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:

Assalamoalaikum,
I am 30 year old, working in Dubai for past 3 years. alhamdolillah i am getting decent salary and are in a position to take care of my family. Now my parents are pressing me to get married but i want to tell you that by birth i have a physical deficiency in me because of which i can not have childredn i.e. i am infertile. I visited a urologist and he told me that i am perfectly healthy to lead a normal married life but i can not have children. Even i want to get married as every body wants but i am in a dilema how can i marry a girl if i know that she will not be able to have children after marriage which is the desire of every woman. Now you please guide me whether it is permissible in Islam to marry in this position and whether it is necesaary to inform the girl and his parents about my situation before i marry that girl.

i hope to receive your detailed reply soon.

may Allah bless you for that.

Walam, 

(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:

Impotent inform bride 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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: Now you please guide me whether it is permissible in Islam to marry in this position and whether it is necesaary to inform the girl and his parents about my situation before i marry that girl.

Respected brother, firstly a marriage in Islam is not obligatory, but rather voluntary and an extremely preferred Sunnah……thus if one marries, fears Allah, and fulfills one’s obligations in the marriage, one would receive a huge reward for their piety from their Lord; and if for any reason one chooses not to marry, there is no sin upon them.

Secondly, there is absolutely no such requirement or obligation in Shariah that every believer has to undergo a ‘medical check-up’ and get certified that they will be able to bear children!

But if one has prior knowledge and knows for sure that one has a physical or medical disability like impotency or one is sterile, whereby one would not be able to fulfill the conjugal rights on one’s wife in their marriage….then indeed it would be one’s moral obligation, and akin to piety and righteousness in the Sight of their Lord, that one clearly makes it known to the guardians of the bride regarding their medical condition before their marriage. If the bride, for any reason thereafter, chooses to agree to marry that person, there is absolutely no harm or restriction in Shariah in marrying that woman.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan