Question Summary:
My cousin asked for my friends hand in marriage and I told the truth about him, did I commit a sin?

Question Detail:

I have been asked by a female friend about my cousin.
they don't know each other personally but he wanted to ask her hand for marriage she asked me to honestly tell her what i think of him, and i did. she also asked me about the his family and i told the truth.
my aunt's family lie a lot and always think bad of other people, and my cousin is very controlling and wants a woman that would only obey him without a question. so i told her all that.
now she changed her mind and decided to find someone else, i have told my mother that i actually said all that, and she told me that what i did was very horrible and that i am not supposed to talk bad about my relatives. but i have only told the truth, marriage is a big deal and i know that i had to tell the truth.
my question is, was what i have done haram? i have told the postives and negatives with my cousin and his family to her. but now i feel guilty and i feel that i have destroyed their chance for marriage?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
At the outset, we wish to point out that it is not permissible to have a female friend. As a Muslim, your friends should be males only.
Concealing the faults of people is praiseworthy. However, if someone seeks advice (Mashwara) regarding some issue or person, the person consulted is regarded as an Ameen (trustworthy person). An Ameen ought to be truthful and honest and should divulge whatever he knows.
Rasulullah (Sallahu alaihi wasallam) has said:
"المستشار مؤتمن"
“The one asked for consultation has been handed a trust”
 (Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith no. 5128)
Therefore, you have acted appropriately.[1]
 
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Saleem Ibn Sajawal Khan
Bradford, UK
Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.