Dr.Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (isNA), states the following: “No doubt that the matrimonial agencies fulfil a need for some Muslims. As long as these agencies do their work in a proper Islamic manner by protecting the honor, dignity and chastity of Muslims, their work is Halal.

It stands to reason that these agencies are supposed to protect the privacy of the individuals. They should deal with the basic issues of age, family background, education and profession. They should not indulge in the intimate details of individuals. Traditionally in Islamic societies the parents, family members or some close friends did this work.

However, now with a large number of people migrating from one country to another, many people do not have their families that can help them to get married. We also have, Alhmadulillah, a large number of new Muslims. They do not get much help from their families for Islamic marriages. Therefore, it is good that there are some agencies that help single Muslims get married.

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Allah Almighty says: “Help marry those among you who are single, or the virtuous ones among your slaves, male or female: if they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out of His grace: for Allah encompasseth all, and He knoweth all things.” (An-Nur :32).

Finally, I would like to say that there is a great blessing in helping people get married. Also, we have Al-Hamdulillah, a very large number of people adopting Islam in the United States. These new Muslims do not have their families to help them in this process. Therefore, it is good that agencies like this help single Muslims.

I would encourage Islamic centres to establish matrimonial committees for this purpose. However, this work should be done with great care and sensitivity. At ISNA, for example, we have such a program and we also publish in Islamic Horizons a special section for matrimonial adds and at the annual convention, we have special rooms reserved for these committee members and perspective individuals to meet under Islamic supervision.”