Is it obligatory to tell a suitor that the woman was previously divorced in a marriage that was not consummated?

QUESTION :

My sister was divorced before the marriage was consummated with her. Now a man has come to propose marriage to her. Is she obliged to tell him about her previous divorce, especially since no consummation of the marriage occurred? Please note that if we tell the second suitor, perhaps that will affect the prospect of the marriage going ahead. Is it permissible to keep quiet and conceal this matter?

ANSWER :

Praise be to Allah

We put this question to our shaykh, ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) and he said:

it is obligatory to tell the suitor that she was married before, and the marriage contract was done with her, then she was divorced, regardless of whether the first husband consummated the marriage with her or not, and regardless of whether the second suitor asks about that or not.

And Allah knows best.

-islamqa.info