Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Question: Asalamualaikum warehmatuLLAHI wabarakatuhu. I have a question and a quick reply would be appreciated as it of a deeply concerning nature. Here in our society there is a system of a middle man who tries to make matrimonial alliances among families. The middle man is required to go from one home to the other until he finds a family(say the potential groom’s family) that fulfills the criteria of another family(say bride’s family). Now this middle man who happens to be a male in most cases or a 3rd sex as it is called i.e they seem like males but behave as females. This middle man demands to see the bride to be once so that he can at least have an idea of what she looks like and can thus convey it to the other family or for reasons like to rule out any facial deformity,any other problem etc.and perhaps to see if she is pretty enough. Now my question is that is it permissible to reveal ones face in front of such a person as the girls to be wed are being pressurised to show their respective faces?

Answer: Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

It is not permissible for the girls to show their faces to the middle man. The system of this middle used in this way is not permissible in Islam. It is Haram.

And Allah Knows Best.

Mufti Waseem Khan.

24/4/2014