Is he obliged to tell his fiancée before marriage that he has an under-active thyroid?

Question 647496

I have an under-active thyroid (Hashimoto’s disease) and I take thyroxine tablets every day. The thyroid is functioning normally, but the last ultrasound indicated that the thyroid has decreased in size without causing any harm, and the test results are still normal.

I want to propose to a girl. Should I tell her about this illness or conceal it? Will I be deceiving her if I do not disclose it, noting that it is a chronic illness?

Summary of answer

Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid) has many symptoms, including: weight gain, extreme hair loss, infertility, muscle and joint pain, and so on. If you have these symptoms, or it is expected that they will appear soon, then you must disclose this illness.

Answer

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Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah:

I.

The defects that must be disclosed when getting married are defects that prevent full enjoyment of physical intimacy, or that are usually off-putting.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Any defect that would usually put one spouse off the other and would lead to the purpose of marriage, namely mercy and affection, being undermined means that there is the option to annul the marriage.

End quote from Zad al-Ma`ad, 5/166.

Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin said: The correct view is that defects in the case of marriage are subject to a clear guideline, which is that a defect is what people regard as a defect because of which physical intimacy or full enjoyment of intimacy is not possible, meaning that the nature of the marriage contract dictates that such a defect should not be there. This is the type of defect that is considered to be a real defect.

End quote from Ash-Sharh al-Mumti` `ala Zad al-Mustaqni`, 12/203.

II.

Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid) has many symptoms, including: weight gain, extreme hair loss, infertility, muscle and joint pain, and so on.

If you have these symptoms, or it is expected that they will appear soon, according to the opinion of the doctor who is treating your case, then you must disclose this illness, because concealing it is deceiving the wife and her family.

But if you are not suffering any of these symptoms, and you do not expect – if you take the medicine – that they will happen to you, by Allah’s leave, then you do not have to disclose this illness, because in that case there is nothing that could be off-putting to the wife, and she and her family will not feel that they have been deceived and cheated, because many people cannot be completely free of ailments or health issues. So if that will not make your appearance off-putting or lead to falling short in carrying out marital duties such as intimacy, and it will not affect fertility or the ability to earn a living, then you do not have to disclose it.

And Allah knows best.

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