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Fatwa CenterHusband was not aware of wife's mental illness and non-virginity before marriage
Question
A man signed a marriage contract in September 2012. The wife signed on the contract(but not her guardian, even though her father was present). The wife had a mental illness and was hospitalized before marriage and no one told the husband until she broke down again in December 2013. She stayed at the hospital for more than 70 days. She didn't marry before and claimed to be virgin but when they started living together the husband discovered that she wasn't virgin. Is the marriage contract correct since the guardian didn't sign it and the husband was not informed about the mental illness and the wife lied about her virginity? Can the husband request annulment? Who is responsible to pay the mahr? Can the husband ask the wife to pay back the money she took as moqaddam? Is the wife considered the guardian of herself and responsible for compensating the husband? Thank you
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The marriage contract is valid once the offer of the Wali (legal guardian) - or his representative - and the acceptance of the husband occur in the presence of two witnesses, even if the bride’s guardian did not sign the marriage contract. What matters is the verbal utterance of mutual consent (the offer and the acceptance) and not the signature on the marriage contract; please refer to Fatwa 83629.
If the woman has a mental illness, such as insanity, and the husband was unaware of that until after concluding the marriage contract, then he is entitled to request annulment of the marriage. As to virginity, scholars held different opinions regarding the loss of virginity as a defect that legitimizes the annulment of the marriage.
For more information, please refer to Fataawa 81422 and 90593.
If it is confirmed that the husband in this case has the choice to annul the marriage after its consummation, then the wife is entitled to the whole Mahr (dowry); however, the husband is entitled to demand the Mahr from the person who deceived him. On the other hand, assuming that the husband does not have the choice to annul the marriage, then the husband is entitled to demand the difference between the Mahr of a non-virgin woman and that of a virgin according to opinion of some jurists.
If the woman denied being a non-virgin and swore to it, then she is entitled to her Mahr stated in the contract. In case of disputes over such issues, the case should be referred to a legitimate Islamic judge if available; otherwise, it should be referred to the scholars in the Islamic centers.
Allaah Knows best.
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