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We are an exclusive matchmaking service for Muslims who are ready to marry. If you have found your way here, you must be ready to find a spouse.
A Message From Cecil
The road to finding the woman whom Allah (SWT) created just for me has been a long, winding, and arduous path. I have dealt with life-altering existential crises, and I have faced death on multiple occasions. I have almost lost “everything” and I have experienced the mercy of Allah (SWT). I have been through love, heartbreak and miscarriages. I have been an immigrant. I have been married and made Nikah. I have been through divorce and Talaq. I have been through international custody battles. I have been a young single dad. I have been an older “new” dad. I have raised boys. I have raised girls. Alhamdulillāh, I have been through a lot. However, as much as I have been through in this life, all roads led me “straight” to my wife, and here to help each of you on your journey. And for this I am very grateful. Alhamdulillāhi Rabbil-‘Ālamīn.
I never promote any product or service that I have not tried personally. I know first-hand that the Men of Deen method works, because I was the very first customer.
Let me explain.
My marriage Jihad began when I was 14 years old. As a young teen, despite being raised a Christian, and despite seeing my peers venture into dating and sex at very early ages, I made the conscious decision to NOT date. I chose to be abstinent until I found my wife. I wanted to have an exclusive and committed relationship with a woman before engaging in any such activities. So, while all my friends were busy making out, hooking up, making up… and breaking up, I was holding out and focused in, waiting for my wife.
Later in my college career, I found her. Or so I thought. She loved me, I loved her. She was a practicing Christian, and all was as it was supposed to be… until it was not. Her father, a wealthy businessman, threatened to cut her out of the family if she married me. My dreams and future hopes came crashing down. I was devastated and confused. But eventually, I submitted to God’s will and accepted that He, not I, was the best of planners.
Undeterred by what I deemed a failure, and still focused on building the family I dreamed of, a few years later, I married an old college friend. It made me the stepfather of an awesome teenage son. However, after a few years of struggle, we amicably and peacefully ended the marriage, Islamically. Yes, her family was Muslim, which started my journey into the Masjid to learn about Islam. Alhamdulillah. SubhanAllah. Allah (SWT) knows best what journeys we are meant to be on, and while this particular journey wasn’t what I had dreamed, it was the journey I needed.
Now, again, as a single dad with custody of my three children in the Dunya, I spent the next few years reflecting, recovering, and regenerating; literally learning how to breathe and walk and think again. I grew a lot personally and as a Muslim. I did not lose sight of my goal to build the family I had envisioned, and renewed my search to find my wife. This time, however, I chose not to use my previous, standard Western method (e.g., romance, instinct, “falling in love”, etc.). This time, I studied the Islamic process and did things as prescribed in the Qur’an and Hadith. And it all began one fateful night after reading this:
“Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of God with their goods and their persons. God hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) hath God promised good: But those who strive and fight hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward.” (Quran 4:95)
I asked myself, “Is completing your Deen a struggle in the cause of Allah (SWT)? Yes. Have I fought for this with my goods and possessions? No. Have I taken personal risks to strive for this cause? No. Have I been sitting at home trying to complete my Deen? (Clicking a mouse and sending emails) Yes. Do I want to be granted a grade higher by my Rab, by my Maker? Yes!!”
For the past 19 years, I have dedicated my career to working for major global fashion brands as an executive recruiter. For the past 15 years, I have run my own Japan-based fashion recruiting firm, contracting with brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Gap and Coach, scouring the globe to find for them the best talent that the market has to offer.
Through this work, I have developed a very specific skillset, which involves constructing a dedicated search for one person that meets very specific criteria. I locate, approach, screen, present, negotiate, and place this person with my client.
And I am very good at what I do.
So, I decided to apply my years of corporate head-hunting experience, buy an airplane ticket to a continent that I have never been, to a country and culture I knew nothing of and find (not look for) the woman who Allah (SWT) created just for me.
This did not mean that my process was void of emotional drama and false starts, but it did mean that I was focused on Deen. And with that Deen focus, I had the confidence that I was on the right path this time, no matter the struggle.
As I saw what was going on with the Ummah and how so many brothers and sisters were struggling to get married, and having experienced this struggle for myself, I decided to rededicate my career, my energy and my life focus, to building the Ummah, one pair at a time.
Insha’Allah!
Cecil Howell
HeartHunter
