All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear sister in Islam, thank you for your question which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to get themselves well-acquainted with the teachings of Islam as well as all aspects of life.

The Internet has become a huge medium for interaction between people all over the world. However, it involves quite a lot of hazards including untrustworthiness, for one cannot be sure of the identity or honesty of the person with whom he is interacting.

For many reasons great numbers of men and women surf the Internet looking for a life partner. This is increasing and is taking the place of the traditional way of choosing a spouse.

However, any interaction between men and women in Islam has to abide by the Islamic regulations and limits that secure decency, modesty, and chastity. Therefore, using such sites needs to be arranged under the supervision of a trustworthy committee, with some pious and honest monitors and they should conduct this matter in secrecy. Information about the man and woman should be dealt with as confidential.

Islam has set guidelines for choosing a spouse laying heavy emphasis on religiousness and piety as standards for each party. 

In his response to this question, Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, the Secretary General for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA), said:

If correspondence takes place with a faithful and honest mediator that runs a match-making service between people seeking marriage in a context of chastity and Shari`ah regulations, then I hope it will be permissible, in sha’ Allah.

However, direct correspondence requires a lot of precautions, especially with young people, and if there is a need, there is no problem in this, as long as speech is normal and there is a third trusted party present who should have a copy of all the correspondence so as to clear away any excuse for temptation for privacy, even if it is only private talk.

Excerpted from www.amjaonline.com