Did you know…

1)    1)  You are 15 times more likely to have members contact you than if you don’t have a profile picture up.

2)   2)  A recent poll we conducted revealed that over 65% of our members were unlikely to make contact with members who did not have a picture.

3)   3) Having a picture instils others with confidence it reassures members that you are genuine and taking your search for a partner seriously.

So what are you waiting for upload your picture now and start your journey towards love & happiness.

Need some advice on uploading a great profile picture check out our new photo tips page.

“A Sunni-Shi’a Love Story“

“Two of the most frequent questions I’m asked by my non-Muslim friends are: 1) What’s the difference between a Shi’a and Sunni Muslim and 2) What happens if a Sunni and a Shi’a fall in love?  Neither question has a particularly straightforward answer.

I read a moving story about Sunni-Shi’a love in Newsweek a couple of years back. It was the tale of two Iraqi teachers, one Sunni and one Shi’a who met in 2000 when they were both studying at the University of Baghdad.

A Cautious Courtship

Sunni guy Mahir Murad, 26 and Shi’a girl, Hind al Yasseri fell deeply in love, but had to hide their three-year courtship from their friends and family.

The couple only argued once during that time, disagreeing on wodhu, the ritual cleansing before prayer, which their sects perform differently. The issue under debate revolves around washing vs. wiping the soles of the feet prior to prayer. It escalated into an ardent row, but dissolved into laughter.

“We agreed that we should never discuss such minor differences. We both are Muslims who believe in the same Qur’an and the same Prophet.” Mahir told Newsweek.

Serious Concerns

The lovebirds married in 2003, and enjoyed their honeymoon as Iraq began its. Sadly, sectarian violence took hold in 2006, with the destruction of the Shi’ite Askariya Mosque in Samarra, which was followed by the retaliatory destruction of Sunni mosques.

“We had no other choice but to protect ourselves,” says Mahir.

Both husband and wife felt that extremists and not regular members of either community were to blame for the violence, and while thier love endured the tension between their sects, it clearly troubled them.

“I could say that maybe if I met my wife now, I would not marry her,” Murad said, weeks after the conflicts started in 2006.

While Mahir and Hind’s story is extreme, it inspires me as it reveals the power of love and the unifying bond between all members of our faith. Many of my Shi’ite friends and I feel this way, and hope that there can be peace, love and respect between all the branches of Islam”.

http://www.lovehabibi.com/blog/2010/07/29/a-sunni-shia-love-story/

What are your thoughts on this article?

Do you consider sect an important factor when finding love?

Do you think it’s affect your marriage?

Let us know your thoughts below… 

Eid Al-Adha is due to arrive this weekend and we thought it would be nice to share the meaning behind this, for who aren’t so sure.

Eid Al-Adha actually translates to ‘the feast (or festival) of sacrifice’, which Muslims commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his Son Ismael (Ishmael) as an act of obedience and order from Allah (God). As Ibrahim was about to perform this gesture towards, Allah intervened replacing Ismael with a Ram, which was sacrificed instead. We are to sacrifice an animal, such as a Goat, Cow, Sheep etc in the name of God, where we would then split the meat into 3 portions, one for your direct family, one for relatives and the final third for the poor.

This Eid always falls on the 10th day of the 12th and last Islamic month of the Islamic calendar, just after Hajj.

For more on Eid and to find out the meaning of Eid Al-Fitr please click the link below or scroll down.

http://www.muslimandsingle.com/blog/index.php/news/eid-mubarak

In the wake of this however, there seems to be a massive demand for Muslim singles websites, which is apparent by performing a quick Google search online. The popular terms ‘Islamic marriage’, ‘Muslim matrimonial’, ‘single Muslim’ or ‘Muslim singles’ return over 24 million results per search, with companies such ourselves (MuslimAndSingle.com) featuring regularly.

BBC news reporter Robert Piggot, observed a Muslim singles event and described the attendees as ‘westernised and attractive’, he also mentioned that the event was of a ‘relaxed and friendly’ atmosphere. “

“Our vision when creating this site was to consider what British Muslims felt that they were missing from other Muslim Qiran sites” says Sonia Hashmi, Business Development leader, MuslimAndSingle.com. She further explained that it was the fact that people couldn’t meet ‘like minded Muslims’ that easily on other Muslim Zawaj websites that drove the creation of the site. “When designing the site, we looked at all of the other solutions on the market and realised that one thing stood out; none of the websites were focussed solely on British single Muslims. Their databases seemed to be diluted with people from all over the world”. Additionally, Sonia explained that their service wasn’t solely restricted to the online Muslims, as they have now arranged a serries of Muslim matrimonial events to allow for those people who would like to meet offline.  “Muslim dating is something that we endeavour to stray away from, because being Muslim ourselves we understand that ‘dating’ can be a sensitive issue. That’s why we focus on what we call Matchmaking events, with a series of ‘mini introductions’ (similar to speed dating). The idea behind our philosophy is to allow single Muslims a place where they can meet and interact with other Single British Muslims so hopefully and Inshallah (god willing), they can start their journey towards love and marriage”.

Imaam Ajmal Masroor of London recently echoed Sonia’s sentiments about allowing British Single Muslims to complete half your deen and interact, by stating that UK Muslim men should focus on creating relationships within Britain when searching for a potential wife. ‘Muslim men should look within their own community’.

We hope all of our new and existing members agree with Imaam Ajmal Masoor and begin their journey towards love and happiness using our service, Inshallah.

Dipping your toes into the Islamic marriage scene can be an exciting but daunting prospect for any single British Muslim. For individuals who hold their traditions and cultural values dear, as many Turkish and Turkish Cypriot men and women do, finding ‘The One’ is about so much more than just liking someone’s profile picture and description. This is a common factor amongst all British Muslims, as finding your match is also about meeting that person who shares your religious background, values and traditions, while also being able to blend in with your family.

With many Turkish Muslims relocating around the world, their physical community circles have gotten smaller, and the demands of modern life means many of us are spending more and more time online, using social platforms and online matrimonial sites. In the past, for Turkish and Turkish Cypriot singles the most common mode of matchmaking would have been the parental route (where parents introduce their children to a prospective match through extended friends and family networks). While this technique used to be successful, the cultural differences in generations provide a clear shift in growth towards Turkish singles meeting their match online.

There are so many Turkish and Turkish Cypriot people living in Britain (approximately 80,000 Turkish people and 130,000 Turkish Cypriots!) and it’s interesting to think that you will only normally meet a tiny portion of these people in your lifetime. Even while you may share ethnicity with those you do meet, the chances of meeting that special person who shares your ideals, values and dreams aren’t as high as they potentially could be.

Being from a secular-Muslim country, we know how much modernity mixed with a genuine understanding of tradition, religion and customs matters to British Muslim, Turkish Muslim and Turkish Cypriot Muslim singles when it comes to marriage and dating. These factors play a great role in choosing that person you fall in love with as does your compatibility with them. At Muslim&Single, our online platform and matchmaking events are all geared towards meeting your cultural preferences and needs when on the search for lasting love.

All of these above mentioned reasons are exactly why Muslim&Single serves the perfect platform to meet other British Muslims as we unite Muslims from all walks of life, placing great importance of values and traditions we all cherish.  We understand that it’s not always easy to meet people who share these similarities and our religion isn’t something we’d like to compromise on, which is another reason why we hold regular events for single Muslims in London and Manchester. At Muslim&Single we are dedicated in helping British Turkish and Turkish Cypriot singles find lasting love and happiness, and in doing so  making the journey a fun, engaging and most of all a worthwhile one.

So whether you are a single Turk, Turkish Cypriot or a single British Muslim, why not give us a try and see if we can begin your journey towards love and happiness.

Sending a message doesn’t necessarily have to be an art form, but we know that sometimes it can be hard to say what you want to say and for that reason we’d like to help you out. Below, we’ve included a bad example and a good example of messages that people typically send.

Bad Example

Hey,

How’s ur search goin? U luk great in ur picture

Whats your name? What do u do for work? Where are u frm? I’m a 31 and from Wolverhampton … Hey whats your faecbook? or if you like message me your email addy so I can add you to my msn and we can chat on there.

Tex or call me on  0773456789 cos it wud be good to get to know you better. If u want, add my bb 123AB456 or I use whatsapp. If ur gna call me text me before so i know.

By the way… your the best looking person on here by a mile

Chat 2 u soon. Ali xxx

So did you spot the errors in this? (no we don’t just mean spelling mistakes!) Below are a few things that we took from his message:

• It’s nice to ask people how they are getting on but try and start the conversation off with originality. Also, writing in short ‘txt’ format is a big no-no.
• If you ask too many messages in a row, it shows over eagerness and also that you probably haven’t read their profile.
• Muslim&Single offer a safe and secure place for you to converse with someone so there is no rush to offer your email address and every other contact method, be sensible and take your time to get to know people.
• Would you go up to a random person on the street and offer your email or other contact information out? I’m sure you’d want to get to know them for a little first… or if you did just hand it out, they probably would never call you.
• Flattery and compliments are always appreciated, but try and be realistic and personal. Also, running a spell check before you press send is always a good idea.

Good Example

Hey,

You have no idea how refreshing it is to find a guy who hates football! My 2 brothers never give the remote up at home, so the weekends can get a bit boring in my house. Then again, I usually get my way when the X factor comes on hehe !  I noticed that your profile says that you’re funny and sarcastic. I have quite dry humour myself, so it would be interesting to hear you tell a joke sometime. I also noticed you do charity work, how did you come about getting involved in that? I’ve always had a desire to help people out, Insahllah when I get more spare time I’ll be able to do some charity work too. Do you only do weekends, or is it during the week too?

You have a really charming smile by the way, although it’s not as nice as Simon Cowell’s! I’ve uploaded a couple of photo’s recently, so hopefully you can have an idea of who’s talking to you and it would be nice to hear back from you

Speak soon,

Salma

Now wasn’t that such a better message? I’m sure most of you would be happy for the thoughtfulness put into this email and you’d respond to it. Here’s why we think it was so good:

• The way she opened the conversation about what she knew about him showed that she has read his profile.
• She then went on to tell him something about herself.
• Another great thing she did was to highlight where they both had common interests.
• She was inquisitive and asked questions about things that were on his profile.
• She then added some of her humour and ended the conversation openly.

(These messages are just for example purposes and are not real messages sent on Muslim&Single).

Inshallah you found that this was a nice bit of helpful advice and we look forward to hearing about your successes online.

If you would like any other help or advice, please feel free to get in touch with us on info@muslimandsingle.com

Salaam everyone, it is now time to rejoice in celebration as Eid is now upon us! Congratulations to all of you who completed Ramazan, this year we know how extremely tough and tiring it has been. We wish you all a beautiful Eid and enjoy the celebrations with your families.

For those of you who would like to know more about Eid al-Fitr, please read on.

Eid al-Fitr (Eid ul-Fitr) arrives on the first new moon after the month of Ramazan, signalling that fasting has now come to an end. The word ‘Eid’ derives from Arabic and means festivity, whilst ‘Fitr’ means breaking (of the fasting period, similar to Iftar).

On Eid, Muslims are to attend mosque, usually in the morning where they will pray the Eid Namaz (or Salat). Before they pray, normally at the mosque entrance Zakat al-Fitr is paid. Zakat is the term for charity, something that all Muslims should give, as caring for each other and helping those less fortunate is widely advocated within the Quran. The amount of Zakat is variable on personal circumstances and can be paid by the head of each household, if desired.

As for the Eid prayer, this is also said to be obligatory to all Muslims and must be performed with Jama’at (in congregation) . The prayer itself is different from others, as it is made up of six Takbirs (where you raise your hands to your ears and say Allah-O-Akbar), three of these before the first Raka’ah and three before Ruku (before you bow to recite your prayer).

Celebrations usually commence once prayers have come to an end. Many cultures celebrate in different ways, but one trend in common is the ‘Eid Greeting’.  On giving someone your Salaam, you will then proceed to hug the person three times; to their right side, their left side and again to their right. Generally this will only take place between people of the same sex, or with family members. Eid al-Fitr is to be celebrated over three days, where Muslims will assemble together with family members and friends to share feasts. It is a time for humility, and we are all encouraged to forgive and forget any differences we once had with people. Another emblematic tradition of Eid is the giving of gifts to those younger (known as Eidi in some cultures).

From all of us here at MuslimandSingle.com, we wish you Eid Mubarak and pleasant greetings upon your friends and families.

The word Ramazan itself is derived from the Arabic words of Ramida (or Ar-ramad), which can be translated into the meaning of intense heat, dry grounds or rationing. Prior to Islam, fasting was evident within the Jewish faith and can be referred to by the practice of Yom Kippur. In the Quran, Allah proclaims that “fasting has been written down (as obligatory) upon you, as it was upon those before you”.

Ramazan starts the day after the astronomical new moon, as this signifies the beginning of a new month, which explains why it also ends with a new full moon, signifying the new month. The start of the month prompts Muslims to change their daily routines and to implement the following: Fasting, Praying and Iftar.

Those exempt from fasting are the elderly, pregnant or new mothers, women in their menstruation cycle, the terminally ill and mentally ill and young children. Those who miss fasts should always if possible make them up at the end of Ramazan expect from the mentally ill, however for the Elderly and chronically ill, it is important that they feed the poor or give generously in Zakat.

Whilst fasting purity of one’s thoughts and actions are important. Muslims should redirect their thoughts and heart from worldly activities, with the purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. This also teaches Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate.

From dawn to sunset is when a Muslim must abstain from food and drink, but after these hours Muslims enjoy what is known as Iftar. This is when you can enjoy your meal, which is preceded by eating a date or something sweet. Iftar falls minutes before the Maghrib prayer, so many Muslims will open their fast, and then pray and afterwards feast. In addition to fasting and 5 daily prayers, every night before a fast Muslims are encouraged to pray Tarawih. The Tarawih prayer in particular is important as over the course of the holy month, the entire Quran is read.

Throughout Ramazan we will be posting more information and helpful tips on our Facebokpage, so please come and join us at www.facebook.com/muslimandsingle, and lastly Ramazan Kareem everyone!

UK cities fasting timetable 2011

However, as Arab Muslims have migrated around the world their physical community circles have shrunk so new ways of meeting single Arabs have been created to help these individuals. There aren’t many places where Arabs congregate, can easily interact with each other, especially with opposite genders.

The latest figures show that the UK Arab population is approximately 500,000 with people originating for various countries from the Middle East.  Today’s Arab community is well versed in western customs including a keen interest in technology, therefore many single Arabs are now turning to the Internet. The web now plays an important part in helping single Arab Muslims connect with each other in order to find a suitable Arab marriage partner.

Joining a services like Muslim & Single which promote the ideals of long term happiness and commitment are becoming increasingly viable solutions. The great thing about the web is that you can connect with anybody far a field and get to understand a potential partner’s values and characteristics in a convenient way.

Are you a Single Arab and interested? Then why not give us a try?

When it comes to meeting other Single Muslims we know that it can be very difficult. At Muslim&Single our number one aim is to help single British Muslims find true love & happiness and that is why we have introduced a range of Muslim Marriage events aimed at those looking for marriage. We felt that alongside our online network of Single Muslims we wanted to introduce another method for individuals to meet and felt that a Muslim Marriage event would be the ideal way.

The main focus of our events is to ensure that each guest has the opportunity to meet every member of the opposite gender that is present; this is done through our face to face 2 minute, one to one mini introductions.  You can find out information about the person you are talking too, see what their personality is like and if you have anything in common.  The introduction session is followed by an icebreaker game to allow guests to continue mingling and help guests feel further at ease. The evening is rounded off with a halal buffet provided by Haz Restaurant. Further mingling is encouraged at this point and after dinner to allow you to get to know potential suitors that little bit better. Our friendly team are at hand throughout the entire evening to provide advice or assistance to all the guests.

Being a Muslim Marriage event we ensure that we try to observe and keep the event as halal as possible. The event is conducted within a restaurant with all the food being halal. There is a male and female host at the events who act as chaperones for the night and the venue is privately booked ensuring your security and safety. We also provide an area for salat.

Our first Sell Out event took place on Saturday 23rd April at Haz Restaurant in London.  Haz is a warm and inviting venue that has a sleek and modern interior to provide optimum comfort for all guests. Guests enjoyed themselves, mingled with each other and feedback from the event was incredibly positive. The food on the night which consisted of a Middle Eastern halal buffet was simple, fresh and delicious and went down a treat with everyone. Inshallah we are very optimistic that many of the guests met prospective partners and that all our future events will further provide a platform for Single Muslims to meet for marriage.

For further details about our next event or to purchase tickets click here.