Telling intended wife he has herpes

5-10-1999 | IslamWeb

Question:

I have a very tough situation and would like your advice! I have been diagnosed with a disease called "Herpes." This is not a dangerous disease as I can live a normal life. I am planning to get married soon and I am not sure if I need to tell my future wife about my illness when I ask for her hand in marriage! Is it Islamic that I keep this to myself since it is not a life threatening disease or do I have to be open about it? The problem is that if I tell it, I will never get married due to people's ignorance about this disease! Please help!

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Dear brother! First of all, we ask Almighty Allah to grant you an instant cure. Always try to ask Allah this Du‘a (supplication): “O Allah! Indeed I beg your pardon, good health and everlasting recovery in this world and hereafter”. My dear brother, you know that truth and honesty are from the principles of Islam in all types of dealing, either in religious matters or worldly matters. A Muslim should not like for others what he does not like for himself. On the basis of this rule, jurists have decided that while a person is selling something, he should inform the buyer of all its defects. If he does not do that, the other party has the right to nullify this transaction. It is a great matter, my brother, since it is related to honour and life, i.e. making a girl’s body lawful for you. No doubt, this is more serious and more important. As our knowledge, this disease is serious and critical and infectious. So, you should try to take a good treatment, continue Du‘a to Almighty Allah, who will cure you, Insha Allah. You must inform the girl and her family about this disease. Please, ask yourself would you like to propose a man suffering from this disease for your sister or daughter (in future Insha Allah), without informing about it? Surely, you would not like it. But you have the right to nullify this marriage, as it is the woman who has the right to nullify the marriage in case of discovering this defect after marriage. If you have any true medical certificate which proves that this disease does not harm, i.e. not infectious, then you may send it, and we will observe it and give you suitable advice, Insha Allah. Allah knows best.