Is it permissible for a suitor to see and speak with the woman he intends to propose to before the official engagement? Is it permissible to perform Istikhara prayer for more than one woman? And how should a wife be chosen in terms of beauty, lineage, and religiosity?

It is permissible for the suitor to repeatedly look at and speak with the fiancée, without being in seclusion, until he feels confident in making his decision. This permissibility ceases when the need for it is no longer present. The Istikhara prayer can be performed for each girl individually, or after one of them has been chosen. The praiseworthy qualities for a woman are: virginity, religiosity, lineage, beauty, and wealth, with preference given to the religious one.