“Marriage is half your Deen” is something revert women often hear immediately after embracing Islam, but without knowledge and the right support, many enter marriage without a clear understanding of what this means. All marriages require work and commitment, but for our revert sisters the challenge can be even greater, leaving them vulnerable to unhappy, unfulfilling, and even abusive marriages.

In over 10 years, Solace has encountered a wide range of marital-related concerns in our work with revert women, and these issues usually stem from the following problems:

• Upon taking their shahaadah, many revert women are immediately encouraged, pressured, or rushed to marry.
• A large number of revert women do not have a Muslim father or Muslim family to act on their behalf throughout the Islamic marriage process.
• Many revert women do not have the knowledge and right support upon coming into Islam to enter into a healthy marriage.

This has led to:

• Sisters falling prey to negative behaviour of some  men.
• The appointment of a male guardian (wali) who has no time to vet the brother as would normally be conducted by a Muslim father.
• Confusion regarding the Islamic process of marriage.
• A high divorce rate amongst revert women.
• Unhappy and abusive marriages, and broken families and homes.
• Revert women feeling lonely on their search for a husband, from lack of knowledge and support.
• Having doubts about the religion and leaving Islam all together.

The ‘Solace in Marriage’ solution is a service based on the Quran and Sunnah to provide a holistic service that meets the needs of all revert sisters looking to enter into marriage.

It is designed to support revert women to find suitable partners and sustain healthy marriages, thereby further developing their eman and relationship with Allah. Through our holistic support system, we provide revert sisters and brothers wishing to marry them with the knowledge, tools and understanding required for a successful marriage.

This service is:

✓ Holistic, and comprehensive 
✓ Based on the Holy Quran and the Sunnah
✓ Based on current psychological and well-being research

You qualify for this service if you reside in and are a citizen/permanent resident of the United Kingdom and fall under one the following categories:

• You are a Muslim woman who identifies as a ‘revert’*, and are single, divorced, or widowed.
• You are a Muslim man who is interested in marrying a revert sister, born into Islamic faith or ‘revert’, and you have no wife**.

* ‘Revert’ refers to a convert to Islam from another religion.
** According to our Terms & Conditions for this service, at present, the marriage service system has been built for monogamous marriage.

The service consists of key elements to educate, ensure compatibility, vet matches, ensure inclusion, and provide in-marriage support.

An online module-based course delivered by experienced facilitators designed to equip revert sisters and brothers with an in-depth understanding of:

✓ What marriage means in Islam
✓ Their rights and responsibilities
✓ The skills to reflect and recognise whether they are ready for marriage
✓ What it takes to sustain a healthy marriage

This aspect of the service is designed to protect the interests of revert sisters, ensuring that they are safeguarded throughout the marriage process.

The Wali Panel consists of the Panel Chair and 3 professionals (2 sisters, 1 brother), with an in-depth understanding and experience of Quran & Sunnah, marriage, and psychological and wellbeing tools.

The purpose of the Panel is to act in lieu of the revert womans’ father or family, as the majority of revert sisters do not have a Wali.

As such, the Wali Panel will conduct initial meetings with sisters and brothers to ensure that they are ready for marriage, undertake references and background checks, and facilitate and oversee meetings between matches (up to 8 meetings).

The Panel will provide valuable support and constructive feedback for both sisters and brothers throughout the process. 

Following a successful meeting, couples can either opt out of the service, or receive support from Solace to plan their Nikkah and Walima.* 

The Solace Team, including the Wali Panel, will work with participants to prepare for and host a Nikkah and Walima. Vitally, this includes holding information sessions with the sister’s (and brother’s as applicable) non-Muslim friends and family to ensure that they understand what Islamic marriage entails and feel involved in the process.

* Couples that require financial assistance can apply for it at this stage

This is designed to equip the married couple with tools and techniques that enable them to implement the knowledge and skills from the pre-marriage course. This will include the following:

✓ Tools for effective communication
✓ Tools for maintaining romance and intimacy
✓ Techniques to de-escalate conflict
✓ Techniques for repair and recovery in order to build a healthy and resilient marriage
✓ Access to marriage counselling, as needed.