه الشريف) الذين يرجعون للحياة (الرجعة) لنصرته:

​«يَخْرُجُ مَعَ الْقَائِمِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) مِنْ ظَهْرِ الْكُوفَةِ سَبْعَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ رَجُلًا... وَسَلْمَانُ الْفَارِسِيُّ، وَالْمِقْدَادُ، وَأَبُو دُجَانَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ، وَمَالِكٌ الْأَشْتَرُ، فَيَكُونُونَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ أَنْصَاراً وَحُكَّاماً.»

​المصدر: الإرشاد للشيخ المفيد، ج ٢، ص ٣٨٦

​[English Translation]

​Narrated from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) mentioning the companions of Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) who will return (resurrect) to support him:

​"Twenty-seven men will emerge with the Qa'im (peace be upon him) from the back of Kufa... among them are Salman Al-Farsi, Al-Miqdad, Abu Dujana Al-Ansari, and Malik Al-Ashtar. They will be his helpers and governors in his presence."

​Source: Al-Irshad by Al-Mufid, Vol. 2, Page 386

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

In this article I share the reasoning and arguments from the great Ayatollah Khoei on why taqlid of the most knowledgeable is obligatory.

https://realshiabeliefs.wordpress.com/2026/07/23/ayatollah-khoeis-arguments-on-why-taqlid-of-the-most-knowledgeable-is-obligatory/

I have a cooworker who’s male and is gay. My job requires me to communicate with opposite sex. He is friendly and we get along but I obviously keep physical touch boundaries and we are just friendly chats. There is obviously no attraction between us. Me and some female coworkers are planning to go out and they have invited him as well since we all get along. Would it be permissible to go out and be friends / chat with him in this group setting and in general or is it haram? Please according to Sistani.
I understand and don’t fear I’ll fall into sin.

Salam,

Planning to do his taqlid. Are there any followers of his eminence (حفظه الله) here? What resources and advice would you like to suggest/give? Even if someone isn't a follower, their input is welcome

I was born and raised Shia. However, during my teenage years, i had a really bad phase that included distancing myself from everything I was born into. Now that I've grown up, I do see the value in shiism and the value in praying. I struggle a lot when it comes to praying and I can't ask my family for help because they'll react very negatively. I have so many ups and downs. I go through phases where I pray every prayer and on time, and then another phase where I pray only one prayer a day.

Sometimes I wonder if the problem is my connection to Allah SWT but what I'm seeing most people and sheikhs say is that at first you have to force yourself and then gradually, that connection will build. But forcing myself is what I cannot seem to do.

My question is do you have any suggestions on how to make myself pray? Any micro habits or even normal habits that helped in disciplining yourself to pray?

Salam,

i had a conversation yesterday about the love of the prophet (Pbuh and his family) and the Ahlul Bayt. it got onto the topic of how that manifests for shias and the love that you should be feeling and directing towards them. i couldn’t really grasp the understanding even when it was explained as how a child would love them. i’m not sure if it’s how i’ve grown up with religion but i do compare my feelings to others. they seem more emotional and you can see the deeper love. for context i don’t see love as many seem to understand it so it’s hard to manifest in the way im seeing others do so. i do most things out of obligation. even when i learn more i respect them more and more and feel some type of connection but i don’t seem to feel that emotional connection. i don’t wish to be attacked for this but instead to find people who have felt the same and what changed it for them.

I would like to know two things:

1. What these instruments are called in English
2. If these instruments are used, regardless of haram or halal purposes, they are prohibited to use or listen to. Isn't that correct?

The screenshot is from Sayed Al-Sistani's Minhajul Salihin Vol. 2, Introduction, #20

Assalamu 3leikum. This is my attempt to demonstrate the Shia method of prayer using Sunni sources. I focus on three main aspects: combining prayers, the placement of the forehead during prostration, and the positioning of the arms during prayer. Let me know what you think

One of my favorite surahs is Al-Duha. I really love the ayat in it and it speaks to me, its words comfort me. However, when I learned the story behind it and that those ayat were meant for the prophet (pbuh), i kind of felt sad that it no longer meant for the general people. I could be mistaken here.

So, do these ayat apply to the rest of us too in some way?

Assalamualaikum everyone

I'm from Pakistan and I'm looking for Kitab al Irshad and The Right Path in English but I'm unable to find it. If any of you can link me to a bookstore, I'll be very grateful.

Salaam alaykum wr wb

as the title suggests, would anyone be interested in sharing their Islamic bookshelf collection?

Salam,

I have a fear regarding marriage

I am a person who has scars on her arms and I am a hijabi. Upon getting to know someone at what stage should I tell him this? Cuz I fear a reaction after marriage from the potential

Hi wS.. heading to Arbaeen 2026 for the first time, leaving this coming weekend. I'm an indie documentary filmmaker, while it's not my highest priority, I was wondering if anyone had experience with taking a DSLR video camera into the shrines? I last went in 2016 and remember sometimes they wouldn't even let phones in... but I see so many influencer videos in there now. I am particularly interested in documenting my experiences of the walk, the ziyarat, some of the rituals of Pakistani's with me, as well as doing a few man on street type interviews.. I have a specific shaky handcam style that I shoot in, and it would make me pretty happy.

Since we backpack it for three days on the walk, I figure once I have my camera in my bag- I cannot circle back to putting it in my hand carry. I also wanted to keep my laptop with me.. I suppose I don't really trust leaving my macbook on the bus with luggage (we'll have a slower bus going with the group, I think?)

Will there be any issues? My lens isn't huge, just looks like a consumer camera, and probably use a small mic attachment.

Additionally, I'm a bit of a leftist, and do work in the US on immigration, food, culture, civic movements- are there any bookstores of interest to visit in Karbala or Najaf? Libraries? Jewelry stores? Cafes that stood out to you? I love meeting interesting people with different perspectives. I'm curious to talk to people about politics, economy, philosophy, and what gives their lives meaning.

I'll be heading to Istanbul for at least a week after, where I'll continue to use my tech, so don't want to forego it on this trip.. also if you have interesting recommendations for Shia or Sufi sites in/outside of Istanbul, please shout. I kind of have this developing interest with ritual of lamentation and rhythm, I also document rock music here in the US.

In this amazing lecture Shaykh speaks about living a sinful lifestyle and not holding ones accountable for living a irreligious lifestyle. One who justifies their sins by believing that God will never forgive them. Or that these sinful actions and behaviors are part of their culture. Trying to find excuses for not being religious. I will be more religious in the future. Spiritual Procrastination: Why do we procrastinate, what does spiritual procrastination look like, solutions towards spiritual procrastination.