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Should a friend be informed of what has been learned about a girl and her family's lack of religious commitment when he desires to marry her, with the concern that this might be motivated by a previous infatuation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a girl is pleasing in her faith and character, performs her obligatory duties, and avoids major sins, it is not permissible to inform a suitor of her shortcomings in supererogatory acts (Sunan and Mustahabbat), because such information does not justify rejecting her proposal. Scholars have explicitly stated that a guardian may conceal some flaws of his female ward, except for the four specific defects or any defect that would prevent the marriage from being valid. If someone other than the guardian is consulted, he must inform the suitor of matters that affect marital life, not of things that do not harm one's faith or that might change over time, such as her family's lack of commitment. However, if she is not observant of obligatory duties, such as abandoning prayer, the suitor must be informed of this.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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