Is it permissible, Islamically, for a man to conceal his second marriage from his first wife, or does she have the right to know before the marriage, especially since the validity of the contract is conditioned upon acceptance and announcement (ishhar), and announcement here includes informing the first wife?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The correct view is that publicizing the marriage (ishhar an-) is recommended, not obligatory, according to the majority of scholars. It is not a condition of publicizing that everyone be informed. Therefore, the validity of a man's marriage does not depend on informing his first wife or anyone else.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/67864
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 67864
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Read the full answer on Ftawy