Is it permissible for a suitor to request a picture of the prospective bride, and is it permissible for him to meet with her?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Some people request a picture of the girl; is this permissible?
The Shaykh : What do you say about this? Some people say they request a picture of the prospective bride; is this permissible or not? Yes.
The questioner : There is an alternative.
The Shaykh : It appears that there is no distinction here; a picture does not convey the reality, it does not give the truth. No matter how creative the photographer is, it does not convey the truth. Then, who will take the picture?
Yes, you might say, "My colleague," for women nowadays, praise be to Allah, have everything that men have. Yes, you might say, "My colleague," but a picture cannot convey the reality of the situation. Perhaps in the picture she improves her appearance, using makeup, oils, and such things, and she appears as a beauty queen. But if you were to see her, yes, her superiority over them remains as it is. In any case, we do not want to record this statement now, meaning that he looks at her in detail, as one who does not fear Allah does, going out with her to the open and being alone with her in the market, for example, or meeting her in a place to talk with her, and the like. All of this is forbidden.
The Shaykh : What do you say about this? Some people say they request a picture of the prospective bride; is this permissible or not? Yes.
The questioner : There is an alternative.
The Shaykh : It appears that there is no distinction here; a picture does not convey the reality, it does not give the truth. No matter how creative the photographer is, it does not convey the truth. Then, who will take the picture?
Yes, you might say, "My colleague," for women nowadays, praise be to Allah, have everything that men have. Yes, you might say, "My colleague," but a picture cannot convey the reality of the situation. Perhaps in the picture she improves her appearance, using makeup, oils, and such things, and she appears as a beauty queen. But if you were to see her, yes, her superiority over them remains as it is. In any case, we do not want to record this statement now, meaning that he looks at her in detail, as one who does not fear Allah does, going out with her to the open and being alone with her in the market, for example, or meeting her in a place to talk with her, and the like. All of this is forbidden.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1954 - 4600 هل يجوز للخاطب أن يطلب صورة للمخطوبة وهل له أن يطلع معها؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.