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Mut'ah
Marriage in Islam is a strong bond, a binding contract, based on the intention
of both partners to live together permanently in order to attain, as individuals,
the benefit of the repose, affection, and mercy which are mentioned in the Qur'an,
as well as to attain the social goal of the reproduction and perpetuation of the
human species:
"And Allah has made for our spouses of your own nature, and
from your spouses has made for you sons and grandsons..." (An Nahl:72)
Now, in temporary marriage (known in Arabic as mut'ah), which is contracted by
the two parties for a specified period of time, the above-mentioned purposes of
marriage are not realized. While the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted temporary
marriage during journeys and military campaigns before the Islamic legislative
process was complete, he later forbid it and made it forever haram.
Mut'ah in the context of marital relationship means a marriage which is only
valid within the said time between two consented parties. Both of them could also
add some of their own rules or requirements in the aggreement of marriage such as
the custody of child (after the mut'ah period), amount of money given to the woman
etc. This (the period of marriage) is declared at the time the contract is made.
The prospective husband mentions to his prospective wife that they are marrying
for a year or a longer or shorter period in which she agrees to that. When the
period is over, their marriage is dissolved automatically. They may, however,
resume the contract if the wish to do so.
The reason for it was permitted in the beginning was that the Muslims were
passing through what might be called a period of transition from jahiliyyah to
Islam. Fornication was very common then and was wide-spread among the pre-Islamic
Arabs. After the advent of Islam, when they were required to go on military
expeditions, they were under great pressure as a result of being absent from their
wives for long periods of time. Among the Believers were some who were strong in
faith and others who were weak. The weak ones feared that they would be tempted
to commit adultery, a major sin and an evil course, while the strong in faith, on
the other hand, were ready to castrate themselves, as stated by Ibn Mas'ud:
"We were on an expedition with the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) and
did not have our wives with us, so we asked Allah's Messenger (peace be on him),
'Should we not castrate ourselves? (The reason for this request was the desire to
maintain their purity of mind and body, which was in danger of being affected by
their unmet needs. (Trans.) He forbade us to do so but permitted us to contract
marriage with a woman up to a specified date, giving her a garment as a dower
(mahr)." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Thus temporary marriage provided a solution to the dilemma in which both the
weak and the strong found themselves. It was also a step toward the final
legalization of the complete marital life in which the objectives of permanence,
chastity, reproduction, love, and mercy, as well as the widening of the circle of
relationships through marriage ties were to be realized.
We may recall that the Qur'an adopted a gradual course in prohibiting
intoxicants and usury, as these two evils were widespread and deeply rooted in the
jahili society. In the same manner the Prophet (peace be on him) adopted a course
of gradualism in the matter of sex, at first permitting temporary marriage as a
step leading away from fornication and adultery, and at the same time coming
closer to the permanent marriage relationship. He then prohibited it absolutely,
as has been reported by Muslim who reported this in his Sahih, mentioning that
al-Juhani was with the Prophet (peace be on him) at the conquest of Makkah and
that the Prophet (peace be on him) gave some Muslims permission to contract
temporary marriages. Al-Juhani said, "Before leaving Makkah the Messenger of
Allah (peace be on him) prohibited it. " In another version of the hadith we find
the Prophet's own words, "Allah has made it haram until the Day of Resurrection."
The prohibition of mut`ah which had been permitted for three days only, then
it became haram for all time. [Sahih Muslim, 1/586-7] Mut`ah was then forbidden
and permitted twice. It was permissible before Khaybar, and was forbidden onthe
day of Khaybar. Then it was allowed on the day of the liberation of Makkah, but
it was prohibited three days later, in a prohibition which is in force until the
Day of Judgment. [Al Nawawi, Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 3/553].
The question then remains—Is temporary marriage (mut'ah) absolutely haram,
like marriage to one's own mother or daughter, or is it like the prohibition
concerning the eating of pork or dead meat, which becomes permissible under real
necessity, the necessity in this case being the fear of committing the sin of
zina ?
The majority of the Companions held the view that after the completion of the
Islamic legislation, temporary marriage was made absolutely haram. Ibn 'Abbas,
however, held a different opinion, permitting it under necessity. A person asked
him about marrying women on a temporary basis and he permitted him to do so. A
servant of his then asked, "Is this not under hard conditions, when women are few
and the like?" and he replied, "Yes." (Reported by al-Bukhari.) Later, however,
when Ibn 'Abbas saw that people had become lax and were engaging in temporary
marriages without necessity, he withdrew his ruling, reversing his opinion. (Zad
al-Mi'ad,vol.4,p. 7. Bayhaqi transmitted it and Muslim as well.)
Links:
Mut`ah
http://www.isnet.org/~ktpdi/qa-islam/QA206.txt
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