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Am I Required to Reveal a Prior Divorce to a Suitor?

22 June, 2019
Q As-Salamu `alaykum. My sister was divorced before the marriage was consummated with her. Now a man has come to propose marriage to her. Is she obliged to tell him about her previous divorce, especially since no consummation of the marriage occurred? Please note that if we tell the second suitor, perhaps that will affect the prospect of the marriage going ahead. Is it permissible to keep quiet and conceal this matter?

Answer

Sheikh `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Naser al-Barrak
22 June, 2019

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

It is necessary to tell the suitor about any previous divorce.

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Answering your question, Abderrahman Ibn Nasser Al-Barrak, a famous Saudi scholar, states:

It is obligatory to tell the suitor that she was married before, and the marriage contract was done with her, then she was divorced.

This is regardless of whether the first husband consummated the marriage with her or not, and regardless of whether the second suitor asks about that or not.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.