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Is dating allowed before marriage?
Alhamdulillah, dating in Islam is haraam where one studying a woman for many years, touching her and the rest in the name of I will marry her.
Allah says,
Today I have made the food of the people of the book lawful and lawful to thee are not chaste women among the believers but among those before thee desiring chastity and not taken as fornicators nor lovers. Surah 5;5.
Islam does not allow dating.
What one should do when he sees a lady he loves is to visit her wali. After he has talk with him, then he can talk to her for some days or months to study her and then pay her mahr price and marry her.
For long years is forbidden in islam as it can lead to many things like fornication.
One can also let a person study her from her friends and give him the results.
As a woman came to the prophet s.a.w said,
I wanted to marry but I had the proposal of two men, Abu sufyan and other sahaba.
The prophet s.a.w said that sahaba beats women but Abu sufyan is a miser.
For a marriage issue, a person should speak the truth about that person.
If a person knows the woman is not a good woman or the man isn't good person, he should speak the truth to the person.
Because the prophet s.a.w said,
When a person comes to your daughter and ask of her character, tell him everything about her and what you said is not true, then the wali will pay the mahr. Muwatta bin malik.
So the woman if the man divorce her will not give the mahr to him but it is the wali who will pay for telling the lies.
May Allah increase us in knowledge and guides our eeman. Amin