Abdul Ahad Mohammed & Lumana Khatun

SingleMuslim.com met up with newlyweds Adbul Ahad Mohammed and Lumana Khatun at Mumtaz Restaurant in Bradford on 30th August 2007, just days after their Nikah ceremony on 26th August at the East London Mosque.

We’re delighted to introduce you to another couple who have proven the success of SingleMuslim.com and who are proud winners of an Umrah trip to the Holy Land.

Ahad, a qualified accountant from Birmingham and part time professional martial arts fighter, says, “I was looking to get married and had tried many avenues, asking friends if their wives knew sisters and stuff like that.  Suddenly, though, I thought that if you want to achieve something in life, the best thing to do is to go and grab it yourself.  So I thought, ok I’ll go on the Internet - I go on the Internet to do everything anyway - let me see if I can get married! I typed “single Muslim” into Google, SingleMuslim.com came up and I joined.”

Lumana, who studied Pharmaceutical Science and, until recently, worked in a pharmacy, found the website via the Muslim Directory.  “I like the fact that Single Muslim has a list on the side saying who’s online,” she says.  “I just clicked on the interesting names, things I thought sounded Islamic.  I wasn’t really practising at the time – my family is not very religious – and so I went on to Single Muslim hoping that I could find someone practising who’s also down-to-earth.  I was just randomly looking through, really, but at the back of my mind hoping and wishing that some one’s profile would just leap out at me.  I was attracted to Ahad’s because he seemed religious but also quite fun.

“We met initially in January and spoke every day by telephone after that.  By phone, he taught me how to pray.  I’m actually praying Salaat (5 Compulsory daily prayers) now and it’s because he taught me, guided me and supported me through it. And all because of Single Muslim!  Ahad is definitely the best thing that has happened to me.  He shows Islam in a beautiful light, because Islam is beautiful and since meeting him I’ve started to find that what I saw before was not Islam.

“I’m surprised he married me,” continues Lumana, “because he could have married anybody.  He’s a professional accountant, he’s good looking and he’s also a martial artist!  He competes and he has been on the fight channels on Sky.  He’s famous!” she adds, laughing.  “Seriously, though, he’s religious and he could have married somebody who is also religious, but he chose to marry me and has been helping me through my learning.”

Ahad explains how they met: “A year ago Lumana emailed me and I couldn’t reply because I was not a paying member.  Then I spoke to a brother at an Islamic fair and I said that my marriage search was just not working.  He told me that Single Muslim’s a great service, just pay for it!  I registered again in November 2006 and then, by December, I met Lumana.  Obviously worth my money!  I did Salat-l-Istikhara (prayer for guidance) in the beginning and I knew since then that I was going to marry her.”

“When I got his email, I remembered his photo from the previous profile and I thought, ‘Alhamdulilah’ (all praise to Allah)!  I was so happy he’d replied,” gushes Lumana.

Family support is important to both Lumana and Ahad and their families became involved in their plans at an early stage.  “Ahad got his mum involved right from the beginning, so it wasn’t hush-hush.  She knew that he was using the website.  She phoned my mum and said, ‘My son’s going to come down and meet with your daughter. Is that ok?’  I love that because it shows that he was respectful and genuine.”

“I am really open with my family,” explains Ahad.  “They could have been apprehensive that we found each other on the Internet but they’ve seen the results and now they’re totally happy with it.”

“Yeah,” adds Lumana.  “My mum knew I was on Single Muslim.  I even showed her the picture of Ahad and his profile.  She was a bit scared because of the reputation that the Internet has but she’s really pleased that I found Ahad.  My older brother is my Wali (representative/guardian).  He is quite religious but also knows about how the world is right now, so he didn’t mind.”

The couple first arranged their first meeting at the East London Mosque, near Lumana’s home.  Ahad remembers, “I didn’t go to any extra lengths for the meeting.  I just wanted her to see me as me.  So, rather than buy a new bag for the occasion, I took the one I already had that had masking tape on the top because it was ripped.”

“I loved that,” enthuses his wife.  “I thought this guy’s so humble and not materialistic and I thought Wow!  I loved his photo and speaking to him on the phone and when I met him that was it!  I knew I wanted to marry him.”

Was it love at first sight?

“For me, yeah!” smiles Lumana.

“There was attraction,” admits Ahad. “But after the Istikhara, I knew that I would marry her.”

So how is our happy couple finding married life?

“We just did the nikah (marriage contract) with close family in the East London Mosque,” says Ahad.  “I’m usually a pretty cool guy but when the Imam (priest) was doing dua (prayers) the emotion really kicked in.  Because marriage is half of your faith, it actually hit me that ‘I’m completing my faith at this moment’.  We’re planning to do the walima (marriage banquet) at a castle early next year. “It’s going to be a good quality celebration”

“We just get on so well”, he continues.  “We have similar personalities, we like similar things and we have similar goals.  We’ve only been married a while but I know we click.”

“Yeah, I’m really happy I married him,” smiles Lumana.

And do Ahad and Lumana think that the Single Muslim experience could be improved?

“I can’t think of anything that could improve the site,” says Lumana.  “It’s efficient, easy, straightforward.  You can see photos, see who has read your messages. Everything you need is on the website.”

Ahad agrees, “You can see who has seen your profile and it lets you read about people who have shown an interest in you.  That’s my favourite feature.  I joined a few websites but the search wasn’t as detailed as Single Muslim’s and you couldn’t see who’d seen your profile.  One of the sites was too detailed and complicated and the other was too simple. SingleMuslim.com was just right!”

Ahad proves that there is hope for any members who may be discouraged by lack of success with the service.  “I spoke to 54 sisters in total from Singlemuslim.com and I met a couple of them before I found Lumana.  They said they’d get back to me but they didn’t.  I had general criteria that I wanted to find in a wife and I went for it.  I didn’t focus on ‘I want this, this and this’ because you’ll never find that in life.  At the end of it, I put my trust in Allah and then, alhamdulilah, I found her.”

The couple are also fans of females using Single Muslim’s services for free.  Lumana believes that it encourages sisters to sign up, as they’ve nothing to lose and, if the men are prepared to pay for the service, it shows that they’re genuine. 

Ahad is again in agreement, “Well, it’s putting your money where your mouth is.  If you want to get married you would pay for it.  If you’re looking for something on the side, then you wouldn’t.  It’s more difficult for the females”, he adds.  “Some of them won’t want their family to find out and will join in secret.  Some of them probably can’t afford it.”

Lumana adds, “I wasn’t working at the time I registered and I was broke.  I wanted to get married though and so I had nothing to lose.  I’d recommend Single Muslim to everyone.  That’s why I came here today - to encourage others to get on the website.”

So what does the future hold for our newlyweds?

“Every single day I pray two extra nafal and I ask Allah to keep us strong, keep us together and make our marriage a success.  There’s only so much you can do and then you put your trust in your Lord,” muses Ahad.  “Who knows when we’ll have a child.  We’d prefer to wait a few years and then, when we’re ready mentally, spiritually and emotionally, we’ll have children, insha Allah (if Allah wills).”

“Married life is definitely the best,” concludes Lumana.  “I’m really happy.  Sometimes I look at him and I can’t believe I’m married to him!  I’d recommend marriage to anyone.”

If you have had success on Single Muslim and would like to share you story with us, please send us your details and you could get a free Umrah trip for two.