Muslim singles often want to share love, companionship, values, and faith. This being said, a government sanctioned app would not be realistic within the western world. But it is interesting to see how the features real ukrainian brides of this app allows for it to be more along the lines of Islamic teachings. The app is called ‘Hamdam’ and introduces the users’ families together initially with the presence of service consultants from the app.

Although his mom had given the go ahead, she and others in the family weren’t 100 percent in support of the wedding when the Nikah came around, Yugar says. Their Shaadi — the reception where the bride’s family hosts for the groom’s family — was going to be held in Boston.

“Ideal and halal way to meet a potential spouse”

Whether you meet your partner on Muslim dating apps or in real life, there are a few rules that you must follow to have a halal relationship. Consider how to best apply some of these Muslim dating rules to your budding romance. Hodges refers to this gap as “that ocean between England and America,” where words might be the same, but the way they are perceived is vastly different. Mia, a 20-year-old Ethiopian-American college student who has shied away from having sex with her boyfriend of almost a year, can attest to this. But words, especially those borrowed from other places, soon take on the cultural contexts in which they are used. “Dating” has only recently seeped into young Muslims’ everyday vernacular, so it may be a while before it takes on the local contexts within which it is used.

We look at some of the opportunities and challenges for modern Muslim singles both in the U.S. and globally, and why eharmony is your best bet finding real love. Other Muslim dating apps include Salams, formerly Minder, which has about four million users according to the company.

Where Muslims Meet

Before the rise of a Western cultural influence, finding a spouse was a task almost solely assigned to parents or relatives. But young Muslims have now taken it upon themselves to find their partners, relying on their own version of dating to do so. Older Muslims continue to reject dating because they worry that a Western world will also create Western expectations of premarital sex in these relationships. Muslim dating apps and gatherings, where young people can find others who share their religion and values, appeal to younger Muslims who want that voice. The couple met on Muzmatch, a Muslim dating app, and hit it off quickly. They understood each other’s level of religiosity, says Malik, but she still struggled to balance her faith while dating freely. It was difficult to live under the judgment of others in the community, she says.

• As someone in my mid-twenties, I’m essentially a prime target for dating apps, yet this was my first time trying one.
• As long as we can maintain our communication with our spouses, this will ensure a strong and consistent connection throughout these very difficult times.
• That stigma, prevalent in many immigrant communities, also applies to meeting people online, which is generally viewed by some as desperate.

This still does not take away from the fact that these apps can still be utilised in an Islamic way, it is just circumstantial. As well as give 24 hours to say something to a match or else the app delete the match and if there hasn’t been much conservation the match should be deleted.

Choosing a Life Partner in Islam

Again, I don’t know what technically qualifies as dating from person to person, but I would definitely call it dating. None of them were serious, so looking back at it now, I only find shame in myself for letting those “boyfriends” happen. Do I think I learned a lot about myself and Islam through them? By no means am I saying that people should go out and date people to learn Islam, I’m just saying what I got out of it. Through being part of something most Muslims regard as haram, I found extremely valuable lessons.

• Their Valima, which is the reception from the groom’s family, was going to be held in Peru, where some of Yugar’s family lives.
• Another factor for Salih was the divide in nationality and race within the Muslim community that she saw reflected in the apps.
• Today, InshaAllah—individuals are certain of their intention to marry, prioritizing blessings over extravagant spending.
• In this film, we meet Muslims using “halal dating apps”, as well as app and platform developers.
• Starting the online dating process with a good understanding of your ultimate end goal is important because it means you can be sure of yourself when meeting other people.

The SilverSingles Muslim dating website helps you build meaningful connections with those who share your faith. You can select your settings so we only send you Muslim matches, unlike other sites where you may have to sift through profiles to find someone of the same religion. The same research center states that 65% of Mustlims rank sharing the same religion highly. Instead of using apps that don’t specialize in matching those with the same religion, SilverSingles can match you exclusively with other single Muslims for the best chance at love. Haroon Mokhtarzada, founder of Minder, says that a lot of this disapproval stems more from the fear of people in their communities gossiping than it does from the actual interaction the couples have. These apps allow people to filter their searches based on level of religiosity, the kind of relationship they’re looking for and other aspects such as whether the woman wears a headscarf and the man sports a beard.

Voice and Video Profiles

Syeda’s family shared videos from “all angles” with Yugar’s family while they attended via Zoom. Malik and her boyfriend had been dating in secret for a little over a year and half when the pandemic hit. Recently, they decided to tell their parents — which, for many Muslims, means starting conversations about marriage. They would ask me out, I grew weak
over time, and I said yes. Again, none of them serious and probably wouldn’t even count as
anything to most people, but to me they did. Even to this day I feel extreme discomfort thinking
that I walked around calling people my boyfriend, like it didn’t phase me at all. Women tend to experience this more acutely than men do but there is a general societal pressure in Islam to find someone in your 20s.

This is because our parents have conditioned us to feel guilty about not telling them things. It’s to ensure that we’ve got our parents onside so that when things get serious (lol… more serious…) you have their almost implicit approval. The idea is to use strong negotiation skills to get our parents to agree before they meet the potential spouse. Yes, there’s always that family friend who can’t stop herself from playing matchmaker. But many Muslim millennials, especially those of us who grew up in the West, want more control over who we end up spending the rest of our lives with.

Should Muslims be dating?

Before social media and the prevalence of pop culture, it was a lot easier to enforce whatever ideologies you wanted your child to follow. Young people became increasingly exposed to the rest of the world. Today, their ideologies and values no longer find a basis in what their priest or imam preaches but in what social media and pop culture influencers might be saying and doing. These practices began to disintegrate as women started entering the workforce, demanding their rights for universal education and pursuing higher education, Arian says.

We’re able to do this based on every member’s Personality Profile, a handy and intuitive report on your personality, communication style and relationship goals. Muslim dating on eharmony means, we construct every member’s Personality Profile based on our Compatibility Quiz, which you complete when you register.

Is Dating Allowed in Islam?6 min read

For Muslims who are married, Islam provides some rules to have in place which allow for more space to mediate and resolve issues when they inevitably arise. Through life’s ups-and-downs, a couple committed to each other through a marriage are more likely to support, love, and care for each other while also being patient, forgiving, and kind to their other half. The next question that arises is should these Muslims avoid these new apps? Here it is important to look at the difference between more conventional dating apps and new ‘Muslim’ versions of these such as MuzMatch and minder. What makes these new apps seemingly the ‘halal’ alternatives?

But once she was actually on the dating apps, Salih says various factors hindered her ability to find someone during the pandemic. An internal factor, she says, was that she’d joined the app out of boredom due to self-quarantine; she wasn’t actually ready to be in a serious relationship. Although she had some great conversations, she felt she wasn’t taking it as seriously as other Muslims. In this film, we meet Muslims using “halal dating apps”, as well as app and platform developers. The marriage and dating app, which assists young Muslims in finding “the one,” hosted a singles event in Brooklyn. With nearly eight out of 10 Muslims turning to online matchmaking platforms to find life partners, there is a significant shift in the way Muslim singles are approaching dating in the digital age. Nearly eight out of 10 Muslims use online matchmaking platforms to find life partners.

Dating as restrictions double down

We’ll also give you the tools to start your dating journey successfully. We can match you with compatible profiles based not just on your faith but also on your interests, passions, and life goals.

Signing up with SilverSingles is easy for even the biggest technophobe. Simply sign up here if you’re on a desktop, or download our app if you’re on mobile or tablet. Muslim dating shouldn’t have to difficult or time-consuming, but it can be tricky to find the time to really explore all there is to offer.

While platforms like Muzmatch and Minder have the underlying goal of marriage, Bahawdory says you won’t see the word “matrimony” anywhere on Eshq. Users can choose whether they want to use the app for marriage, dating or friendship.