What is the ruling on a man who married a woman who had been divorced, without providing proof of her divorce, and told the judge that she was not divorced and that she was a virgin?

The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: Peace be upon you

The Shaykh: And upon you peace. And by Allah, O Shaykh, I want to ask you a question about a man who married a woman who had been divorced, and he had no proof that she was divorced, so he told the judge that she was not divorced and that she was a virgin. What is the ruling on this marriage contract, I mean?

The Shaykh: This requires a court judgment, may Allah reward you. It does not require a fatwa.

The questioner: How do you mean a court judgment?

The Shaykh: It requires a judge’s investigation, meaning it requires interrogation and cross-examination. Usually, what happens is that a woman is married and claims to be a virgin, and if it turns out she is not a virgin, that is one thing. But here it is the opposite; we need to know why she said she was divorced and then turned out to be a virgin?

The questioner: My lord, because the girl came from far away, from Canada, so the proof was with her. And if she wanted to get married, they needed this proof. It was necessary for her to go to Canada and come back, but her waiting period had ended long ago. So the young man thought that there was no harm in telling the judge that she was a virgin, because he did not want to, I mean, make lawful what is forbidden. But it is just that she lied, I don’t know. What is your opinion, Shaykh?

The Shaykh: How do you mean he did not want to make lawful what is forbidden? What is the forbidden thing in this matter?

The questioner: No... I mean, he thinks that merely telling that she is a virgin, that is where the forbidden thing is.