The following dialogue is a true account of the story of how we met each other through the London Taiseer-un-Nikah Committee. It has been written with the use of a fictitious interviewer in order to aid and highlight our personal views and feelings.

Interviewer: How many taarufs have you been to?
T: I've lost count!
M: Erm... one. The one where I first saw T.

Interviewer: So what did you think of her?
M: Well, I liked what I saw. T had green eyes, which I later discovered were contact lens. But she looked too tall for me. However, my TNC counselor insisted that she would be "compatible" with me, whatever that meant, and so I asked them to find out more about T. As I grew to know more about her, I realized that we would indeed be "compatible." We had similar family backgrounds and knew many of the same people, even though we didn't necessarily share the same interests. I think I had become smitten by T.

Interviewer: What happened then?
T: Well, a week after the taaruf my parents and I received a phone call from M's councillor informing us that M saw me at the taaruf and would like to know me better.
M: And so we finally met on the day of Aqa Moula's (TUS) 91st Milad Mubarak. We tried to find a nice quiet spot outside the masjid...
T: But failed!...
M: And after chatting we exchanged numbers.

Interviewer: T, what were your first impressions of M?
T: Initially, I was apprehensive... after all, M had only seen me; I had not even seen him! However, at first glance, he ticked most of the boxes in my "ideal husband" criteria (e.g. daree, complexion, etc.). But was he tall enough? An important criterion... well so I thought at the time anyway. But then after the initial introduction, I realised how easy it was to talk to him. I had already begun to start liking him.

Interviewer: And that's how it started?
T: Yes, several weeks of phone calls and text messages later, M came up to visit my parents. A month later we had our nisbut!
M: Six months after that we were fortunate enough to have our Nikkah upon Aqa Moula's (TUS) haat mubarak.

Interviewer: Wow! That was quick! But then why did you wait so long before getting married?
T: Well, I was in a middle of a degree course and had three years to go before qualifying. But I decided I could study my final year after the marriage.
M: Fortunately those years just flew by!

Interviewer: Aha, it all makes sense now. So where did you go on your honeymoon?
T and M: We're STILL on our honeymoon!
From Murtaza and Tasneem Gulamali. (London).

I can remember it like it was yesterday. We locked eyes and instantly fell in love. Get real! Saleh and I met each other during Aqa Moula's (T.U.S.) safar to U.S. in 2004 at Boston Masjid Iftitah, where Taaruf was being held.

I was personally very skeptical about attending Taaruf. I thought that I would never find my husband at a Taaruf program and basically went to this program “kicking and screaming”! On the other hand, Saleh was looking forward to Taaruf as all of his friends from Dallas and around the US were to attend. He was actually glad this opportunity came his way since while growing up he was not too comfortable talking to girls (or that's what he just told me?) He felt very open and was not embarrassed when talking to girls since the Taaruf environment called for such interaction.

The first day of the program was all about introductions. For me, it was gut-wrenching to speak in front of so many boys, but none the less it was a memorable experience. The boys had to introduce themselves as well as the girls were to mark down the badge numbers of the boys they would like to further meet. As the day went on, we played ice breaker games, which really helped to release the tension. Next, we were told that we had to choose at least 4 people for cubicle meetings. I thought to myself, "Dum da dum dum…cubicle meetings! I actually have to be alone with boys that I just met." In the end, as much as I dreaded these awkward cubicle meetings, I met with the boys that selected me - and it wasn’t so awkward after all. My third cubicle meeting was with Saleh who had obviously selected me as I could not recall seeing him earlier. He was quite charming (even enough to grab a chair from my cousin who was waiting in the adjacent cubicle since there was only one chair in our cubicle). After chatting a bit later that night we left the masjid for a good night's sleep. Apparently, Saleh had trouble sleeping that night as he claims he tossed and turned while deciding he liked me most of all the girls he had met and pretty much committed himself to me right then.

The second day and final day of Taaruf was entertaining. Saleh won over the crowd by giving his introduction in Spanish. He again won some bonus points with me and also attracted to my shy nature after the introductions. The program for the day was bowling. Who really even bowled? Saleh and I were talking most of the time. Let me rephrase, Saleh was talking the whole time…haha. This was our longest opportunity to talk and we were both able to realize that we really enjoyed each other's company.

Finally, the program ended and since we had exchanged our screen names, we began speaking to each other a couple of days later. Now, about three years later, we are married and can fondly remember Taaruf as a valuable and exciting experience that we would not mind re-living again.