Is it permissible to marry without seeing the woman?

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Question:
In most parts of the south, a man marries a woman without having seen her. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding this?

Answer:
There is no harm in that if he marries her and has not seen her; there is no harm. However, it is better if he sees her. If that is not possible, he should send a trustworthy woman to see her, or send one of her mahram (relatives one may not marry) to see her and report back to him. He should seek help from Allah, then from one of her mahram, or send some women to her so that she can look at them. If it is possible to look at her, that is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded looking at her. He said:

If one of you proposes to a woman and is able to look at what would incline him to marry her, let him do so.

إذا خطب أحدُكم امرأةً فاستطاع أن ينظر منها إلى ما يدعوه إلى النكاح فليفعل

.
A man came to him and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have married a woman." He said:

Did you look at her?

أنظرتَ إليها؟

He said: "No." He said:

Go and look at her

اذهب فانظر إليها

. Looking at her has benefits. In the hadith it is said:

Indeed, that is closer to establishing affection between them.

إنَّ ذلك أقرب إلى أن يُؤْدَم بينهما

So if he has looked at her before that and entered the marriage with knowledge, that is more appropriate and better if it is possible.

Source binbaz.org.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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