Have you ever had a question you wanted to ask someone about but didn't really want to talk with anyone you knew personally? Of course you have. From time to time, we all grapple with feelings, questions, and insecurities but don't necessarily feel comfortable sharing with someone who knows us and who will always remember that we asked them about our situation. Sometimes, talking to a stranger is just what we need, but certainly not just any warm body off the street. Well, welcome to "Dear Hadi," your friendly online American Muslim advice column.
Our goal at "Dear Hadi" is not to issue fatwas, or talk about things only in terms of halal and haram, but rather to offer advice from people who, based on their life experiences as American Muslims deeply involved with the Muslim community, likely share a lot with you with regard to your concerns, values and moral framework.
Okay, so before we get started, just a few ground rules and disclaimers - to make all the lawyers happy :)
1. Questions are submitted anonymously - remember, that's a main goal here (being able to comfortably ask your question to a stranger)
2. Please be respectful in asking your questions - any questions that are profane or vulgar will not be considered.
3. While any question can be submitted, it won't be possible to answer all questions, but we'll do our best to select questions that have common themes, so perhaps an answer to one question will be helpful to several people. Our goal will be to answer a couple of questions a week in the column, so please do not be hurt, offended or feel slighted if your question is not answered.
4. The responses are simply the good faith opinions of the "Dear Hadi" columnists, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of IslamiCity. Additionally, the responses are not intended to serve as fatwas, legal advice, medical advice, tax advice etc (happy yet lawyers?)
Phew, now that that's out of the way, we hope you'll join us on this journey. God-willing, we can offer some kind, helpful, compassionate advice that will lighten someone's day, or ease someone's mind.