Ans. 48: My daughter, know and convey my salaams to the rest of your sisters – and know that if a suitor is not a mahram to you, then it is not permissible for you to engage in conversations with him, or stories, or laugh and joke or use soft speech, rather this is the way Shaytan may enter – and we know of many suitors who end up engage in prohibited actions. So know that this is my advice to you and all sisters in the East and in the West, and that my second advice is that the suitor should go to the Wali (guardian) and then the Wali will present the situation to the woman and then, if she accepts, she can then see him and him her, and if she agrees after, they can then proceed to the Nikah (marriage contract). Thirdly, if a sister knows of a good, trustworthy, pious brother, then it is permissible for her to make herself known to him by way of another trustworthy sister who will present her for marriage, or she can do this directly over the telephone by saying to him, ‘I would like to marry you.’ If he is interested, he can then approach the guardian and they can proceed. But it is not permissible for you to speak to each other on the phone everyday and this is how Shaytan enters. And Allaah Knows Best.