He has Hepatitis C – does he have to tell the woman to whom he proposes marriage?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

We ask Allaah to heal you and make you well, and to bless you with a
righteous wife and good offspring.

Secondly:

So long as this disease is
one that people find off putting and they feel reluctant to give their
daughters in marriage to one who is suffering from it, then it is regarded
as a fault which must be disclosed to the one to whom you propose marriage,
and it is not permissible to conceal it, otherwise that is deceit, which is
haraam.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: With regard to every fault that would put one
spouse off the other and prevent the aims of marriage such as compassion and
love, the option (of annulling the marriage) must be given. Zaad
al-Ma’aad (5/166)

And he said: The one who
studies the fatwas of the Sahaabah and the early generations will realize
that they did not limit this option to one fault in exclusion to others.

And he said: If the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade a seller to conceal
faults in his products and he forbade the one who knows of it to conceal it
from the buyer, then how about faults with regard to marriage? The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Faatimah bint Qays
when she consulted him about marrying Mu’aawiyah or Abu’l-Jahm: “As for
Mu’aawiyah, he is a poor man who has no wealth, and as for Abu’l-Jahm, his
stick never leaves his shoulder.” So it is known that disclosing faults is
even more important and more essential in the case of marriage. How could
concealing a fault and cheating be a cause for making the deal binding, when
the fault becomes like a yoke on the neck of a person even though he hates
it so much? End quote from Zaad al-Ma’aad (5/168).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: The correct view is that a fault is anything
that may cause the aim of marriage not to be achieved. Undoubtedly the aims
of marriage include physical enjoyment, service and producing children,
which is one of the most important aims. If there is something that prevents
these aims being achieved, then it is a fault, so if the husband finds the
wife to be infertile or vice versa, this is a fault. End quote from
al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (5/274).

It should be noted that if
you are honest and open, there is the hope that you will be helped and
provide you with a good wife. You may find someone who will accept that or
someone who has the same sickness. All things happen by the will and decree
of Allaah.

And Allaah knows best.