Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

salam,is it allowed to send a picture of a girl to a man who maybe will marry her, just to see how she looks?Can the girl show her hair?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can a couple meet or see photo before marriage?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) permitted the believing man who intends to marry a woman to see, meet and talk to her in the presence of a mehram; so that he may be encouraged to seek her hand in marriage.

If a man intends to marry a woman, there is no harm if he sees her photograph.

Question: Can the girl show her hair?

The girl can show her hair to other women, children, and to her male mehram relatives. But she must cover her hair and her body in front of all non-mehram males.

If your question is pertaining to the subject of a man being permitted to see the photo of the girl without her hair-cover, there is no harm as long as their intention is to marry each other. This should not be taken as a excuse to freely pass around or watch photographs of righteous women in the pretence of marriage, for Allah Subhanah is indeed aware of the intentions of the hearts.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan