Speed dating in healthy Islamic environment is permissible
SHAH ALAM - Finding a life partner can be challenging, nowadays.
However, for those navigating the path of love, there is a growing acceptance and interest in speed dating, a structured way to meet potential partners in respectful manner.
Celebrity preacher Ustaz Don Daniyal Don Biyajid said speed dating events, organised with careful consideration of Islamic guidelines is permissible.
"Islam is not about restrictions, it is about guidance.
"We need to approach this with an understanding of what is permissible and what is not according to Islamic teachings.
"If they (a man and a woman) were just sitting and talking (in a public space), it is no different from chatting in a supermarket or the office.
"This is about seeking a life partner, especially when finding one has become challenging these days," he said.
He added that not that ikhtilat (boundaries between men and women) should be ignored, but the reality was that men and women were bound to a social setting wherever they go.
When it came to finding a spouse in a speed dating process, he said people needed to make sure that it reached the objective but in a way that was allowed by Islam.
He said people must understand that there were people who have been working hard to look for a spouse and speed dating was one way, but the key was to put Islam as guidance.
"It is still important not to go overboard by thinking that they're the most Islamic.
"The way to go is to arrange the methods one by one while analysing their permissibility, such as if you were to meet your potential spouse and begin with holding hands, then it is haram (prohibitted).
"Secondly, if the venue isolates the couple in a secluded area, then it is not permissible.
"The key is to put Islam as guidance in the daily life. At the end of the day, the end goal is to have a (halal) partner," he added.
He also urged the religious authorities to come up with guidelines on how to navigate these modern methods of seeking a spouse and ensure that practices aligned with Islamic values.
