Shariah Status of Premarital Medical Screening: An analytical study

Abstract

Marriage holds a central place in Islamic teachings, not merely as a legal contract, but as a sacred bond that ensures the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of both spouses. In the contemporary era, the growing relevance of premarital medical screening which involves testing couples for serious health conditions such as thalassemia, HIV/AIDS, or other hereditary diseases has introduced a critical ethical and legal discourse within Islamic scholarship. This article investigates a key research question: What is the Shariah status of premarital medical screening in Islamic law? The analysis unfolds by presenting the Islamic juristic principles regarding health and harm prevention, drawing on Qur’anic texts, Prophetic traditions, and juristic maxims, followed by a comparative study of the four Sunni legal schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali) particularly on the topic of annulment due to health related causes. The research also presents scholarly opinions ranging from permissibility to impermissibility and necessity. While some scholars object on grounds of privacy or personal liberty, the majority support permissibility especially for life threatening conditions based on the principles of ḥifẓ al-nafs (preservation of life) and darʾ al-mafāsid (prevention of harm). However, mandating the tests remains a subject of debate, with many jurists cautioning against turning what is Islamically permissible into a compulsory legal obligation without consensus. The study concludes that premarital medical screening, while not religiously obligatory, is Shariah compliant and advisable for the sake of protecting human life and ensuring marital harmony, provided that it respects ethical and legal boundaries.