Assalamu Alikum Hope every one is doing well Just wanted to share how I am feeling lately and to get some words of Advice. Feeling very down , am not where I need to be in terms of working on my self, not successful in terms of searching for a potential, at the same time struggling with finding employment . I am in my mid thirties now and I am very tired of waiting for things to change . The most thing that bothers me is seeing my parents feeling sad or worried for me . I really want to make them happy, I know I am being tested but I am very down .

I’m just here to learn from others’s experience bcuz I’ve got no clue about marriage; I’ve only ever lived with my mum (single) and never really seen what a marriage is like, let alone a healthy islamic marriage🥲 So plz guys guide towards the right direction, and I pray for everyone’s success in their journeys ❤️

As salaamualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh dear sisters 💮 I am wondering... Is it enough of a reason... To stop talking to someone who may be great for you because you don't want to relocate to be very far away from your parents and family and visiting them may be very occasional. Do not get me wrong... the phrasing of this is not in any way to diminish the importance of parents and family... in fact its so important that it may just supersede everything else... Consider they don't want to relocate as well for other reasons. Alhamdullillah in any case I'm wondering what you think and I'm wondering what scholars advise about this as well I was thinking of sending this question also to dear MM through the form but it wants me to use a g account... so here it goes!

I am faced with the dilemma of handshaking in my culture, and it goes against our Islamic beliefs. I know that Islam came to abolish cultures that do not please Allah. I had a lengthy conversation about it with my mother and arrived at an understanding that I cannot judge someone's religiousity based on this alone. I know that to be true because I only found out in 2019 and knew how difficult it was to stop it. I was able to resort to the niqab, and that made me safe in our cultural understanding. It does not excuse the behaviour, of course. My parents also shake hands, and my siblings avoid it, but not when cornerd sometimes. There is also this very disturbing pattern where guys who do not shake hands end up relapsing and shaking hands again later on down the line. May Allah keep us firm on his straight path. I know that with deen, no one can be certain about their own safety and the safety of their chosen partner. How can I consolidate this issue, knowing that handshaking is a very important thing in our culture, be it due to pressure or ignorance? If a guy's akhlaq are good, and this is the only thing making me not want to give him a chance, what should I do about it? I know that this is something between him and his lord, and at the same time know I can change it when I raise my own kids, and maybe he will too with time. I suggested to my mom asking any potential who does if he can stop it, and she advised me against it because that can allow him to use it against me. What should I do about it? I am starting to think that it should be a preference rather than a non-negotiable. I do not know if this is settling or not. At the same time, there is a disturbing majority trend that the same guys who do not shake hands end up being the most corrupt ones regarding lowering their gaze and their behaviour with women and it is only discovered after marriage because they're just strangely good at hiding it from the woman they're interested in. I do know that asking is also part of the vetting process, but I am really confused right now about whether or not I will end up sabotaging a good guy because of this.@Mindful Muslimah