From a solo London startup to a global brand, what inspired you to create Muzz?
I was a young Muslim in London trying to help people find a partner the right way, and the options were terrible. Existing dating apps felt completely misaligned with Islamic values. I built Muzz because the muslims all around the world needed it. That authenticity is what I think people felt from day one.
How did you turn a startup idea into a platform with 21 million members?
We never chased growth for the sake of it. We focused obsessively on one thing, does this actually help Muslims find a spouse? Every feature, every decision came back to that. When you solve a real problem for a real community, word spreads. Muslim communities are tightly connected globally, which worked in our favour.
In a world of casual dating, how does Muzz keep marriage at the centre?
It starts at sign-up. We ask about marriage intentions, family involvement, religiosity, questions no dating app asks. We are not trying to be Tinder for Muslims. We are something entirely different. Our entire product design signals seriousness, and that filters the right people in and the wrong ones out.
How do features like photo blur and Chaperone help Muslim women feel safer?
Muslim women told us they wanted control over who sees them, who contacts them, and how conversations happen. Photo blur lets them share their photo only when they choose. The Wali feature lets them add a family member to their conversations. These are not gimmicks, they came directly from what our female users asked for
With over 1.5 million users in Pakistan, what makes this market so important to Muzz?
Pakistan is one of the largest Muslim populations in the world and one of the most marriage-focused cultures I know. The rishta system is deeply embedded, but young Pakistanis are frustrated with how it works. They want to choose, they want to know someone before committing, but they also want family involved. That is exactly what Muzz is built for. The fit is natural.
How is Muzz redefining the traditional rishta culture for a younger generation?
We are not replacing rishta culture, we are upgrading it. The intention is the same: find a serious partner for marriage with family awareness. What we are changing is the process. Instead of an aunty’s list of twenty people you have never spoken to, you can get to know someone first, their values, their goals, their deen, before anything becomes formal. Pehle baat, phir baraat.
How do you balance modern matchmaking with family involvement and religious values?
We do not see these as opposites. The Wali feature exists because family involvement is a feature, not a problem. We actively educate our users through content, events, and partnerships, on how to use the app in a way that is halal, intentional, and family-inclusive. The app gives individuals the tools. How they involve their family is their choice, and we support both.
What’s one Muzz success story that reminds you why you started this journey?
Over 900,000+ marriages have happened through Muzz. But the ones that stay with me are the ones where someone tells me they had completely given up, they felt too different, too specific in what they needed, too outside the rishta system, and then they found their person. That is why this exists.
How do you tackle fake profiles and build trust in online matchmaking?
100% selfie verification at sign-up. ID verification with a blue tick. A community team of 30+ women who review every report. We have permanently removed over 500,000 accounts from the platform. We do not pretend bad actors do not exist, we are just very aggressive about removing them. Our reputation depends on it.
What’s next for Muzz, and how do you envision the future of Muslim marriage?
More Pakistan. More on-ground presence, more events, more community building. We are also looking at making ID verification mandatory in Pakistan, because trust is everything. Long term, I want Muzz to be the infrastructure for how Muslims find a spouse globally. Not just an app, a community, a movement, a new standard for what the rishta process can look like.
