Key Takeaways
- Dating sites can give you the chance to meet your life partner without the stress of cultural and familial influence.
- One dating site in particular offers a chaperone feature which helps keep things as halal as can be!
- There are several halal dating sites with top-notch security and identity verification. No one likes to get catfished..
- If traditional routes have not worked for you, you can potentially meet your life long partner on one of these halal dating site alternatives without compromising your values.
The topic of marriage is both sensitive and vital in Islam. Historically speaking, many couples came together through “arranged” marriages. It is how it sounds, two people were set up by family or friends based on preference criteria. While this route has proven to be successful for some, many Muslims feel the need to get to know someone organically in hopes of finding their ideal partner. The need to connect with your spouse before signing a forever deal is essential. However, not everyone gets to meet their partner at school, outings, or dinners. Some struggle to find their special someone who fits their religious, cultural, and societal criteria. Online dating can be a halal avenue to meet the one for you.
Verily, Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love each other for the sake of My glory? Today, I will shelter them in My shade, a Day when there is no shade but Mine. (Sahih Muslim)
The ability to filter out people who don’t share your values and criteria has never been easier. Just keep in mind that having reasonable expectations will help you find the right one for you. A helpful exercise often recommended to those looking to get married is to write down all your requirements and carefully think through the items that are “must haves” which you are not willing to compromise on as well as the “nice to haves” or the items you are willing to make concessions on. The reality is it is very unlikely that you will meet a person that meets each and every single criteria.
With a swipe on the screen, you can preliminarily reject or show interest in a potential partner, so swipe carefully. Striking a balance while swiping is key, showing interest in a lot of people will make it logistically difficult to focus on getting to know people and might make you jaded relatively quickly. The inverse can also prove to be a problem, rejecting most of the prospects will result in very little engagement which might not be fruitful at the end of the day (just to be clear, we are not advocating for you to swipe on someone who doesn’t meet your core values on paper, just keep an open mind). Other benefits of joining halal dating sites include: Like traditional dating applications, the halal alternatives are no different, some of the key features you can expect to see and use are listed below:
- Ability to digitally capture your core values, beliefs and criteria while personalizing your digital space with pictures and messages you want to share with potential partners.
- Similar to your profile page, you will get to view potential partner pages that also list out their values and criteria with images and some background information. This should be enough information to formulate an initial gut feeling whether you want to swipe right or left on this individual.
- In the event that both of you swipe right on each other, you will both be notified and invited to message each other within the platform allowing you to get to know the other person on a deeper level before meeting up or providing them with any of your personal contact information.
- With their complex algorithms, most of the halal dating apps can suggest people with similar views and backgrounds based on the preferences you had indicated when setting up your profile.
- As you seek to find marriage, rest assured that you will receive the utmost level of safety throughout the process. None of your personal information is shared directly with a prospect. ID verification is required when setting up a profile to ensure legitimacy
- Some sites also allow you to add a chaperone or Wali during dates or in conversation to ensure complete halal interactions.
Here are the top 5 online halal dating sites, We’ve done the research, here are our top 5 dating platform choices we recommend you check out.
Muzz (formerly Muzmatch)
Muzz which was formerly called Muzmatch is one of the first Muslim focused dating platforms to go mainstream. Given its focus on the Muslim demographic, the platform allows for a customized experience often not found in a traditional online dating community (i.e. level of religiosity) to further help you narrow down the pool of potential suitors. With over 6 million users and 200,000 couples and counting who have met and married as a result of Muzz, perhaps this platform is work considering. Muzz as an organization emphasizes marriage instead of casual dating, which is refreshing to most. If like many you’ve had your time “wasted” in the past with a partner that wasn’t on the same page, definitely consider an application like Muzz to set your expectations straight from the get go and may Allah (SWT) help you find the right spouse for you.
What we like:
- It has the “Chaperone/Wali” feature that provides security and supervision on dates.
- Muzz has a well-detailed profile section that filters users with fake details.
- It has the profile badges feature that rates the users’ behavior- thus, giving them a better chance of choosing the right one.
What we don’t like:
- The free version has a lot of ads.
- The paid version is too expensive for some users.
Muslima
Muslima is a specialized Muslim platform owned by Cupid. A conglomerate that owns several dating sites across several faiths and races.
it helps Muslim men & workers find the perfect Match. The site offers warm services and exceptional search with the best messaging facilities for communication. The site gives a personalized feature with the latest technology than other halal dating sites, which will connect Muslims of similar minds.
Furthermore, Muslima uses its experience in the online dating business to filter the best matches for each user. Most users are from Saudi Arabia, the U.K, France, and Algeria.
The platform is one of the world’s leading halal dating sites. It’s an excellent option for young Muslims to choose their partner instead of going through the pains of arranged marriage. Muslima is halal and allows you to meet single Muslims, considering Islam rulings about courtship.
What we like:
- It’s a great dating site that allows you to meet single Muslims under the rulings of Islam.
- Muslima is free to use and also has a paid version.
- It’s strict with user verification.
- You can translate profiles into different languages.
What we don’t like:
- It’s owned by Cupid, thus making it hard to tell if it’s halal or just a niche market a larger corporation is looking to capitalize on.
- It doesn’t have the saved search profile features.
- Many users have complained about the application’s responsiveness.
- Salams (Formerly Minder)
Salam is another halal dating site that connects single Muslims to their lifetime partners. The dating platform has several features and is similar to Tinder. Members have their profile which is usually verified before they get access to the platform. Salams offer both the free and premium version. It’s dominated by Male Muslims living in the United States.
The premium pricing starts from $9.99 per month so it’s quite affordable. The platform allows members on the premium version to see who likes them on their profile. It also has a feature called the Stealth Mode. The Stealth mode allows you to filter who can see you on the app.
What we like:
- The premium version is affordable
- You can delete your profile anytime
- Salams will show you the people who liked your profile and allow you to connect with them, cutting down the chase. .
What we don’t like:
- While the premium version is affordable, we found the free version leaves a lot to desire. The application is very gated and can be frustrating to use without a paid subscription.
- User profiles can be limiting, in many instances key personal details were left out from profiles making it difficult to carefully vet prospective partners.
- The notification settings of the app fluctuates which can be frustrating.
BuzzArab
BuzzArab is a free Dating site- mostly used by Arabs looking for meaningful relationships. Its ultimate mission is to connect Arabs and be a part of their love story. It doesn’t have a paid version, and you can use it to send messages worldwide. The platform has over 420,000 members from Arab descent, many of which live in the US, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. The site has a desktop version and a mobile application making it easy and straightforward to connect across all devices. Likewise, it’s designed with customizable notifications, security features, online chatting, and advanced searching. The app is designed mainly for Arabs both Muslims and non-Muslim. It, however, doesn’t require you to be Arab before you can join. As it is, members of diverse ethnicity, race, or religion can also come onboard. Since buzzArab is not solely for Muslims, they market themselves as one of the only LGBTQ friendly platforms.
What we like:
- buzzArab markets themselves as 100% free.
- You can see who’s interested in you on the app.
- Female users have flexibility to select which male prospects can reach out.
What we don’t like:
- This platform was founded on the idea of connecting like minded arabs. While this may work for some Muslims, the broader Muslim community might have a harder time seeing success on this platform
- It was reported that the platform has a lot of spam and fake profiles making it difficult and frustrating to weed out the real versus the fake.
- The platform is known to reject user profiles with very little explanation.
Conclusion
Marriage is an essential aspect of an individual’s life regardless of their faith. The decision of marriage should not be taken lightly, make sure to conduct the proper due diligence while keeping your expectations in check. Thankfully, there are several halal dating platforms you can sign up and use to connect with other singles Muslims. Online halal dating sites afford you the opportunity to meet potential spouses while keeping things “halal”. Ultimately the responsibility is upon the shoulders of each person to control and maintain their boundaries during the courting process.