BeyondChai Matchmaking Helps Muslim Singles Find Love

The Short Version: Muslims make up just 1.1% of the United States population, making it essential that Muslim-American singles have extra support in finding each other for relationships. Matchmaking service BeyondChai helps Muslim singles find partners they can share their lives with. The organization gets to know each of its clients well so they can deliver the best service possible.

Nothing is quite as satisfying as being in a relationship with someone who totally gets you. It’s freeing to know that you don’t need to explain yourself, your goals, your family structure, or your culture to your partner. They already understand everything. 

You don’t have to constantly compromise or let go of things that are important to you for the sake of a relationship. You can simply start working to build a life together that you both want. You have the foundation for a lasting relationship.

You still need to get to know each other and go through that exciting early period of the relationship where everything is new. The first few dates are still a flood of new beginnings and information. But when you tell your partner something about yourself, they aren’t confused. They get you and your background. 

For those who identify strongly with their religion, finding a partner with the same beliefs, culture, and religion is essential for building a long-term relationship. But for Muslims in the United States, it can be hard. Only about 1.1% of the United States population is Muslim, making it tricky to find a partner you’re compatible with in both faith and personality. 

For many Muslim singles, working with a matchmaking service is a great way to find other Muslims looking for love and marriage. BeyondChai can help as a matchmaking service designed for Muslims by Muslims. 

Working with BeyondChai gives Muslim singles a far more curated experience than simply looking for other Muslims on a dating app. The matchmakers on the team understand the unique priorities of their clients and the nuances of their relationship expectations. 

“There are a lot of cultural and religious subtleties that we need to keep in mind,” Rumana, Co-Founder of BeyondChai, told me. “We also keep in mind that all Muslims are not at the same level of the religious spectrum. It’s very important that we keep that in mind when we match them so that it does not result in a lifestyle clash.”

The team at BeyondChai is passionate about facilitating long-lasting relationships and, often, marriages between Muslims. While they’re still a business, their mission comes before their profit. 

“BeyondChai is a mission-first company, where clients’ success takes precedence over other factors, like financials,” Rumana said. “For instance, if we feel the client is not ready for marriage, we encourage them to seek outside help through coaching/counseling services.” 

The BeyondChai team is not interested in shuffling everyone who pays through the dating service; they will only match those who are ready to have a happy and healthy marriage.

BeyondChai matchmakers take the time they need to get to know clients so single Muslims can make informed matches. Each client gets an hour-long consultation so the matchmakers can get a true sense of who they are as a person. They fill out an elaborate profile, and then they work with a matchmaker to help them understand who they are and what they want out of a new relationship.

“We go through the client’s profile and ask them detailed questions to get to know who they are, what their background is, learn about their cultural and religious upbringings, important values, traditions, educational background, hobbies/interests, family background and dynamics, challenges and expectations in a marriage, their preferences in a partner, and so much more!” a BeyondChai team member said.

While the matchmakers get a ton of information from their clients, they also prioritize privacy. The service has a proprietary feature called Karama, which translates as “dignity,” to protect the privacy of all clients.

“Access to profiles is enabled on an on-demand basis and disabled automatically upon viewing,” Rumana explained. “The clients’ profile is only accessible by their matchmaker, and upon mutual agreement, the matchmaker shares the profile with prospective matches.” 

These profiles are encrypted, and the personal information on them is never emailed or accessible elsewhere on the internet.

No matter your faith or background, working with a matchmaker offers a personal touch you can’t find elsewhere. In addition to the personal consultations clients receive with their matchmakers through BeyondChai, they also get the peace of mind of knowing that all singles in BeyondChai’s orbit have been extensively vetted by the team. 

“Thankfully, we have a nice system that allows us to identify which leads have been vetted and verified by someone from our team and who is not,” the team told us. “This is located within each person’s profile who is uploaded to our system. Our matchmakers are not allowed to match a client unless the prospect has been vetted.”

Once clients have been vetted, the team gets to work to find them potential partners. After years of working with Muslim clients and drawing from their own backgrounds and experiences, the matchmakers at BeyondChai have a knack for quickly understanding what each of their clients wants in a partner. 

“One of the many benefits of working with a matchmaker is that they understand where you’re coming from just by having shared core religious beliefs,” she told us. “They get you.”

Of course, matchmakers help create a streamlined process to find a partner. This is crucial, especially for those who are only interested in dating other Muslims or people with the same ethnic or linguistic background. 

“Working with a matchmaker also saves you a lot of time from filtering through and weeding out profiles that aren’t relevant to you because our focus is to send prospects who match most, if not all, of the criteria that the client is looking for,” a team member said said. “Some people simply don’t have the time to look through countless profiles and determine who would be a good match. Many apps also just have a few basic filters to filter out profiles, so as matchmakers, we are able to do an extensive search and narrow down profiles significantly.”

Finding a long-term partner can be stressful, especially if you’ve been single for a while. Meeting people on your own can be uncomfortable and daunting. You may struggle to figure out exactly what you’re looking for in a partner before spending a lot of time going on dates. It may be difficult to find other Muslims in your area who you’re interested in pursuing a relationship with. 

But you don’t have to do it alone. Matchmaking services like BeyondChai offer the support, guidance, and communication you need to quickly find someone who suits you best. 

“We saw a need for marriage-related services for Muslims who were raised in the United States and were seeking to connect with plausible candidates for the purpose of marriage,” Rumana told us. “BeyondChai offers the individuals obtaining our services a personalized approach while tapping into a broader network of Muslim candidates to connect with, with whom they are likely to find compatibility.”

BeyondChai makes a sometimes scary part of dating exciting and easy. You won’t need to interpret mixed signals or wonder if you’re doing something wrong. 

“Through fostering transparent two-way communication, we are able to establish trust and understanding and further provide guidance and support in this often awkward process; sometimes, building a client’s confidence is all it takes for them to take the next step,” Rumana told me. “We provide our clients with not only a very private and discreet experience but also provide hope for a happier future.”