As-Salamu ‘Alaikum sister,

 

If you love this man and you feel he is a good, pious man who will make a good spouse and father to any potential children, then there is no reason you should not pursue with this marriage to him. In an ideal situation, he would approach your parents first and seek their approval. It may be that after the discussion with them you are able to convince them of your love for each other and that they become happy to go ahead with this relationship. If they know that you love him they may be less likely to try and pursue anyone else for you. Perhaps you could arrange a meeting where you all get together; yourself, your cousin, and your parents and discuss this further.

 

However, if you are sure that your parents would be angry at you and there is no way to convince them otherwise, and you are confident that they would select a good spouse for you, then there is also no reason why you should not marry a person of their choice. The choice is yours. The most important is that you should not be forced into anything you don’t want to do or feel uncomfortable about.

 

Although one thing you should be aware of amongst all is that communicating with him as a non-mahram male – even via social media and even only as a sister and not a lover – is actually haram and should not be engaged in. Even if it becomes possible to pursue marriage to him, talk to him in this way becomes permissible only after you are actually married. This might seem very strict, but the same rules apply since the same danger of developing haram relationships can occur online as much as face-to-face. This is something to be cautious of whether you marry him or someone of your parent’s choice.

 

It is a tough choice for you to make, but if you make du’aa’ to Allah (swt) and pray Istikharah, surely He (swt) will guide you to make the best choice. May Allah (swt) bring peace and contentment within your family and grant you a good, pious spouse that you will be very happy with.