It is hard for me to pray when depressed because.....
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
It is hard for me to pray when depressed because I feel weak and I feel like all the energy is drained from me. However, I have a boyfriend (we do not have sex) and I know it is wrong for him to hug me yet it is too hard for me to give him up. I will feel weak and depressed. At the same time I want to do what is right but I do not want to be alone. It seems that I want to follow my religion more when I am with him. Also, because of this, have all my prayers and fasting been nulled, as a result?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Sister meeting up with a non-mehram man alone is vehemently prohibited in Islam. You are fortunate that you have so far indulged only in hugging each other which is bad enough. When two non-mehrams are alone the third is the shaytaan who will instigate you both to commit sins.
Sister you are playing with fire and committing a grave sin. You must stop this meeting and talking immediately if you want to remain safe and pure. This is the beginning which will lead to enormous problems and tensions especially for you. See for yourself where this sort of permissibility has lead the youth of the western world into.
If the boy is serious, he should either approach your guardians himself or ask his elders to approach your guardians and ask for your hand in marriage. That would be an honorable thing to do. So far you have not committed any major sin, but before you can fathom anything it will lead to zina and then the guilt and other tensions will destroy your peace of mind. Your prayers and fasting will not be nullified by your committing such sins, but you should keep these good practices intact and supplicate Allah swt to guide and protect you.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Members of Islamhelpline
Wister