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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.
Attempting to dig up one’s fiancée’s past violates her right to privacy and thus is haram. It is prohibited to seek the help of jinn to do something that is haram. Besides, jinn may give one false information that may sow doubts in one’s mind regarding the chastity of one’s fiancée and thus do her injustice.
To clarify this question further, there are two aspects that need to be tackled in detail. The first one concerns inquiring about a future wife’s past life in general, and the second is regarding seeking the help of jinn to know things one does not know.
As for the first aspect, it is lawful in principle for a man to inquire about the social conditions, morals, and behavior of the woman he wants to propose to. But it is not lawful for him to seek to divulge the secrets of her past, even if she had committed some faults. This is a kind of violation of her right to privacy.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade Muslims to do something of such a kind. It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you sought to divulge people’s secrets, you would corrupt them or you would be about to do so.” (Reported by Abu Dawud)
It was also reported that during the caliphate of `Umar ibn Al-Kattab (may Allah be pleased with him), Kharijah ibn Hudhafah, an Egyptian citizen, built a room in a way that would enable him to peep into his neighbors’ houses and know their secrets. When Caliph `Umar heard about that, he sent a message to `Amr ibn Al-`Aas, the ruler of Egypt, in which he said: “Salam. It came to my knowledge that Kharijah ibn Hudhafah built a room to use in peeping into his neighbors’ houses and divulging their secrets. When this message reaches you, go ahead and destroy this room. Salam.’’ (Reported by Ibn `Abd Al-Hakam)
Imam Al-Bukhari said that Almighty Allah’s words: “And spy not” (Al-Hujurat: 12) refer to the attempts to know and disclose others’ secrets.
A man who wants to propose to a woman may seek to inquire about her morals in general and the way she treats her family, neighbors, relatives, etc. He can know this through a trusted mutual friend. He should avoid seeking secret knowledge about her past relations. He must bear in mind that all humans err and that he himself may also have past secrets that he does not want others to know about.
Moreover, if a believer knows something faulty about another’s life, it is a moral duty upon him not to divulge it to others. This is implied in Allah’s words: “Allah loveth not the utterance of harsh speech save by one who hath been wronged. Allah is ever Hearer, Knower.” (An-Nisa’: 148)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said also in that regard: “A believer who covers a Muslim’s faults [in this world] will have his faults covered by Almighty Allah in this world and the Hereafter.”
Bear in mind, also, that a woman has no right to tell her fiancé on her own about her past faults, for this would be a kind of lifting the screen that Allah Almighty has provided her in that respect. If a woman’s fiancé insists that she tell him about her past, she is not required to tell the truth; she may play on words to evade this.
With regard to seeking the help of jinn, it can be in something either lawful or unlawful. Scholars are unanimous that it is unlawful (haram) to seek the help of jinn in something that is not lawful in principle. This applies to seeking knowledge about one’s fiancée’s past faults, especially if she has repented to Almighty Allah. If she is not morally straight, one will mostly know it without resorting to a jinn.
As for seeking the help of jinn in something that is lawful, there is nothing in Shari `ah against this, provided that the jinn whose help is sought are committed Muslims. This was the opinion of Imam Ibn Taymiyh (may Allah have mercy upon him).
However, there are reservations regarding this issue, especially that sorcerers use unbelieving jinn to harm people and that a believer may not be sure if the jinn he is dealing with is really a good Muslim. Taking this into consideration, a Muslim will ward off evil by not seeking the help of jinn at all. Rather, he should do his best to overcome the problems that face him, seeking only Almighty Allah’s help.
In addition, it is a natural law of the universe that the jinn belong to a world different from that of human beings. So when humans make contact with the jinn, they are violating a natural law. Moreover, communicating with the jinn is an escape from one’s reality and an abandonment of the duty to do one’s best to solve one’s problems.
Hence, it is for the best interest of people to avoid communicating with the jinn at all.
For more information, you can read:
The World of Jinn and Its Secrets
Delving into the Past of a Future Partner
Is It a Must to Disclose One’s Sinful Past to a Prospective Spouse?
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