Islamic Marriage Referral based on family networking By Dr. M.N.Tarazi, Aug 1, 2010

"Please find me a good husband for my daughter," a friend of mine asked me many times. Another mom asked my sister if she knows someone from "this country" for her 20 year old son. Another mother asked me to find a good Muslim girl for her son and a widow asked me to recommend someone to her! Many brothers and sisters have expressed their interest in getting married as well and complained about the difficulty in networking. So many men and women are trying hard to find the right spouse. With a diverse community such as ours it is extremely difficult to find someone from the few families that you know. We are spread out and lack large social networks.

There are many "Muslim Matrimonial" services online and a number of brothers and sisters are using them. Unfortunately I've personally witnessed some failed marriages from these services. I believe these were caused when compatibility was not determined well enough. And a large number of boys and girls do not feel comfortable putting out their pictures and their résumé online for the general public, so the services don't address the needs of many.

I'm launching this initiative www.islamicmarriagereferral.com where a data base of willing grooms and brides to be will be established and kept away from the general public. A team of respected brothers and sisters of our community, of diverse backgrounds, accepted to work as volunteers with me in sorting and studying the data base, inquiring about the families involved and providing counseling as needed.

When we feel a reasonable compatibility exists between a groom to be and a bride to be, then the families of the man and the women are contacted and introduced to each other. From that point on the families will find the best way for the boy and the girl to contact and speak to each other, in public spaces, by phone, through face book or e-mail. With Allah's help and blessing this will lead to a very successful marriage. For those without family or divorced or widowed individuals, we will contact close friends or relatives that they indicate, to assist in arranging introductions.

Some boys and girls are very much interested in getting married when they are young and even from a different culture but their families are opposed to such marriages. We will discuss and counsel the families in an effort to find a good compromise for the best interest of all.

Divorced and widowed people in our community particularly need assistance in finding new companionship. Our life spans are much longer than in past generations and the old model of parents living in their children's homes in their later years is not adequate for the needs of healthy active older people. We want to provide assistance to them.

We will provide pre and post marriage counseling to ensure the continuous success of the marriage, the most important institution in Islam.

At this stage of the project, priority will be given to residents of Ohio and the surrounding states. All candidates will be asked to submit references.

We ask Allah (s.w.t.) to bless this effort and help us establish and sustain successful marriages.