I don’t know if I should laugh or sing with joy. It sounds like good news, but at the same time it also sounds like a trap. You can never tell what people are up to these days. So, this is it.

I know almost everyone in my neighbourhood. If there is a new addition, I know almost instantly. The day I saw her while taking a walk, I knew right away she was new.

I started seeing her often in the early mornings when I was either going to the mosque or returning from prayers. One morning, we exchanged “As-salaam-alaikum.” The next day we did the same, and before long it became our little routine. Even if I saw her from a distance, I would raise my hand to get her attention so we could exchange greetings.

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One morning, she looked like she wanted to talk, but I was running late for prayer, so I told her we could speak later. The following day, when we met, she said she wanted us to be friends. I didn’t see any problem with that. We lived in the same neighbourhood, greeted each other almost every day, and she seemed respectful. So that was how it started. We became friends and began having conversations whenever we met.

As friends, I asked for her number. She said she didn’t know it offhand, so she took mine instead and promised to call or text me. It turned out the guardian she was living with didn’t know she had a phone. Only her mother knew, so she had to be very careful about when she called or sent messages.

We started chatting and texting like normal friends until one day she called me. That was when everything changed.

First, she questioned me about my relationship life. She asked if I was in a relationship, how many women I had dated, and several other personal questions. I told her I didn’t have a girlfriend and answered almost everything she asked.

“What I’m about to do, I had to gather courage to do it,” she said.

She sounded nervous, so I encouraged her to go ahead.

Then she proposed to me.

If it had ended there, I would have smiled and simply told her I would think about it. But almost immediately, she mentioned marriage.

“I don’t only like you. I want us to start a relationship that will lead to marriage. Are you willing to be that person? My light in the dark, the one my heart beats for, the one who will lead me in prayer, and pray with and for me?”

That was the moment I became confused.

I have never experienced anything like this before. On one hand, I admire her confidence. It’s not every day you meet someone who knows what they want and isn’t afraid to say it. In a world where many people play games, she came straight to the point.

On the other hand, I can’t ignore how fast everything is moving. We’ve only known each other for a short while. We haven’t spent enough time together for me to know who she really is. I don’t even know if everything she’s told me about herself is accurate. There are still things I’m unsure about, including her age and parts of her personal situation.

Maybe I’ve watched too many stories where people rush into relationships and end up regretting it. Maybe social media has made me suspicious of everyone’s intentions. Or maybe these are genuine concerns that anyone in my position should have.

Part of me keeps asking, “What if this is the kind of woman every man prays for? Someone who is honest enough to say exactly what she wants.”

The other part keeps whispering, “Slow down. People can present their best version at the beginning. You barely know this person.”

I am thirty years old, so it’s not as if I’m too young to be thinking about marriage. In fact, if I met the right woman and everything felt right, I wouldn’t have a problem settling down. It’s not like I’m running away from commitment or playing games.

I Called My Girlfriend And Another Man Answered The Phone

Am I overthinking this, or are these reasonable concerns? Has anyone experienced something similar before? What would you advise me to do?

— Ibrahim
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