Muslims With Herpes Support Page 2

Questions and Answers

Q: Is there any hope of a cure for people who suffer from Herpes?

A: The Muslim aways retains hope in Allah who has the power and control over all things, and we believe that there is a cure awaiting discovery for Herpes and all other as yet uncured diseases. At this time, the Herpes virus type 2 may be controlled through medication which keeps it in remission, thereby minimizing its effect on the everyday lives of its carriers. There are also a variety of herbal/natural remedies which may or may not work according to severity and each individual case. Meanwhile, potential cures are being researched and developed, which may eventually bring an end to the particular dilemma of HSV 2. And we pray to Allah that this is the case, as His Messenger [sas] has stated : "For every disease there is a cure." (Bukhari). And there could be no more solid evidence for a believer than this statement of Allah's Messenger (sas) that a cure is out there waiting to be found.

Q: What is the Islamic ruling regarding the marriages of people with Herpes? What concerns should they have about having children?

A: It is permissible for Muslims with herpes to marry provided they fulfill certain conditions in addition to the normal conditions for marriage. These conditions are under debate and need further discussion.

As far as the children, the disease does not affect them unless the mother is suffering an untreated outbreak during the actual moment of childbirth. This is the only way the child could catch it from the parent, and in some cases could result in the death of the newborn because of its fragile state. However, even this situation may be averted through a C-section delivery, which reduces the chances of such a transmission to practically none.

Another thing to consider is that due to the social stigma attached, parents who have Herpes should probably keep it a family secret (preferrably without even telling their children) in order to prevent any social problems this could bring on themselves or their children within the Muslim community, school, neighborhood, or otherwise.

Q: What should be done if a marriage has already taken place between two Muslims before Herpes was discovered, or the carrier did not know the Islamic rulings on marriage for people with this disease?

A: In this case, the potential damage has already been done. What I mean by that is that Herpes can be transmitted when there are no apparent symptoms, and that people can catch the disease and carry it for an indefinite length of time without knowing it.

This means that the spouse who did not have herpes may or may not have caught Herpes from the carrier already, though, by Allah's grace, he/she may not have had to deal with the symptoms yet. In either case, this person must now consider him/herself a potential carrier, and if by some chance they would lose their spouse, they too, would need to take necessary precautions before finding someone else.

For the obvious reason that innocent people may be infected with this disease, such marriages wherein the matter of herpes was not made known, are not permissible. However, in this case, what has occurred, has happened out of ignorance and its effects can not be reversed. So there is nothing wrong with maintaining the marriage at this point. But the other partner should be made fully aware of the situation so that they may be prepared and know what to look out for.

Q: Herpes has nothing to do with Islam. Isn't having a site like this only giving people a reason to be scared of Islam?

A: Obviously herpes is not a part of Islam. However, this disease as well as others, are afflicting members of our ummah along with the non-Muslims. Furthermore, I do not believe that Muslims should have to turn to the non-Muslims for assistance in such a matter. Nor can the non-Muslims adequately assist Muslims who need counseling and marital services.

These are the aims of this small project. The non-Muslims only laugh at us when we pretend that such diseases do not affect our population. They see this as the kind of backward denial that only allows such illnesses to spread. If a non-Muslim saw this site, I hope that they would be impressed by the compassion the Muslims have for one another when they have been afflicted by such despicable diseases. Likewise they would be impressed that in Islam we believe that every disease has a cure, and that we have faith and hope in the cures eventually being discovered for herpes and more serious diseases like cancer and aids.

Muslims With Herpes Support Page 2

Commonly Known Facts About Herpes

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