Lauren Booth – How To Get Married l What To Avoid

			Peace be upon you, Lauren booth here. So every episode, I'm going to be bringing you some of my tips
and truths about life as a Muslim. So we're going to kick off with that contentious issue. By the
way, I'm going to be drinking during this because I've tried been trying for the last half hour to
record something that seems nice and casual. But when you've been a journalist for 20 years casual
looks like, Hey, how are you guys? It's really nice to see you. We'll be back in a moment. And it's
so sort of, it's very finished and polished, but I can't do casual unless there's food around. So
this is a
		

			it's a really nice piece of Turkish bread.
		

			Okay,
		

			that's good. This is me being casual
		

			marriage. So when I came to Islam, I just been divorced about six months. This was in 2010. I've
been Muslim, nine years now. So this is going to be my nights Ramadan coming up, handily. lurky,
rockville Alameen. So I was wondering, how do you get married? Now before Islam? Obviously, I've
been a journalist. I've been on TV. So I had loads of male friends. In fact, I would say that I'd
been a misogynist. What about you? Have you got many friends of your own gender? Or are you addicted
to friendships with the opposite gender and all that flirtatiousness? Please don't get me drawn
into. We're just friends. Suddenly, somebody looks nice. The great to be around. You love their
		

			company. Kind of very similar to a crush anyway. That's where I come from. That's been my
experience. The number of times before I came to Islam, I got myself into sticky situations with
guys who said, Hey, I just want to be your friend. They really didn't. Anyway, marriage.
		

			Are you looking to get married? Are you muslim? Are you young? Are you old? Like me? I'm over 50
just want to get that out there. I'm not embarrassed about my age. I think every single age has a
jointer to it. Tips and truths about marriage? Are you a new Muslim? If you are, I wonder if you
haven't heard this type? Yes, below if you have. All you need is a pious brother. That's it. Some of
the Sahaba The Friends of the Prophet peace be upon him, they would marry the woman would marry and
the gift would be just a line of the Quran. You don't need anything else. Don't worry, a believing
man for believing woman, because he's got a beard. long as he's got a long shirt on that goes to the
		

			ground but not to his ankles, mind you, then you're in like Flynn. I just I'm tired of finding
convert sisters sort of given the dregs of, of our community. A pious man is the very highest in the
community. But what we get offered is the guy who's got no money, no character, no Dean, no family
support, but he knows a line of the court. And would you let your child get married to someone like
that you go to your daughter, what you should aspire to, as a believer is someone with nothing to
offer no good manners, but knows one line of the Quran. So why do you do that to new Muslims. I've
known too many sisters and sisters. Be aware. You don't need to marry right away.
		

			But marriage is the best form of lifestyle. Especially, especially in the Diem. When you're not
going out and you're not doing those mingling in the evening and you've got time. And you want to
commit to your beliefs and you want to commit to a family and a household. It's brilliant.
Brilliant. get it wrong, is death and living death. So my number one tip, right first tip, don't
rush into marriage. Don't Don't marry any old. You know, he'll do this one's not married. We don't
know who he is, but just marry him. Number two, how about this? Don't ask too much for the MaHA.
Right. The Maha is a gift that the man gives that's of benefit to the woman. Okay? It but it is a
		

			gift. It doesn't have to be something like she needs urgently. It's a gift. And it's meant to be
weighty enough that it's going to matter if they break up and and he has to take it back. And it has
to matter that he's got to give it to the woman. Do you see it's a really it's a weighty gift. It's
something that binds them together. So it shouldn't be nothing. In fact, I was speaking to Brother
Ali Dower, the YouTuber Ali DeRoche, about a couple of weeks ago about marriage and he said sisters
in the West there's no excuse for less than 3000 pounds. Right 3000 pounds is a good barometer.
Brother doesn't have it. If he loves you, he's going to work for it. So So tip number two is take
		

			the matter seriously and get advice on that now we'll know what it is. It is an embarrassing thing
to say it's like you know because we all want to say Hang on, you know what I'm worth? I'm worth the
Lamborghini, my friend. But I see that happening. All around.
		

			the Muslim world and the pious young brothers don't feel they can get married. They're being pushed
into extra marital premarital and pre marital affairs Zina right into sin, because the fam because
the families of the young girls are saying, we need this Lamborghini and a house and you need to
have, you know, 50 grand in the bank and the brothers like, Well, yeah, I'm gonna have to be 40 then
there are there are certain things that you have a right to ask and to value and to want. That's the
looks of the person. Have they got somewhere else? In other words, can they look after you we're not
talking a great deal of wealth. But you know, you're going to be looked after in Sharla. You're
		

			going to like the look of them. There's gonna be attraction. So many converts. We go into a marriage
and we say, if he's happy Lila, the dean is enough.
		

			There are different factors you're allowed to ask for. And family. Good family really, really
important. The heritage, your kids are gonna look like this family.
		

			Yeah, you better get on with them to a degree or at least think that at some point in the future you
can. It's horrible. Believe me, it's horrible if you if the family rejects you. Tip number three.
		

			So I was at a young sister's house the other night, lovely family, Indian heritage living in London.
And I said, so she's 23 You're gonna get married then? And she
		

			said, Oh, no, what what's happened? I'm really sorry. If I put my foot in it should. And the mum
said yes. Something bad's happened. I said.
		

			She said, Let me tell you the bad thing. I said, if your show said what is it? She said? Well, we
had a meeting with a boy and his family last year. And it went on about six meetings over a rough
few months and and then it didn't work out. They weren't compatible.
		

			are seen as brilliant. Brilliant. Why? Why are you downhearted about that? Because it didn't work
out. But that's the process. You're not meant to just take the first one that comes along. It's an
interview process is the most important interview process of your life. Because unlike jobs which
will come and go and careers, which have changed dozens of times in a lifetime now, the marriage is
the thing that is the cement, believe it, believe it. As someone who's had, you know, divorces, it's
painful. It wrecks marriages, you want to get this one, right? You do more interviews for university
than you do for marriage. Making a mistake.
		

			So I said that's great news. If it if so here's a tip.
		

			If you go if you if you have like a few meetings with a brother and it doesn't work out, it was
never meant to be. That's you being saved from awkwardness, or much, much worse, two or three years
down the line. Right? Nothing wrong with it. Nothing bad. Just go your separate ways. leave each
other with peace. And start again. And truth is this. Pray, pray for the best. You know, sometimes
we get a bit downhearted and we ask Allah to Allah from the crumbs of the King of Kings tables. So
imagine if you go, you're invited into a meeting with a member of a royal family. And when you get
there, the king says, Now ask me for anything. Anything at all. What do you want? Asked me and right
		

			now I'll give it you. And so we're standing there and we see a cat bowl in the corner, we think Oh,
that'd be nice. Can I get Can I have that cat bowl, please? The King would say
		

			are you sure that's all you want? I can give you anything that you see feel here in all of my
kingdom. And you go now All right, I'm good. Thanks just to cap off. First of all, you'd be a bit
rude. Because it's a pointless little thing.
		

			You haven't credited the king with what he's able to give you haven't accepted or acknowledged his
generosity to you. My life turned around six months ago by the Grace of Allah when I started really
really praying, really praying for someone to be everything. Everything that I wanted Dean doing
dunya studies ill caring financial through a lot. I said I you know what, Allah to Allah, please,
just give me the best of the lot of it. For me, might not be the best for you.
		

			You know, but the best for me the one that matches me. Guess what? I got an email from a brother.
		

			And it's so far so good. hamdulillah so also final one sisters. Don't let anybody tell you that over
50 You can't get married. And that there are and don't Sisters of any age. Don't Don't let anybody
tell you that in the Muslim community. There aren't good brothers. They're good brothers. They're
waiting for sisters who don't ask for Lamborghinis over and out