Is there no end to the horror stories about misconduct on marriage websites? I have to admit that I’m perplexed and disgusted at the latest revelations. It’s like a double barrelled shotgun

I had a sister come to me for advice regarding a relationship she is in with a non-Muslim and I was saddened by how unashamed she appeared to be about her situation. She has been involved with this guy for around 18 months and he wants to take the relationship further. She has been giving him dawah although she does not have any real knowledge of the deen and does not set a visual example other than good manners. The next logical step for her is to get him to take his shahada so that they can get married. She is a lovely quiet sister who by her own admission doesn’t practice her deen, but does have a true love for it and is proud to be Muslim. Ok so fair enough there’s nothing new about that and you may be asking why I mentioned the double barrelled shotgun. So here goes: Whilst advising her on what she must do with immediate effect, She informs me that she met this guy on a Muslim marriage website. POW! That’s the first barrel. I was mortified and for the next 20 seconds I could no longer hear what she was saying. I had to stop her just so I could be sure of what she was telling me. She confirmed that she had indeed met him on one of the most popular MUSLIM marriage websites. There’s a reason I’m choosing not to mention the name of this service and that’s because I don’t want sisters just avoiding that one and blindly choosing another. I want you to be weary of all websites until they are able to reassure you that they have stringent guidelines in place to ensure your safety. The sister went on to tell me that there are non-Muslims of all nationalities on that site. “The person I am with is English but there are many hindus on that site.” She informed me.

Alhamdulillah I believe she will take my advice and will distance herself from him, make tauba and seek advice from a sheikh about marrying him if he takes his shahada and establishes the prayer. As I said earlier, I believe she has good intentions but I guess lack of knowledge and freedom to do as you wish, will always play a part in one’s demise.

For any non-Muslims reading you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. In Islam it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to be married to a non-Muslim because a woman is on the religion of her husband so that would instantly take her out of the fold of Islam. This means that any person involved in helping her in being with someone who will remove her from her religion has dire consequences to face when they come to their reckoning.

I will be contacting the website in question to let them know what is happening under their nose and I pray that they will take immediate action and not just brush it off. I mentioned in my last blog that these sites should be spending some of their profits on videos that will help to keep their customers safe. It’s a small price to pay to keep themselves out of the fire. Allah makes it clear in the Qur’an: …Help each other to goodness and heedfulness. Do not help each other to wrongdoing and enmity. Heed Allah. Allah is severe in retribution. (Surat al-Ma’ida: 2)

By now you must be wondering what the second blast is as I referred to a double barrel. Well on the very same day I hear about a sister who is married to a brother who doesn’t pray, fast or perform any of the other 3 obligatory pillars of Islam. You must be dying to know how long he’s been Muslim right? Well you’ve probably already guessed that he took shahada just before getting married and where did the loving couple meet? Yes you guessed it. The very same marriage website. POW!