*************************************************************************** A Shi'ite Encyclopedia Chapter 6.a Version 2.0 October 1995 Revised December 1999 Revised October 2001 All Rights Reserved Contents of Chapter 6.a: - Temporary Marriage in Islam: - Part 1: Evidences From Quran and the Sunni Commentaries - Part 2: Evidences From the Sunni Hadith Collections - Part 3: Evidences From the Sunni History/Fiqh/Misc. Books - Part 4: Some Contradicting Reports - Part 5: Purpose of Marriage; Prohibition of Illegal Sex & Alcohol - Part 6: Similarities and Differences of Mut'a and Regular Marriage - Part 7: The Necessities and the Advantages of Mut'a - Part 8: Some Frequently Asked Questions on Mut'a - Debate on the Legitimacy of Mut'a: - Introduction - The Shia View - The Sunni View - Debate on the Quranic Verse of Mut'a - Debate over the Sermon of Umar - Debate on the Controversial Reports - The Opinion of the Four Sunni Schools of Law - The Opinion of the Shia School of Law and the Shi'ite Traditions Which Attribute Many Rewards to Mut'a and the Reasons Behind it. *************************************************************************** ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part I) ============ Introduction ============ Fixed-Term/Temporary/Pleasure Marriage are different names for the Arabic word of "Mut'a" which is a contract between a man and woman, much in the same way the Long-Term/Permanent/Conventional Marriage is. The main difference is that the temporary marriage longs only for a specified period of time, and man and woman will become stranger to each other after the expiration date without divorce. One misconception regarding temporary marriage is that some people think that the woman engaged in temporary marriage can have contract every other hour. This is completely misrepresentation of temporary marriage. After such contract has been expired, the woman has to wait for two months (Iddah) before which she can not marry any one else. This issue, among others, will be discussed later in detail. The first one who legislated Mut'a with all the rules pertaining to it, was the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF), after it was revealed in Quran. All Muslims agree that the Messenger of Allah legislated Mut'a and made it legal after his migration to Medina, and the Muslims practiced it during his lifetime. (see al-Mughni, by Ibn Qudamah, v6, p644, 3rd Edition). However there is a disagreement between the Shia and most of the Sunnis concerning whether the Prophet later banned it or not. Most Sunnis assert that although the Prophet legislated it, he later forbade it. This is while the Shia believe that temporary marriage was never abandoned by the Prophet (PBUH&HF). Allah revealed it in Quran, and it was being widely practiced to the end of his lifetime and during the period of Abu Bakr and the early days of Umar's rule, until Umar forbade it. In Parts I through IV, we study the verse of Mut'a marriage in Quran and look into the Sunni commentary (Tafsir) of this verse, and review the traditions reported in the six authentic Sunni collections about Mut'a. In Part V we discuss the purposes of marriage as well as the chronological orders of the prohibition of illegal sex and the permission of Mut'a in the history of Islam. In Part VI the similarities and differences which exist between the two types of marriage are presented in detail. In Part VII we discuss the necessities and the advantages of the temporary marriage, and finally in Part VIII we answer some frequently asked questions regarding to the Mut'a. =============================================== Evidences From Quran and the Sunni Commentaries =============================================== Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said: (...Except the forbidden women) the rest are lawful unto you to seek them with gifts from your property (i.e., dowry), provided that you desire protection (from sin), not fornication. So for whatever you ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ have had of pleasure (Istamta'tum) with them by the contract, give ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ unto them their appointed wages as a duty. And there is no sin for you ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ in what you both agree (in extending the contract) after fulfilling the (first) duty. Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise. (Quran 4:24) : . . | : | . . : : : | | . 4,_p_, _9 . _8 q_7 | . _8 q_, |_9 . _8_,_o 4_, o_,_e_,_o_,_w | |_o_9 : / (_) / /. (_) / (_) . ( In the above verse, the Arabic equivalent of the word "marriage" or any of its derivatives has NOT been used. Rather the derivative of word "Mut'a" (pleasure/temporary marriage) has been used, i.e., "Istamta'tum". The word Istamta'a is the tenth verbal form of the root m-t-a. As we will show shortly, the word Istamta'a has also been widely used in the authentic Sunni collections for Temporary Marriage. Of course, Mut'a is one type of marriage, but some of it's regulations are different than the permanent marriage, including the fact that the couple can extend this contract by mutual agreement as the end of verse specifies. Moreover, if we look at the Sunni commentaries of Quran, many Sunni scholars such as Fakhr al-Razi confirm that the above verse (4:24) was revealed about the Temporary Marriage (Mut'a). They straightforwardly mentioned that temporary marriage became Halaal (permitted) DUE TO the above verse, but they assert that it was later prohibited. It is astonishing that many Sunni commentators mentioned under the above verse that: Ali (RA) said: The Mut'a is a mercy from Allah to his servants. If it were not for Umar forbidding it, no one would commit (the sin) of fornication except the wretched (Shaqi; an utmost wrong-doer)." | | | || : : : || | o > |_,_c |_8_, 4_|_|| o_7 4_o_7 4_e_,_o_|| . | . . ( / / (_) : ^ | || . . | : : || . | | | | _o_w |_|| _, |_o 4_e_,_o_|| . _c _8_, _o_c . | |_| q_| (_S (_S / (_) (_S / (_) / Sunni references: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Tha'labi, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran; - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p200, commentary of verse 4:24; - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under commentary of verse 4:24 with authentic chain of narrators, v8, p178, Tradition #9042; - Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v2, p140, from several chain of transmitters; - Tafsir al-Qurtubi, v5, p130, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran; - Tafsir Ibn Hayyan, v3, p218, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran; - Tafsir Nisaboori, by al-Nisaboori (8th century); - Ahkam al-Quran, by Jassas, v2, p179, under commentary of verse 4:24. A very similar tradition has also been narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA), and was mentioned by al-Tabari and al-Tha'labi in their Tafsir of Quran. It is interesting to note that Umar did not attribute the prohibition of Mut'a to the Prophet (PBUH&HF). They were others who did that after Umar mainly to justify what he did. Umar clearly mentioned that: "Mut'a WAS permitted at the time of the Prophet and I PROHIBIT it!" The great Sunni scholar, Fakhr al-Razi, who has been given the title of "Imam al- Mushakkikeen" (the leader of ever-questioners/ever-doubtful) by the Sunnis, in his voluminous commentary of Quran mentioned under the verse of Temporary Marriage that: Umar said: Two types of Mut'a were (legal) during the time of the Prophet and I forbid them both, and I punish those who commit it. They are: Mut'a of pilgrimage and Mut'a of women. Sunni references: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p201 under verse 4:24 - Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p52 Here is the Arabic text of the above masterpiece of Umar: | . . | |. | | || | |: . | / |: : |_o_8_,_c _8_,| |_,| q | q_w _|| ]_8_c _|_c |_,_,|_) . |_,_e_,_o (_S / (_| / / (_S (_) | . || : : || : : | | : | | _@ |_w_,_|| 4_e_,_o q _7_7_|| 4_e_,_o : |_o_8_,_|_c .__,_o |_c | q / (_. : . / Notice that Mut'a can be of two kinds: Mut'a of women (pleasure/temporary marriage) and Mut'a of Pilgrimage (Hajj al-Tamattu'). The latter is a way of performing Pilgrimage and has no relation with the former which is one way of performing marriage. Both types of Mut'a were practiced at the time of the Prophet and Abu Bakr and the early days of Umar's rule. But they were prohibited by Umar. There is another verse in Quran which gives evidence to the permissibility of the Mut'a of Pilgrimage. However this type of Pilgrimage is not the subject of our discussion here. As we see from the above quote, Umar did NOT say that Mut'a was canceled by the Prophet. If it was really the Prophet who canceled Mut'a, Umar would have say: The two Mut'a were Halaal and then became Haraam at the time of the Prophet, and I am informing you about the second law set by the Prophet which canceled the first. But it is evident that Umar is straightforwardly saying that he is the one who is making it Haraam! Al-Zamakhshari, another Sunni commentator of Quran Under the commentary of 4:24, reported that this verse is from the "Muhkamat" of Quran, relating that from Ibn Abbas (RA). (Tafsir al-Kashshaf, by al-Zamakhshari, v1, p519). Also Both Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and al-Zamakhshari narrated that: "al-Hakam Ibn Ayniyah was asked if the verse of Mut'a of women is abrogated. He answered: 'No'." Sunni references: - Tafsir al-Tabari, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran, v8, p178 - Tafsir al-Kashshaf, by al-Zamakhshari, under the verse 4:24, v1, p519 Also Ibn Kathir mentioned his commentary: "al-Bukhari declared that Umar used to forbid people on Mut'a." Sunni reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v1, p233 Also in another Sunni commentary it is reported that: Umar said, while on the pulpit: "O folk! Three were (allowed) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF), and I forbid them, and make them Haraam, and punish on them. They were: Mut'a of women, Mut'a of Hajj (pilgrimage), and saying 'Hayya Ala Khair al-Amal'." Sunni references: - Sharh Al-Tajreed, by al-Fadhil al-Qoshaji, (Imama Section) - al-Mustaniran, by al-Tabari - al-Mustabeen, by al-Tabari Remark: The third item mentioned above which was prohibited by Umar, is what is said in the Call for Prayer and Iqaamah after the phrase "Hayya Ala al-Falah", and it is practiced by the Shia to this date. It means "Hasten for the best deed". This part of call for prayer was abolished by Umar as well. Instead, he replaced it by the sentence: "Prayer is better than sleep"! Interesting to know that there are some Sunni scholars who accepted that the Mut'a marriage is legal (Halaal) FOREVER exactly based on the above verse of Quran. Among those scholars are the Tunisian scholar, Shaikh al- Tahir Ibn 'Aashoor, under his Tafsir of the verse 4:24 of Quran. (See al- Tahrir wa al-Tanwir", by al-Tahir Ibn 'Aashoor, v3, p5). And there has been such open-minded scholars who did not allow the love of their leaders affect their judgment. Some tried to cast doubt about the meaning of "Mut'a", by saying that it literary means pleasure and not necessarily a special type of marriage. These people, instead of searching for the practical definition of Mut'a in the History, Hadith, and Jurisprudence, they look it up Arabic dictionary! Even the Arabic dictionary gives the practical meaning of Mut'a, that is temporary marriage. All Shia and Sunni scholars agree to this very fact. al- Qurtubi, who is one of the great Sunni commentators of Quran, wrote: "There is NO dispute among the scholars, either early (salaf) and late (khalaf) scholars, that Mut'a is a marriage for a fixed period of time and that it does not involve inheritance." Replacing the practical meaning and the linguistic meaning is very dangerous and is prohibited in the religious rules, because one may also say, "Salat" (prayer) means praise/supplication and is not necessarily the acts that Muslims do every day. Or "Zakat" (alms) means "to cleans" and is not necessarily paying money, and so on... Perhaps such people did not even read the traditions related to "Mut'a of women" which gives its practical meaning used at the time of the Prophet and the early Caliphs and how the companions used to contract by a handful of date as dower. Even the English version of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim have translated the word "Mut'a al-Nisa" to "Temporary Marriage," and they also translated "Istimta'a" to "marrying temporarily", and the traditions in that section which is a section in the chapter of marriage, gives the total picture of its meaning. (Please see Part II for the details of these traditions from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). Have these people ever heard of any other type of "Mut'a of women" in the history of Islam? Some also tried to cast doubt about the meaning of the verse of Mut'a in Quran (4:24) by saying that the word "Istamta'a" refers to the consummation of the permanent marriage, after which dowry should be paid. The above assertion is not correct. The best way to understand the meaning of the verse, is first to learn Arabic (since the exact translation of Quran to any other language is quite impossible), and second, to look at various commentaries (not just a filtered one), and third, to look at the traditions related to temporary marriage to see if they have used the word "Istamta'a". If we do all the three and search completely for different and controversial opinions, then we can say that we are close to the target. In this part, we already provided references to many Sunni commentaries of Quran, in which the commentators confirmed that the verse was revealed for the temporary marriage, and they mentioned many traditions about the temporary marriage under the commentary of this verse. Then how can this verse be related to permanent marriage?! or perhaps you think these Sunni scholars had some loose screws upstairs. Few lines later, more interesting traditions from the Sunni commentaries under this verse are provided. Yet there many more available. Moreover, who could we find better that Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari (RA), the great companion of the Prophet, who according to Sahih Muslim said: "Istamta'a means contracting temporary marriage" (Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI titled: Temporary Marriage, Tradition #3246. Please see part II for the full Arabic text of the tradition). Jabir did NOT relate "Istamta'a" to consuming the marriage in general. Furthermore, in the verse 4:24 Allah states, "...And there is no sin for you in what you both agree after fulfilling the duty (i.e., dowry of the first contract)". The mutual agreement after the duty refers to extending the period of temporary marriage after full payment of the previous dower, so that the woman can freely decide on the continuation of the marriage with no pressure or temptation. In this way, Allah encourages that people who are engaged in Mut'a will get more reward if they extend it to a bigger period (or perhaps convert it to a permanent marriage) by assigning a new dower after fulfilling the previous dower. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari wrote in his commentary of Quran: Some traditions mention that the meaning of "And there is no sin for you in what you both agree after fulfilling the duty" means: O people! There is no sin for you to have an agreement between you and the women who you have had pleasure with them in a fixed-term contract, to extend the period at the time when the first period expires, and thus to prolong the temporary marriage by increasing the reward (of the Hereafter) as well as the duty (dowry) before you leave them. It is narrated on the authority of al-Suddy (RA) who said: "And there is no sin for you in what you both agree after fulfilling the requirement. If the husband wishes he could convince her (to accept the renewal) after paying her the first dowry and just before the expiration date of marriage. In that case he would say to his wife: I contract Mut'a with you for such and such again. Thus he extends it before he leaves her due to the expiration of the first contract, and this is what the verse means." (Tradition #9046) Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Tabari, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the verse 4:24, v8, p180. Another reason for the fact that the dowry mentioned in the above verse does not refer to permanent marriage, is that Quran has already talked about the dowry for permanent marriage at the early part of the very same chapter by saying: 4:3 "...Marry women of your choice two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one..." 4:4 "And give the women (of permanent marriage) their dower as a free gift"^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ It is clear that the above verses are about permanent marriage and the dowry associated with it. So there would be no need that Allah repeats it along with its associated dowry again in the very same chapter. However if Allah intended to discuss about Mut'a, then it is some thing new. And this can be inferred from the choice of words which Allah used in the verse of Mut'a (4:24) by using the derivative of Mut'a in contrast with the other verses around it. 4:24 (...Except the forbidden women) the rest are lawful unto you to seek them with gifts from your property, provided that you desire protection (from sin), not fornication. So for whatever you enjoyed (Istamta'tum) them by the contract, give unto them their wages as a ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ duty. And there is no sin for you in what you both agree (in extending ^^^^ the contract) after fulfilling the duty (i.e., dowry of the first contract). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise. Thus, in fact, Allah is discussing different types of marriages: first, permanent marriage in the verses before Verse 24, then temporary marriage in Verse 24, and then marriage with the slave girls in Verse 25: 4:25 If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women they may wed believing bondwomen from among those whom you rightfully possess, and Allah has full knowledge about your faith. You are one from another; wed them with the leave of their owners and give them ^^^^^^^^^ their wages according to what is reasonable; they should be chaste not ^^^^^^^^^^^ lustful nor taking paramours; when they are taken in wedlock if they fall into shame their punishment is half that for free women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; And if you be patient, it is better for you; and Allah is forgiving and Merciful. Here Allah mentions the dower related to slave girls. Thus Allah repeated the issue of dowry three times, one for permanent marriage, one for temporary marriage and one for the bondwomen. Again, to stress that Verse 4:24 was revealed about temporary marriage, we present more traditions form the Sunni commentators. Al-Tabari mentioned that: Mujahid (RA) said: "The phrase 'So for whatever you have had of pleasure (Istamta'tum) with them by the contract [4:24]' means the Temporary Marriage (Nikah al-Mut'a)." ^^^^^ Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Tabari, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the verse 4:24, v8, p176, Tradition #9034. Also many Sunni commentary books mentioned similar to the tradition of Sahih al-Bukhari (see part II) with more details and put it under the verse 4:24 of Quran: Imran Ibn Husain narrated: "The verse of Mut'a (4:24) was revealed in Allah's Book, and there did NOT came any other verse after that to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ abrogate it; and the Prophet ORDERED US to do it, so we did it at the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ time of Allah's Apostle, and he did not forbade us from it till he ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ died. But a man (who regarded it illegal) expressed what his own mind ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ suggested." ^^^^^^^^^ Sunni reference: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Tha'labi, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, pp 200,202, under the verse 4:24 - Tafsir Ibn Hayyan, v3, p218, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran - Tafsir Nisaboori, by al-Nisaboori (8th century) So it is clear that 'Imran Ibn Husain is talking about Mut'a of women here, otherwise the above Sunni commentators would not put it under this verse, or else such scholars are just stupid (may Allah protect us from such words). The positioning of such traditions is another proof for the fact that the verse 4:24 is about Mut'a of women. In many traditions in the Sunni commentaries of Quran, the phrase "to an appointed time" has been added to Verse 4:24 after the word Istamta'tum. In other words, it reads "So for whatever you have enjoyed (Istamta'tum) them by the contract to an appointed time": ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ | | || . : : : | | . _o_w_o |_7| _|| . _8_,_o 4_, o_,_e_,_o_,_w | |_o_9 (_S (_|. (_S (_) . ( ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This however should be considered as commentary of the verse which was revealed along with Quran, but NOT as a part of the Quran. In fact, many verses were revealed by Allah which are not embodied in the present Quran because they were commentaries of the verses of Quran, but not a part of Quran itself. It is well-known that Hadith Qudsi is also revelation, but it is not a part of Quran. In fact Quran testifies that anything that the Prophet said was revelation. Allah Almighty said in Quran about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) that: "Nor does he (Muhammad) speak out of his desire. Whatever he says is nothing but a revelation that is revealed." (Quran 53:3-4). Thus all the speeches of the Prophet were revelation, and surely the speeches of the Prophet were not limited to Quran. It also includes interpretation of Quran as well as his Sunnah. Now let's go back to the traditions which I wanted to present. It is narrated that: Abu Nadhra said: Ibn Abbas (RA) recited the verse 4:24 with the addition of "to an appointed time". I said to him: "I did not read it ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this way." Ibn Abbas replied: "I swear by Allah, this is how Allah revealed it," and Ibn Abbas repeated this statement three times." Sunni references: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the verse 4:24, v8, p177, Tradition #9038 - Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Tha'labi, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran narrating similar tradition from Jubair. also: Abu Nadhra said: I asked Ibn Abbas about temporary marriage (Mut'a of women). Ibn Abbas (RA) said: "Do you not read 'For whatever you enjoyed (Istamta'tum) them by the contract to an appointed time'?" I ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ said: "If I would have read it this way, I wouldn't ask you (about temporary marriage)!" He replied: "Certainly the verse is about it." Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the commentary of verse 4:24, v8, p177, Traditions #9036-9037 It is also narrated that: al-Suddy (RA) said: "The verse 'So for those of whom you have had pleasure with them by the contract to an appointed time' is about ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mut'a, that is, a man marries a woman with a provision (i.e., dowry) for a fixed period of time and makes two witnesses, and (if virgin,) he asks the permission of her guardian, and when the time period is expired, they should separate and they will not inherit each other." Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the commentary of verse 4:24, v8, p176, Tradition #9033 Moreover: Abu Karib said Yahya said: "I saw a book with Nasir in which it was: 'So for whatever you have had of pleasure with them by the contract to an appointed time.'" ^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the verse 4:24, pp 176-177, Tradition #9035 - Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Tha'labi, under commentary of verse 4:24 of Quran narrating similar tradition from Ibn Abi Thabit. Another companion, Ubay Ibn Ka'ab (who based on authentic Sunni sources the Prophet ordered the companions to trust him in the matter of Quran as one of the three trustee persons in this regard. See Sahih al-Bukhari, English, vol. 6, Tradition #521) also mentioned that additional phrase: Qatadah (RA) said: "The way that Ubay Ibn Ka'ab recited the verse was: 'So for those of whom you enjoyed by the contract to an appointed time.'" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Kabir, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, under the commentary of verse 4:24, v8, p178, Tradition #9041 Beside the above mentioned authorities, there were others such as Sa'id Ibn Jubair, Abi Is'haq, and Umay who have also mentioned this extra phrase when reading this verse. Well, as I said, this extra phrase, though revealed, was only commentary and not a part of Quran. If one wants to write it, he should put it inside curly brackets showing that it is not a part of Quran. There are many of such extra phrases which can be found in both Shia and Sunni sources, but they are only the divine interpretation of the verses. This concludes the discussion on the Quranic verse of Mut'a and what Sunni commentators had to say about the verse. In the next part, we Insha Allah study the authentic Sunni collections of traditions with regard to temporary marriage. ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part II) =========================================== Evidences From the Sunni Hadith Collections =========================================== After a brief overview of books of Tafsir in Part I, let us now look at some of the Sunni collections of traditions. It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that: Jabir Ibn Abdullah and Salama Ibn al-Akwa' narrated: There came to us the proclaimer of Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon him) and said: "Allah's Messenger has granted you to benefit yourself (Istamta'u), ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ i.e., to contract temporary marriage with women." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ / | . | : | || | | o_)_| . > | ]_o 4_|_|| | q_w . | ( (_) (_| / / (_) | . || : : . | : : : | _@ |_w_,_|| 4_e_,_o _,_e_, | q_e_,_o_,_w_, . | (_S : / (_) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3246 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1022, Tradition #13, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" In the above tradition the verb Istamta'a (to enjoy; to have pleasure) has been used which is the exact form of the verb used in Quran in the verse of Mut'a 4:24, and moreover, Jabir said in the above tradition that Istamta'a means performing Mut'a of women (temporary marriage). Similarly it is narrated that: Salama Ibn al-Akwa' and Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported: Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon him) came to us and permitted us to contract temporary marriage. Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3247 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1022, Tradition #14, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" Moreover al-Bukhari narrated from another companion of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) the following tradition: Narrated 'Imran bin Husain: "The Verse of Mut'a was revealed in Allah's Book, so we did it at the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ time of Allah's Apostle, and nothing was revealed in Quran to make it ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ illegal, nor did the Prophet prohibit it till he died. But a man (who ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ regarded it illegal) expressed what his own mind suggested." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [ Note: For the above Hadith, the Saudi translator of Sahih al-Bukhari (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) has changed the word "Mut'a" to "Hajj-at- Tamatu". This is while in the Arabic text of the Hadith of al-Bukhari which is beside the English text, the word "Mut'a" has been used alone: ] | || |: / . : : || : T .. | . . 4_|_|| .__,|_,_) _9 4_e_,_o_|| 4_, | .__,_| _, . (_S : / ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v6, Hadith #43 - Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic, v2, p375, v6, p34 - Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v4, p436 on the authority of 'Imran Ibn al-Qasir As we pointed out, Mut'a can be of two kinds: Mut'a of women (pleasure marriage) and Mut'a of Hajj (Hajj-at-Tamatu). Both were practiced at the time of the Prophet and Abu Bakr and the early days of Umar's rule. But they were abolished by Umar. Thus basically, the above tradition refers to both types of Mut'a which were prohibited by Umar. Moreover, as we gave evidences in Part I, many Sunni commentators have put this very same tradition of Imran Ibn Husain under the commentary of verse of Mut'a marriage (4:24) showing that this Mut'a refers to Mut'a marriage. It is interesting to know that in Sahih Muslim as well as in the commentaries of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim it is mentioned that the "man" mentioned in the above tradition ("But a man expressed what he wished") is Umar: "A person said according to his personal opinion, and it was Umar." Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter CDXLII, Tradition #2825 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p898, Tradition #166. Also: "The man intended here is the Caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab." Sunni references: - Fat'h al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, by Ibn Hajar Asqalani, v4, p177 - Sharh al-Nawawi on Sahih Muslim, v3, p364, Dar al-Sha'ab print The reason that in the original tradition, Imran Ibn Husain did not mention the name of Umar is that he was mindful of the bad temper of Umar, and because Umar said he will stone anyone who does that. It is also narrated in Sahih Muslim that: Abu Nadhra said: Ibn Abbas commanded to do Mut'a while Ibn Zubair ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ forbade to do it. I mentioned this to Jabir Ibn Abdillah and he said: It is through me that this Hadith has been circulated. We did Mut'a (of Hajj and women) at the time of the Messenger of Allah. When Umar was installed as Caliph, he said: Verily Allah made permissible for ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ his Messenger whatever He like and as He liked. And its command was ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ revealed in Quran. Thus accomplish Hajj and Umra for Allah as Allah has commanded you, and confirm (by reverting to permanent marriage) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the marriages of those women (with whom you have performed Mut'a). And ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ any person would come to me with a marriage of appointed duration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (i.e. Mut'a) I would stone him. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter CDXLII, Tradition #2801 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p885, Tradition #145. Again the above tradition has references to both Mut'a, and Umar said that Allah made permissible what he wished at the time of the Prophet and its corresponding command was revealed in Quran, yet he will stone any one who contracts the fixed-term marriage. Also, both al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated the following tradition from Abdullah Ibn Masud who was another companion of the Prophet: Narrated 'Abdullah Ibn Masud: We used to participate in the holy battles led by Allah's Apostle and we had nothing (no wives) with us. So we said, "Shall we get ourselves castrated?" He forbade us (to castrate ourselves) and then allowed us to marry women with a temporary contract (Mut'a) and recited to us: 'O you who believe! Make not unlawful the good things which Allah has ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ made lawful for you, but commit no transgression.' (5.87) Sunni references: - Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, v7, Tradition #13a - Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic, v6, p11, under Tafsir of verse 5:87 of Quran - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1022, Tradition #11, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3243 Following the above tradition in Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that: This Hadith has been narrated on the authority of Isma'il with the same chain of transmitters (but the words are): "We were young so we said: "O Allah's Apostle! should we not have ourselves castrated? But he (the narrator) did NOT say we were on an expedition." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3245 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1022, Tradition #12, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" One side comment here is that, based on the above authentic traditions, masturbation is forbidden, otherwise the Prophet (PBUH&HF) would have ordered his companions to masturbate instead of contracting temporary marriage! The above action of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) proves that if one is in danger of fornication, he should contract temporary marriage and avoid masturbation. The prohibition of masturbation is also supported by the verses of Quran, as we will discuss in Part V. Some claim that the Prophet used to allow temporary marriage in a particular expedition and then prohibited it on the day of victory. This allegation falls apart when we see that some of the famous companions said that Mut'a was widely practiced from the time of the Prophet till the time of Umar, and was continued to be promoted by some companions even after the death of Umar. Moreover, if Mut'a was just for an expedition, the Prophet would have mentioned it at the time he allowed it. They, of course, did Mut'a in the expeditions as well, but certainly it was not limited to that. Moreover, the verse of Quran does not have any limitation of this kind. This leads us to believe such allegation is just a mere excuse to justify the present situation. As we will witness in the following traditions, the companions supported Mut'a without mentioning the battle. They did not mention that we ONLY did it during the expeditions. Beside what was quoted at the beginning, Sahih Muslim has more traditions with reference to the prominent companion, Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari (RA), which are as follows: Narrated Abu Nadhra: While I was in the company of Jabir Ibn Abdullah (RA), a person came to him and said that Ibn Abbas (RA) and Ibn Zubair differed on the two types of Mut'a (Mut'a of Hajj and Mut'a of women), whereupon Jabir said: We used to do these two during the life time of Allah's ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Messenger (PBUH&HF). Umar then forbade us to do them, and so we did ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ not revert to them. Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3250. - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1023, Tradition #17, also v2, p914, Tradition #1249. Again the above tradition emphasizes that both Mut'a were abolished by Umar, and some people did not return to it at least publicly, because Umar threatened people that he will stone any one who does it. Below is a more straight forward tradition: Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported: "We contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of the dates or flour as a dower during the life time of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and during the time of Abu ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bakr until Umar forbade it because of Amr Ibn Huraith. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ : : . |. / e_,_o_,_w_, |_,_) (_ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3249 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1023, Tradition #16, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" Again, in the Arabic text of the above tradition, the verb "Istamta'a" has been used for the temporary marriage which exactly what Quran has used. Also as we see, there is no mention of its restriction to battle. It was being widely practiced at the time of the Prophet and the rulers who came after him. Also: Ibn Juraih reported: Ata' reported that Jabir Ibn Abdullah came to perform Umra, and we came to his abode, and the people asked him about different things, and then they made a mention of temporary marriage, whereupon he said: Yes, we had been benefiting ourselves by this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ temporary marriage during the life time of the Holy Prophet (may peace ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ be upon him) and during the time of Abu Bakr, and Umar. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ / | | || | | |. : : | _o_c q _)_, _,| q 4_|_|| | q_w ]_8_c _|_c |_,_e_,_o_,_w | / / / . (_S. / (_| / / (_S ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3248 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1023, Tradition #15, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" As we witness here again, the verb "Istamta'a" has been used in the above tradition for the temporary marriage which in conformity with the verse of Quran. Another person who opposed Umar's idea in this regard, was Abdullah Ibn Abbas (RA) who was one of the great companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). Al- Bukhari wrote in his Sahih: Narrated Abu Jamra: I heard Ibn Abbas (giving a verdict) when he ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ was asked about the Mut'a with the women, and he permitted it (Nikah ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ al-Mut'a). On that a freed slave of his said to him, "That is only when it is very badly needed and (qualified permanent) women are scarce, or similar cases." On that, Ibn Abbas said, "Yes." Sunni reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v7, Hadith #51 Do you see anything about battle as a condition here? Moreover, if Ibn Abbas relied to what others alleged that the Prophet later prohibited it, he would not allow himself to give Fatwa in this regard. He did that since he knew these allegations are false and are solely to justify Umar's opinion. Also Muslim narrated in his Sahih that: Urwa Ibn Zubair reported that Abdullah Ibn Zubair stood up (and delivered an address) in Mecca saying: Allah has made blind the hearts of some people as he has deprived them of eyesight that they give ^^^^^^^^^ religious verdict in favor of temporary marriage, while he was ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ alluding to a person (Ibn Abbas). Ibn Abbas called him and said: You ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ are a rude person and devoid of sense. By my life, Mut'a was Practiced ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ during the life time of the leader of pious (he meant Allah's ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Messenger, may peace be upon him), and Ibn Zubair said to him: Just do ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ it yourself, and by Allah, if you do that I will stone you with your ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ stones. ^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3261 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1026, Tradition #27, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" Did Ibn Abbas say, just during a battle? certainly not. This is what some Sunni scholars invented simply to justify the action of Umar. In the above tradition Abdullah Ibn Zubair insults Ibn Abbas (RA) by saying that his heart is blind, simply because he believed that Mut'a should be promoted since it was the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). Ibn Zubair forgot that he himself was born out of Mut'a! (See Sahih Muslim, v1, p354; al-Iqd al- Fareed, v2, p139). Then Ibn Zubair threatened that he will stone Ibn Abbas (RA). This is while Ibn Abbas (RA) was one of the outstanding companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and Abdullah Ibn Zubair wanted to teach him his religion, after he fought both Imam Ali and Ibn Abbas in the battle of Camel, and shedding the blood of innocent Muslims. Also in Sahih Muslim it narrated that: "Muslim al-Qurri said: I asked Ibn Abbas about Mut'a and he permitted it, where as Ibn Zubair had forbidden it. So Ibn Abbas said: "This is the mother of Ibn Zubair who states that Allah's Messenger had permitted it, so you better go to her and ask her about it. He (Muslim al-Qurri) said: So we went to her and she was a bulky blind lady. She said: Verily Allah's Messenger permitted it. Sunni reference: Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p909, Traditions #194-195. In Tradition #195 the subnarrator said: "The narrator used the word Mut'a alone, and I do not know if it was Mut'a of Hajj or Mut'a of women." However it is known that what Ibn Zubair used to forbid was Mut'a of women as is clear from the traditions mentioned earlier. Even after the death of Umar, and even after Uthman, many companions did not accept the order of Umar and insisted that temporary marriage is lawful. These advocates of Mut'a never mentioned that it was restricted to a battle. Some people believe that a certain individual did Mut'a with one of the daughters of Umar during the Umar's rule, and when Umar got to know of it, he decided to prohibit Mut'a. Let me clear the fact that we do not have hatred toward Umar. We believe that he was one of the companions of the Prophet, but we do not put him in a high position since, as you witnessed partially, there are strong proofs that he did some innovations based on his own Ijtihad which were terribly wrong. We strongly believe that Fatwa does not work when there is explicit text of Quran or authentic Hadith to the contrary. Abolishing Temporary Marriage is just one example of such innovations. Even according to Sahih al-Bukhari Umar himself straightforwardly confessed that he did some innovations in prayers and said: "What a nice innovation"!!! (See Sahih al- Bukhari, Arabic English version, v3, p227). He also did change the regulations on Tayammum and many other rules of Islam. Another companion who opposed this innovation of Umar, was his own son!! His name was Abdullah Ibn Umar. He was in favor of both Mut'a of Hajj and Mut'a of women. I give two traditions expressing each Mut'a. It is narrated in Sahih al-Tirmidhi that: "some one asked Abdullah Ibn Umar about Mut'a (of Hajj), he said: It is permitted (Halaal). So he was asked: your father forbade it. He said: Do you think that my father can forbid what the Prophet did? Should I follow what my father said, or should I follow what the Prophet ordered? The man said: Of course the orders of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)." Sunni references: - Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v1, p157 - Tafsir al-Qurtubi, v2, p365, reported from al-Darqunti Another report in the above source: "When a man from Syria asked Abdullah Ibn Umar about the Mut'a of women, he said it is Halaal. The man said: Your father had made it forbidden! Ibn Umar said: Do you think that if my father was forbidding it and the Messenger of Allah used to (allow) its practice, then you should leave the Sunnah and follow what my father said?" Sunni reference: Sahih al-Tirmidhi What I provided here was just some traditions, out of many, available in the six Sunni collections of Hadith in support of Mut'a. There are much more available. In the next parts, Insha Allah, we shall briefly review the Sunni History/Fiqh/Misc. books, and then we will study and analyze the few traditions which allege that the Prophet banned Mut'a towards the end of his life. ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part III) After an overview of the commentaries of Quran and the authentic collections of Traditions, let us, now, look at some other types of Sunni references in with regard to Mut'a. ================================================= Evidences From the Sunni History/Fiqh/Misc. Books ================================================= The previously-mentioned tradition of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) given in Sunni commentary books of Quran (please see Part I), has also been reported in many other Sunni books with a simple variation in some, that is, using the word "Shafa" meaning "a few" instead of "Shaqi" meaning a playboy: "Ali (RA) said: The Mut'a is a mercy from Allah to his servants. If it were not for Umar forbidding it, no one would commit (the sin of) fornication except a (Shaqi/Shafa)." Sunni references: - Bidayat al-Mujtahid, by Ibn Rushd, v2, p58 - al-Nihaya, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p249 - al-Faiq, by al-Zamakhshari, v1, p331 - Lisan Al-Arab, Ibn Mandhoor, v19, p166 - Taj al-Aroos, v10, p200 - Fat'h al-Bari, v9, p141 - Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v8, p293 - Al-Iqd Al-Fareed, v2, p139 - Umadat al-Qari, by al-'Ayni, v8, p310, (reports Mut'a was Halaal at the time of the Prophet + Abu Bakr + some of the Umar's period.) Also al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti said about Umar: "He (Umar) is the first who made Mut'a forbidden (Haraam)." ^^^^^ Sunni reference: Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p136 Also al-Qastalani wrote: The phrase "But a man said with his opinion what he wished" (as was mentioned in the authentic Sunni books such as Sahih al-Bukhari), is Umar Ibn al-Khattab and not Uthman, because he was the first to forbid ^^^^^ Mut'a. So the one came after him (i.e., Uthman) was only following him in that action." Sunni reference: al-Irshad, by al-Qastalani, v4, p169 As we mentioned, Ibn Abbas Supported Mut'a even after the battle of Camel (which happened when Imam Ali became the head of Islamic states), and years after he lost his eyes. Let me give you one interesting tradition reported by Ibn Abi al-Hadid. The brief version of this tradition was mentioned in Sahih Muslim (which was presented in Part II), but here there are more details including the events related to the war between Aisha and Imam Ali (AS). Ibn Abbas (RA) was known for his smart answers in the debates. Here is the tradition: Ibn Zubair gave a speech over the pulpit in Mecca when Ibn Abbas was sitting under the pulpit beside other people. Then Ibn Zubair said: "Among these people is a man whom Allah has made his heart blind as He did with his eyes (referring to Ibn Abbas who was blind at the time); and he thinks that Mut'a of woman is permitted by Allah and his Messenger; and he issues religious verdicts for every single issues; and he has stolen the treasury of Basra yesterday and caused financial problems for the people of that city, and how can I blame him when he fought the mother of believers (Aisha) and the companions of the Messenger of Allah and those who protected him." Hearing that, Ibn Abbas said to Sa'd Ibn Khuthaimah to take him in front of Ibn Zubair since Ibn Abbas was blind. After he faced Ibn Zubair, Ibn Abbas said: "O' Ibn Zubair! As for blindness, verily Allah said in Quran that: 'For indeed it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts, which are within the bosoms, that grow blind.' (Quran 22:46) And as for my religious verdicts, there are reasons behind them that neither you nor your companions comprehend them. And as for the treasury, it was the money which was collected and we gave every liable person his just share. As for Mut'a, you better ask your mother Asma'! (note: Ibn Zubair was born of Mut'a marriage between Zubair and the daughter of Abu Bakr, Asma'). And as for our fighting the mother of believers, her title is referring to us, not you and your father (i.e., 'believers' is referring to us). Your father (Zubair) and your uncle (Talha) destroyed the protection that Allah provided for her, and used her for Fitna by fighting beside her while keeping their own wives at their homes; and they were not fair to Allah and His Messenger by exposing the wife of the Prophet and protecting their own wives; and as our fight against you (in the battle of Camel), we came forward to you, and if we were infidels (Kuffar) then you have become infidels by running away from us (after being defeated in the battle field), and if we were believers then you have become infidels by fighting against us. And if a woman was not among you, I wouldn't leave any bone among your people unless I would have broken." When Ibn Zubair came back to her mother and ask her about Mut'a, she replied: "Did I not warn you from facing Ibn Abbas and facing Bani Hashim (The clan of the Prophet(PBUH&HF)), because they have answer for everything. O my son! Avoid this blind man for neither human nor unseen creatures (Jinn) can corner him." Sunni reference: Sharh Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v4, pp 489-490 Also, in this connection, al-Raghib al-Isbahani reported: Ibn Zubair denounced Ibn Abbas for his opinion on Mut'a. Thus Ibn Abbas told him: "Go and ask your mother what she did with your father." When Ibn Zubair asked her, she said: "By God, I did not conceive you except through Mut'a." Sunni reference: al-Muhadhiraat, by al-Raghib al-Isbahani, v2, p96 It is also reported that: Yahya Ibn Aktham asked a Shaikh from Basra: "Why do you permit Mut'a?" He answered: "Due to Umar Ibn al-Khattab". Yahya asked: "How is that? Umar was the most sever one against it?" He answered: "Yes, it is an authentic narration that Umar ascended the pulpit and said: 'Allah and His Prophet permitted you two Mut'a, but I forbid you on both and will punish those who commit it', so we accepted the witness of Umar (that Allah and His Prophet permitted it) but we did not accept his prohibition." Sunni reference: al-Muhadhiraat, by al-Raghib al-Isbahani, v2, p94 Malik Ibn Anas and al-Shafi'i (two of the four Sunni Imams) as well as many Sunni traditionist reported the following with authentic chain of narrators: Urwah Ibn Zubair narrated that Khulah Bint Hakim came to Umar Ibn al- Khattab and said: Rabi'ah Ibn Umayyah practiced Mut'a with a woman and the woman has become pregnant from him. Umar became angry and said: "About this Mut'a, had I done (the ban) sooner than this, I would have stoned him." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - al-Muwatta', by Malik Ibn Anas, on the topic of Mut'a, v2, p30 - Kitab al-Am, by al-Shafi'i, v7, p219 - Sunan al-Kubra, by al-Bayhaqi, v7, p206 Moreover, it is reported that: Umm Abdillah, the daughter of Abu Khuthaimah said that a single (unmarried) man from Syria came to her and said: "I am under emotional pressure for remaining unmarried, thus find for me a woman so as to contract temporary marriage with her." Therefore She found a woman for him and he made Mut'a contract with her having some witnesses. He remained with her till the marriage was over. When Umar found out what happened, he called him and said: "Why did you do that?" The man replied: "We did it at the time of the Prophet and he did not forbid us till Allah took his soul, then we did it at the time of Abu Bakr and he did not forbid us till Allah took his soul too, and then we did it during your rule and you have not forbid us before." Umar replied: "By whom my sole is in His hand! Had I forbidden it sooner, I would ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ have stoned you so that you could understand the difference between ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ marriage and fornication." Sunni reference: Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v8, p294, via al- Tabari How can Umar prohibit something which the messenger of Allah did not? How can he threat to stone an unmarried man who did Mut'a, while the punishment of an unmarried man is not stoning? Even the four Sunni schools do not subscribe to such idea. They consider the punishment of a person who does Mut'a to be "Ta'zeer" which is even much less than the punishment of an unmarried person who commit fornication! What I am trying to say is that there are numerous documented traditions as well as Sunni historical records which assert that Umar was the one who forbade Mut'a, and if he did that it means that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) really didn't; otherwise, Umar would not have had to! This is contrary to the various sporadic reports that claim otherwise, to a different point in time. These contradicting reports will be discussed in Part IV. Now the question is: What is the "measure" for us? Which opinion and channel of transmission of Sunnah should we trust? As we know, there have been many other instances where the companions did not agree with one interpretation of Quran and Sunnah, and the Sunnah of the Prophet has reached us through these very same companions. In this case, (as well as other issues) we have chosen to follow Ali (AS) who was admittedly the most knowledgeable among the companions. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this choice, just as others have chosen to follow other parties. The fact is that one can not follow ALL the companions when they disagreed in such issues. A Sunni brother claimed that the majority of the Companions held the view that after the completion of the Islamic legislation, temporary marriage was made Haraam. The above assertion is not true however. The fact is that No companion ever mentioned it Haraam until AFTER the rule of Umar. It was then, that some started saying that it is made Haraam. Even if we suppose that the majority of companions said something, this does not oblige us to follow them. What we are supposed to follow are the words of Allah in Quran and the Sunna of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). The Shi'a scholars also agree on the validity of Ijmaa' (consensus), not as a source of religion, but rather as a fact. Ijmaa' means what is unanimously held by ALL Muslims. This fact is taken from the Sunna and is due to the tradition of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) where he said: "My community shall not unite on something wrong." This proves the fact that even if most of Muslims go wrong in some issues there should exist one or some individuals who do not join them in that regard as they might have evidence at hand from Quran and Sunna regarding those issues. It is clear that Ijmaa' does not give any weight to the majority. In fact, it gives more weight to the minority because even if one scholar disagrees, the Ijmaa' (consensus) is broken! There is no Ijma' in the subject of Mut'a. Most of the companions and their disciples did not agree with its prohibition by Umar. But only some of them dared to raise their voice. There is no Ijma' in this issue among the Sunni scholars either. I have mentioned the name of some the Sunni scholars in the previous parts who believed Mut'a is permitted. Moreover Shia scholars are another reason for breaking this Ijma'. Ibn Hazm (d. 456) who is one of the Sunni scholars, in his book "Muhalla" gave the name of some of the companions and their disciples who believed that Mut'a is Halaal. In the 9th section of the chapter of Marriage in his book "Muhalla", Ibn Hazm gives a detailed account of Mut'a and its regulations. Among the numerous companions and their disciples who believed in practicing Mut'a after the demise of the Prophet are: Imam Ali (AS), Abu Dhar, Jabir Ibn Abdillah, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Masud, Zubair Ibn al-Awwam, Imran Ibn Husain, Abdullah Ibn Umar, Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Salamah Ibn Umayyah, Awka' Ibn Abdillah, Salamah Ibn al-Awka', Khalid Ibn Muhajir, 'Amr Ibn Huraith, Rabi'a Ibn Umayya, Suhair, Sa'id Ibn Jubair Tawoos, Qotadah, Mujahid, Ataa al-Madani al-Suddy, and Imam al-Hasan (AS), ... Many of their narrations in this regard has been recorded in many Sunni references such as the first volume of Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. To give a better picture of the opposition of the companions, let us look at the History of al-Tabari (English version) which reports that the companions were unhappy about four things out of the innovations made by Umar. One of those who dared to talk to Umar about these issues was Imran Ibn Sawadah. The report indicates that even Umar was unhappy about what he did and surprisingly confessed that temporary marriage is permitted (Halaal)!!! Here is the report: Imran Ibn Sawadah reported: I went to Umar's house and told him that I want to give him some advice. His reply was, "The person giving good advice is welcomed anytime." I said, "Your community finds fault with you on four accounts." Umar put the top of his whip in his beard and the lower part on his thigh. Then he said, "Tell me more." I continued, "It has been mentioned that you declared the lesser pilgrimage forbidden during the months of pilgrimage..." He answered, "It is permitted. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (But the reason that I forbade it was that) if they were to perform the lesser pilgrimage during the months of the pilgrimage, they would regard it as being a lieu of the full pilgrimage, and (Mecca) would be celebrated by no one, although it is part of God's greatness. You are right." ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ I continued, "It is also said that you have forbidden temporary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ marriage, although it was a license given by God. We enjoy a temporary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ marriage for a handful (of dates), and we can separate after three ^^^^^^^^ nights." He replied, "The Messenger of God permitted it at the time of necessary. Then people regained their life of comfort. I do not know any Muslim who has practiced this or gone back to it (after I forbade). Now, anyone who wishes to, can marry for a handful (of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ dates) and separate after three nights. You are right." I continued, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "You emancipate a slave girl if she gives birth, without her master's (consenting to) the emancipation... (and the fourth complain is) There have been some complaints of your raising your voice against your subjects and your addressing them harshly." ... Sunni reference: History of al-Tabari, English version, v14, pp 139-140 I was really astonished when I read the above passage. Umar is saying that people can engage in Temporary Marriage again!!! Interesting to see that the one who was talking to Umar, says that you forbade it but we still ENJOY this type of marriage! He uses the word "enjoy" and not "enjoyed" meaning that what is important to us is Allah's command and not Umar's, and thus we still do it. He also mentioned that Temporary Marriage is licensed by Allah and people are unhappy about this innovation of Umar. It is interesting to note that Umar NEVER attributed the prohibition of Mut'a to the Prophet (PBUH&HF). They were others who did that after his death, mainly to justify what Umar did which was also being enforced in the reign of Uthman. We gave two different traditions in Part I where Umar clearly mentioned that: "Mut'a WAS permitted at the time of the Prophet and I PROHIBIT it!" If it was really the Prophet who canceled Mut'a, Umar would have said: The two Mut'a were Halaal and then became Haraam at the time of the Prophet, and I am informing you about the second law set by the Prophet which canceled the first. Moreover, Sunnis believe that Mut'a of al-Hajj is permitted, and Umar made a mistake in his judgment in prohibiting it. Then the question is that: why do the Sunnis differentiate between the two Mut'a while both were prohibited by Umar according to the above tradition and the traditions of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim? When Sunnis agree that Umar made a mistake in forbidding the Mut'a of al-Hajj, then isn't it probable that he also made the very same mistake for the Mut'a of women? I only would like you to observe that the Shia follow the Imams of Ahlul- Bayt (AS), the pure descendants of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and if the Prophet (PBUH&HF) had said something to that effect (i.e., prohibition of Mut'a), then his Ahlul-Bayt would not have hidden it from their followers. This gives more credence and leads one to believe that Umar did forbid it and not the Prophet, and Umar did it as an act of "Ijtihad", on his own!! In the next part, Insha Allah, we will analyze the few Sunni reports which allege that the temporary marriage was forbidden by the Prophet (PBUH&HF). ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part IV) ========================== Some Contradicting Reports ========================== There are few traditions which claim that the Prophet forbade Mut'a. There are however many contradictions among these reports. Let us look at the following traditions which alleged that the temporary marriage was forbidden FOREVER in the battle of Khaibar (1/7 AH). We will discuss what types of problems these traditions have shortly. Muhammad Ibn Ali narrated on the authority of his father Ali that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) on the Day of Khaibar prohibited for ever the contracting of temporary marriage and eating of the flesh of the domestic asses. Sunni reference: Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3265 also: Ali (may peace be upon him) heard that Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) gave some relaxation in connection of temporary marriage, whereupon he said: Don't be hasty (in your religious verdict), Ibn Abbas, for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the day of Khaibar prohibited for ever the doing of it and eating of the flesh of domestic asses. Sunni reference: Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3266 Surprisingly, the following traditions claim that, long after the battle of Khaibar, the Prophet ORDERED to do Mut'a when he Captured Mecca (9/8 AH) but he allegedly forbade it when they left Mecca: Sabra al-Juhanni narrated: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) ^^^^^ ordered us to contract temporary marriage in the Year of Victory, as ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ we entered Mecca, and we did not come out of it (Mecca) till he forbade us. [Note: The Saudi-paid translator has used "permitted" instead of "ordered". This while the Arabic text of the Hadith uses "ordered". This shows that the Prophet not only allowed Mut'a, but also promoted it in Mecca.] Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3257 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1025, Tradition #22, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" also: Sabra narrated: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) ordered his ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ companions to contract temporary marriage in the Year of Victory... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (then I made Mut'a) and I remained with her for three (nights), and then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded us to part with them. [Note: Again the Saudi-paid translator has used "permitted" instead of "ordered" while the Arabic text of the Hadith uses "ordered":] | | | : / : . | | || . | 4_,|_7,_p | _o | 4_)_o _7_,_9 o |_c 4_|_|| _,_, . | . / (_ ( (_S. (_) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ | . || : : || ... _@ |_w_,_|| . _o e_,_o_,_||_, (_) (_ . Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3258 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1025, Tradition #23, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" Now, let us look at the following traditions which claims that the Temporary marriage was forbidden FOREVER in Mecca when the Prophet (PBUH&HF) was speaking beside Ka'ba. We will shortly see why these traditions do not seem to be correct. Sabra al-Juhanni reported on the authority of his father that while he ^^^^^ was with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), he said: O' people, I had permitted you to contract temporary marriage with women, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ but Allah has forbidden it (now) until the Day of Resurrection. So he ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ who has any (woman with this type of marriage contract) he should let her off, and do not take back anything you have given to them (as dower). | . || |: : | || . / | .. . . | .. . / : . | _@|_w_,_|| . _o c |_,_o_,_w |_|| _9 o_)_| .__,_, > | .__,_,_) ]_o _,| (_) (_ (_S ( (_S ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ : | : || || / | . : | || | 4_o |_,_o_|| o q_, _|| (_)_| > o _7 ]_o 4_|_|| . | q : ( /: (_S ( / (_) / Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3255 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1025, Tradition #21, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" A side comment here is that again the word "Istimta'a" has been used in this tradition for temporary marriage which is exactly what Quran has used. In the next tradition after the above tradition in Sahih Muslim, the same narrator (Sabra) has narrated the same tradition with addition that: "I saw Allah's Messenger standing between the pillar and gate of Ka'ba ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ when speaking the Hadith." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3256 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1025, Tradition #21, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" The following tradition, however, indicates that the Prophet allowed Temporary marriage after the battle of Hunain (after 10/8 AH) which was after the conquest of Mecca: Narrated Iyas Ibn Salama on the authority of his father that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) gave sanction for contracting temporary marriage for three nights in the year of Autas (this was after the Battle of Hunain in 8H), and then forbade it. ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ {Note: The sentence inside parentheses is the Saudi translator's footnote, and is NOT mine.} Sunni references: - Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3251 - Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p1023, Tradition #18, "Kitab al-Nikah, Bab Nikah al-Mut'a" Now, let us see what the problems are: 1) Some Sunni scholars have rated these traditions as single (Mufrad), i.e., they are single reports. Ibn Asakir has mentioned the above tradition attributed to Ali, in whose chain of authority is Ibn Saa'ed. Then he wrote: "Ibn Saa'ed is a LIAR". Also other Sunni Scholars such as Darqunti mentioned that these traditions are single. (See Ifraad, by Darqunti). 2) If the Prophet has forbidden the temporary marriage FOREVER in the Day of Khaibar (1/7 AH), why it was practiced even after the battle of Hunain (after 10/8 AH) with the direct order of the Prophet? (See the reference above) In other words: How is that possible that one is forbidden FOREVER and in two different points of time, in the Day of Khaibar (1/7 AH) and on the victory Mecca (9/8 AH) FOREVER, and people were practicing it between these two instants of time and after these two instances with the order of the Prophet? In the mentioned tradition about the battle of Hunain, it is said that the messenger of Allah ALLOWED to do Mut'a for after the battle of Hunain. So we can not say people did it because they did not know it was forbidden forever. The traditions confirms that Mut'a was done with the direct order of the Prophet. So how can we justify these few alleged traditions that the Prophet forbade it forever before that? This contradiction itself supports the fact that all these few narrations were made up to cover up and to justify what Umar enforced during his rule based on his idea. How nice is the verse 4:82 of Quran describes that one can find many contradictions in something that is not from Allah. Two Sunni scholars: al-Qurtubi (in his commentary of Quran) and al- Nawawi (in his commentary of Sahih Muslim) are in the opinion that different traditions concerning the ban of Mut'a specify seven different dates!!! 3) How is that possible that people after the demise of the Prophet were practicing it? To answer this, some claim that although the Messenger of Allah had forbidden it, but it had not been given wide publicity, and thus some continued to practice it till Umar reinforced that law during his rule. If this allegation is true, then it implies that all the companions except Umar were ignorant of the Sunnah of the Prophet, and ignorant of the fact that Mut'a was forbidden forever, and they continued practicing it after the demise of the Prophet, and quarreled amongst each other in this issue. They committed the sin of fornication and encouraged others to do that, and no body said to them not to do that BEFORE the rule of Umar. All of a sudden, some of them started saying it after the rule of Umar. Then how can we conclude that they ALL carried the Sunnah of the Prophet and if we follow ANY ONE among them we will go to paradise, because any single one of them is a star of guidance (no matter if it came out to be Muawiyah). What will be wrong if we follow Jabir who said Umar forbade it? What about Imran Ibn Husain who believed that Umar said what he wished, and neither Allah nor His Prophet prohibited it? What will be wrong if we take the opinion of Imam Ali (AS), the most knowledgeable one among the companions who said: The Mut'a is a mercy from Allah to his servants. If it were not for Umar forbidding it, no one would commit (the sin) of fornication except the wretched (Shaqi)." (See above for two set of references given before, one set from books on Tafsir and one set from books on history and misc. in Parts I & III respectively.) Imam Ali (AS), Abu Dhar, Jabir Ibn Abdillah, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Masud, Zubair Ibn al-Awwam, Imran Ibn Husain, and Abdullah Ibn Umar, Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Salama Ibn Umayyah, Awka' Ibn Abdillah, Salama Ibn al-Awka', Khalid Ibn Muhajir, 'Amr Ibn Huraith, Rabi'a Ibn Umayya, Suhair, Sa'id Ibn Jubair Tawoos, Qotadah, Mujahid, Ataa al-Madani al-Suddy, and Imam al-Hasan (AS), ... are also the stars of guidance if that Sunni tradition is true. So if we follow them with regard to permissibility of Mut'a, are we not guided then? Also if the claim that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) allowed it for a single instance is true, then he would have told them at the same time that they can do it only for this certain period of time, and it will be forbidden after that for ever. In other words, he should have mentioned its prohibition at the time that he prescribed it. In this way there would be no confusion, and we can say the Prophet (PBUH&HF) delivered the Message in this regard. Now the question is: Did the Prophet mentioned its prohibition at the time when he allowed it momentarily? If yes, then why did prominent companions such as Jabir Ibn Abdillah al- Ansari, Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Masud, Imran bin Husain, and Abdullah Ibn Umar, practiced (and some even promoted) Mut'a long after the demise of the Prophet? If no (i.e., the Prophet did not mention its prohibition at the time he allowed it momentarily), then the Prophet intentionally confused some of his own companions such as those I mentioned above, because as a result of their "ignorance", some of them even practiced and promoted Temporary Marriage even after the rule of Umar! Moreover if the prohibition of Mut'a was not given wide publicity by the Prophet, then it would contradict the following verse of Quran: "He (Allah) has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ you" (Quran 6:119) Is it possible that the Messenger of Allah does not publicize what has been prohibited by Allah, which led the companions commit adultery till near the end of the rule of Umar, until it was finally decided that it is time to publicize this fact and stop the Muslims and companions from committing adultery!! How can we justify the above verse of Quran if the Prophet did not inform his companions the prohibition of Mut'a so that they do not quarrel amongst each other because of their ignorance of such important subject? Also, do Sunnis think that the above mentioned companions did not have any fear of Allah? If they had any fear of Allah, and if they did not have strong proof that Mut'a is allowed forever, they would quit promoting Mut'a after Umar. Ibn Abbas did not accept what Umar said and he continued to promote Mut'a even after the battle of Camel when he argued with Ibn Zubair. Was Ibn Abbas suspicious to Umar? Why didn't he believe in him? The reason simply is the fact that Umar did not attribute this prohibition to the Prophet. Umar said: "The Prophet allowed it and I prohibit it." Then if I were Ibn Abbas, I would do the same. Reviving the Sunnah of the Prophet which has been forsaken is a duty and has a lot of reward, and this was the concern of Ibn Abbas. This goes for other companions who supported Mut'a even after the death of Umar, because they were sure that this is a man-made prohibition, and is not issued by Allah, nor by His Prophet (PBUH&HF). Otherwise, if these companions were unsure then they would at least keep silent for the fear of Allah. But the fact is that they knew what they were doing. 4) The speeches of the Prophet in Mecca was narrated through different narrators. Why only one narrator, named as Sabra al-Juhanni, had heard these words from the Prophet, and this part of the speech of the Prophet was not narrated by others? It is hardly conceivable that the Prophet could have stood before the Ka'ba in front of a large group of Muslims and ban something until the Day of Resurrection, and that then only one person Sabra should have heard him or related his words. Moreover, there are discrepancies in the various versions of Sabra's in different Sunni collections of Hadith. In some versions the prohibition is said to have occurred in the year of the victory of Mecca (8 AH), in others in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage (10 AH). This discrepancy makes the Hadith even more untrustworthy. The version of the Hadith of Sabra which states that the Prophet momentarily permitted Mut'a at the Farewell Pilgrimage in Mecca in the year 10/632, shows another fact. People could not have complained from the separation of their wives during the Farewell Pilgrimage, since all of the wives were present, and the single men could have taken permanent wives in Mecca. This is another proof for absurdity of the allegation that temporary marriage was in the case of battles! This is beside many traditions mentioned above that the companions never mentioned practicing Mut'a was limited to battles, and acknowledged that it was a usual practice up to the end of Umar's rule. 5) Another contradiction with the narration of Prohibition of Mut'a in Mecca, is that the Prophet is alleged to have said: I had permitted you to contract temporary marriage, and ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Allah has forbidden? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The problem is that the sentence is in reverse order based on the alleged narration attributed to Ali that the Prophet have forbidden it. Based on the one of the early references of this article, the Prophet did not allow the temporary marriage when there was no command from Allah. Then the verse was revealed and Allah made it lawful and the Prophet permitted it, then. Based on what was attributed to Ali (mentioned above from Sahih Muslim), it was the Prophet who had forbidden the temporary marriage. So, the sentence, must have been: Allah had permitted you and I have forbidden you. While this is in reverse order for the narration of Sabra. Why? Does any of them make sense?! How can the Prophet's word and Allah's word contradict each other. It is reported that: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: "I did not make anything Halaal except what Allah made Halaal, and I did not make anything Haraam except what Allah made Haraam." Sunni reference: Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v4, p72 Then, how can the Prophet's word and Allah's word contradict each other? 6) The other problem with the tradition by Sabra al-Juhanni is that, if Allah has forbidden an Islamic law, he must have revealed some verse(s), or He must have whispered in the ears of the Prophet that the verse of Mut'a is abrogated. Since there is no record that Allah has whispered such important order in the ears of the Prophet, Allah must have revealed a verse about abolishing temporary marriage. Where is the abrogating verse(s)? Also, is it possible that Allah has whispered in the ears of his Prophet PRIVATELY that the verse is abrogated, and the Prophet did NOT tell people when there was no new verse revealed in this regard? The traditions can not abrogate the existing verses of Quran. Quran is always in higher authority. The traditions are always subject to check with Quran, and if they are found to be in contradiction with Quran, those contradicting traditions are rejected. More over, the abrogated verse is either deleted from Quran by the Prophet, or if it is present in Quran, there should be another verse revealed at a later time to abrogate the previous one. In other words, the only way to establish that a verse which is present in Quran is abrogated, is to have an abrogating verse which should have been revealed after that verse, since the traditions alone can not abrogate an existing verse of Quran. Since there is no verse revealed after 4:24 abrogating it, it is still in effect. And there are more problems with these three traditions on forbidding the temporary marriage which will be discussed later. Our humble suggestion is what the Prophet recited when he allowed the Temporary marriage: O' those who believe, do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress. Allah does not like transgressors. (Quran 5:87) This was the verse mentioned in the tradition of Abdullah Ibn Masud about temporary marriage (see the previously-mentioned tradition from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). What do Sunnis think of the Prophet's intention for mentioning this verse to people? How come temporary marriage is a bad thing for the Sunnis while the above verse of Quran refers it as a "good thing"? Do Sunnis want to listen to this verse about something like temporary marriage? :-) ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part V) ======================= Purpose of the Marriage ======================= Some Sunnis claim that based on the following verse of Quran "And Allah has made for our spouses of your own nature, and from your spouses has made for you sons and grandsons ..." (Quran 16:72) the purpose of marriage is reproduction. However, in the temporary marriage the above-mentioned purpose is not realized, and thus the couple can not be considered husband and wife. To answer this assertion, we should say: It is true that temporary marriage is not primarily intended for reproduction (though the couples can do that if they want to). As a matter of fact, many temporary marriages were/are the gate for entering the permanent marriages and the establishments of lucky families. In many cases the partners will finally permanently marry after they saw a good deal of success in their temporary relation. Even though the human race is guaranteed its survival through marriage, the Holy Quran did NOT authorize it exclusively for that, otherwise, it should have illegalized any marriage which does not give birth to new generation. For instance, the marriage of barren/infertile women as well as old women should have been prohibited. Also contraceptive means should not have been allowed. But the fact is that none of them are prohibited in Islam. This goes to prove that reproduction is NOT the mere goal in marriage. Moreover, when discussing the issue, fairness requires one to bring other reasons that Quran mentioned for engaging in marriage. The above was just ONE reason which is usually the case of permanent marriage. But the above verse does not say that reproduction is the ONLY reason to marry. There are other goals mentioned in Quran for marriage, among which are the following: 1- Having pleasure and enjoying the other partner: This is clear from the verse of Mut'a itself where Allah said: "So for those of whom you have pleasure with them (by the contract), you are required to give (them) their wages. And there is no sin for you in what you both agree after the requirement..." (Quran 4:24) Pleasure and enjoying mentioned here do not necessarily restrict to physical aspects. They do cover the spiritual aspects as well. 2- Tranquillity: Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said: "And among His great Signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves so that you get tranquillity by them and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts); verily in that are Signs for those who reflect." (Quran 30:21) The goals for marriage mentioned in the above verse are: achieving spiritual stability, social and psychological tranquillity, and love and mercy to each other. These goals can be attained by both permanent and temporary marriages. 3- Providing an alternative way to avoid the sin of fornication: "Successful indeed are the believers... those who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond or with the slave girls whom they rightfully possess for (in their case) they are free from blame. But those who go beyond that are transgressors." (Quran 23:1-7) The traditions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) provide other reasons for marriage, one of which is: 4- Protecting one's religion: The Messenger of Allah said: "The one who gets married earns half/(one third) of his religion, and therefore, he should fear God for the other half/(two third)." Temporary marriage has safeguarded many good believers (both brothers and sisters), and has protected them from falling into the hands of evil and sin, and has persevered their faith and religion. Also "spreading Islam" could be another goal for marriage. In this case, however, the temporary marriage is less risky than the permanent marriage. And there are many more reasons and goals for marriage. ================= Mut'a vs. Alcohol ================= To justify the practice of Mut'a at the time of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), some people assert that similar to the way that Allah prohibited Alcohol gradually, Mut'a was allowed but it was forbidden gradually before the demise of the Prophet. Other than the fact that many companions and their disciples (see part III for the list of their names) were promoting Mut'a long after the demise of the Prophet, which clearly contradicts above proposal, we should say that there is no similarity between the case of Alcohol and Mut'a. Alcohol was known before Islam for many centuries and Islam did not legislate nor legitimized it. This is while Mut'a with the Islamic regulations surrounding it was not known before Islam, and Islam legitimized it and defined its rules. The Prophet NEVER PROMOTED to drink Alcohol from the beginning of his mission to its end, but he promoted Mut'a. (See the traditions quoted from Sahih Muslim in Part IV which state that the Prophet ORDERED his companions to practice Mut'a). Similarly, Allah NEVER promoted or legalized drinking Alcohol in Quran but HE promoted and legalized both types of Mut'a in Quran in two different verses. As I mentioned many Sunni commentators confirmed that the verse 4:24 is revealed for the Mut'a of women. (As for the Mut'a of Pilgrimage, there is another verse which specifies that type of Mut'a). The course that Islam took for banning Alcohol, was to order at the beginning that "Do not be drunk when you are praying". This does not imply that Islam promoted drinking at any other time, rather it kept silent on the issue while the Prophet was discouraging people not to drink at any other time. Allah never sent a verse to say "You can drink alcohol when you do not pray." In fact the abrogated verses and the abrogating verses of Quran do not contradict each other, rather the abrogating verse gives a more restraint law than the abrogated verse. Moreover, there exists NO abrogating verse in Quran to abrogate the verse about Mut'a (temporary marriage), and there is NO declaration from the Prophet concerning the abrogation of the verse related to Mut'a. For the case of alcohol, we can see a clear and indisputable trend in Quran starting from not allowing the believers to pray while they are drunk, and completing with very clear verse that getting involved in such actions is strictly prohibited. Such prohibition about temporary marriage does not exist in Quran, however. ========================== Prohibition of Illegal Sex ========================== Some people claimed that adultery was common among the companions, till close to the end of the Prophet's life time where it was prohibited by the Prophet. These people have no shame to call the companions who they adore, as fornicators. Perhaps they do it similar to what Jews attribute such shameful thing to their own prophets, mainly to justify what they themselves do. They say since our Prophets committed such grave sins, it is going to be all right for us as well, and God will forgive! NO prophet of God ever promoted to commit adultery or established prostitution; then do these people expect that the master of all the prophets does that? Were his companions worse than the people of Lot so that they would need to do adultery for a period of time? Even Prophet Lot did not allow such shameful thing for his people. Moreover, the Prophet NEVER legitimized a wrong thing to achieve a goal (like spreading Islam by expedition). In other words, the Prophet never allowed fornication to keep his companions in good mood (!!) in order to fight better for Islam! The goal does not justify the means, and this is a basic teaching of Islam. It is hilarious and rather insulting to believe that at any time the Prophet (PBUH&HF) had ordered his companions to get drunk, or to murder, or to rape, or to gamble, or to commit fornication because of "necessity"! These people even do not know that fornication was prohibited by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) in Mecca, and before his migration to Medina. For instance, let us look at the following verses: "Successful indeed are the believers... those who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond or the captives whom their right hands possess for (in their case) they are free from blame. But those who go beyond that are transgressors." (Quran 23:1-7) and also: "And those who guard their private parts, except with their wives or the slave girls who rightfully possess for (in their case) they are free from blame. But those who go beyond that are transgressors." (Quran 70:29-31) The above verses clearly state that sex is only permitted either by marriage or through bondwoman whom one may rightfully possesses. If the above verses in the Chapter of Believers (Ch 23) and the chapter of al- Ma'arij (Ch 70) would have been revealed after the verse 4:24 (which is about Mut'a), then one could say the verse 4:24 might have been abrogated by the above verses. Surprisingly enough, all Muslims agree that the above verses in the chapter of Believers (Ch 23) and the chapter of al-Ma'arij (Ch 70) were revealed in Mecca, long before the migration of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). Therefore fornication was, indeed, prohibited in Mecca in the early advent of Islam. This is while all Islamic schools agree that the verse of 4:24 (verse of temporary marriage) was revealed in Medina. Also Shia and Sunni unanimously acknowledge that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) legitimized Mut'a after migration to Medina, and the companions started practicing it. This, in fact, proves that Mut'a is a legitimate type of marriage, and man and woman are real husband and wife, otherwise the Prophet would have gone against the Meccan-revealed-verse in the Chapter of believers which restricted sex only through marriage or bondwomen. The Prophet does not go against the previously revealed verse of Quran when they are not abrogated. Thus if he permitted Mut'a later in Medina, it should comply with the previously revealed verse in Mecca including the above two verses mentioned. The conclusion is that Mut'a is a legitimate type of marriage, and was legitimized long after the prohibition of fornication and after limiting sexual relation only to marriage and bondwomen. Again some Sunni brothers, to provide an excuse for the practice of Mut'a by the companions, said that among the companions were some who were weak in faith. The weak ones feared that they would be tempted to commit the sin of fornication, a major sin and an evil course, and thus the Prophet allowed them to practice Mut'a. These brothers unwittingly acknowledge the fact that not all the companions were strong in their faith. This is really a step forward. Sometimes in order to justify something, people have to compromise on their beliefs. Surprisingly enough, the Shia also believe in the same thing. If the Shia follow Ali (AS) to the exclusion of all other companions, it does not mean that the rest were unbelievers. It rather means the rest were not as qualified as him in their knowledge and their faith. However fornication was prohibited and sex was limited to marriage before even the constitution of Mut'a, and Allah does not compromise on what He had established already no matter what the companions feel about it. One side comment here is that, according to the Shia Jurisprudence, masturbation is absolutely forbidden, due to the above mentioned verses where Allah limited the sexual gratification to marriage and slave-girls. Sunnis also consider masturbation to be forbidden, but some of them say if one falls into sin of fornication, then he may resort to masturbation since it is a lesser evil. Actually, such idea has no support in Quran or the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF). However, this Sunni opinion that masturbation is a lesser evil than fornication, gives another proof that the above mentioned excuse for the permission of temporary marriage for the companions is absurd. If masturbation is a lesser evil, then why the Prophet didn't order his companions to masturbate instead of contracting temporary marriage?!! This action of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) proves that if one is in danger of fornication, he should contract temporary marriage and avoid masturbation. Temporary marriage was one of Islam's new ideas and solutions for the problems mankind presented by the last Prophet God for all the generations to come. It aimed at purifying this nation to make it the best, cleansed from any crimes, impurities and weird behavior, and to make it strong in its social structure. But this nation was not successful in protecting this type of marriage and respecting its rules and reviving its legality. Instead, it was treated with false traditions and ignorant complications. This consequently invited various types of sickness, corruption, and adultery in Muslim nations which can be observed today. =========================== More Side Comments on Mut'a =========================== A Sunni brother mentioned that Ibn Abbas permitted temporary marriage under necessity. This is true. As we pointed out before, al-Bukhari mentioned: Narrated Abu Jamra: I heard Ibn Abbas (giving a verdict) when he was asked about the Mut'a with the women, and he permitted it (Nikah al-Mut'a). On that a freed slave of his said to him, "That is only when it is very badly needed and (qualified permanent) women are scarce, or similar cases." On that, Ibn Abbas said, "Yes." Sunni reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v7, Hadith #51 The last sentence of the tradition is a little confusing however. The reason is: How can women be scarce and yet we find one for the temporary marriage?! If women are scarce, they are scarce for both types of marriage! On the other hand, if women are available for temporary marriage, then they are not scarce any more! So, granted that the last phrase in the above tradition is genuine, then the freed slave of Abbas meant that if the QUALIFIED women for permanent marriage are scarce, then one may resort to temporary marriage till such time when he finds a qualified permanent partner, based on the above verdict of Ibn Abbas (and some other companions). But for the cases such as western countries where a Muslim can not easily find a qualified spouse for long term marriage, and he/she is under pressure, then the only chance for him/her is temporary marriage. Even in Muslim countries, if a man/woman is not sure about the qualification of his proposed wife/husband, he/she may engage in temporary marriage for sometime before his/her official permanent marriage. In this period he/she will realize if the other partner is qualified for a long-term relationship. The other suitable case for temporary marriage is when a boy can not afford the expenses of a permanent wife which brings many financial responsibilities. ========= A Sunni contributor mentioned that Ibn Abbas probably meant when Muslim woman is scarce one may practice temporary marriage with women from the People of the Book. Although the above tradition does not specify the religion of women, this brother believes that Mut'a marriage with the people of Book is permitted when Muslim woman are not available. I believe this is also a step forward! Even we accept that the tradition wants to say what this brother said, then there still exists the very same contradiction. All Muslims unanimously agree that permanent marriage with the People of the Book is allowed. If it is allowed, then again in that case women are not scarce!!! If Christian girls are not scarce, then they are available for both types of marriage. And the same argument comes in again. Is the tradition saying that Sunnis can commit the sin of fornication with Christian girls when Muslim women are scarce? Thus we ought to agree that temporary marriage is not fornication otherwise Ibn Abbas would not have dared to allow it even with the girls from the People of the Book. Moreover, the above tradition CLEARLY states that Ibn Abbas allowed temporary marriage under some conditions. This can be inferred without need of any interpretation. Now, my question is that do you believe what Sunnis acknowledge concerning that Ibn Abbas was a highly respected companion and the interpreter of Quran? If yes, then you should obey him in this issue also. Or, at least, you can not object a Muslim if he chooses to follow Ibn Abbas and other companions who had the same idea in this issue. ========= A Wahhabi mentioned if Shia really follow Ali, then Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim both have a tradition from him on the prohibition of Mut'a! We have discussed already about this tradition which has contradiction in it and the Sunni scholars have rated it Mufrad. Moreover, we do not consider Sahih al-Bukhari (or Sahih Muslim) to be all-authentic. It is the work of man, and is not revealed by God to al-Bukhari. Neither him nor those who conveyed the traditions to him were infallible, and they made some or many mistakes. (Unless Wahhabis want to claim that the companions and the narrators were infallible). Not to mention that there are many contradictions inside this book. As a result I do not consider ANY Hadith collection to be all-authentic. I bet these Sunnis do not also believe in all the traditions inside Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. If they believe in all of them then they have found many controversy on this very subject among the companions. The traditions inside these two books say that some companions continued to believe that temporary Marriage is Halaal after the demise of the Prophet and issued verdicts. Then, how can they say these books are all-authentic when they do not believe in those traditions I mentioned? we should be naive to accept what al-Bukhari attributed to Imam Ali (AS) as genuine when other reports from Imam Ali inside Sunni books say totally the opposite. We only accept those traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari which does not have contradiction with other Mutawatir traditions in side that book and other books. (The common traditions between Shia and Sunni are Mutawatir (frequent) since they have been narrated by both rival authorities.) This is exactly what we do with the Shi'i sources as well. If we find a tradition in the Shi'i sources which contradicts Quran or the established Sunnah of the Prophet, we just ignore it. ========= In Parts VI through VIII, we will discuss the regulations of Mut'a in detail, Insha Allah. ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part VI) ========================================================== Similarities and Differences of Mut'a and Regular Marriage ========================================================== Some people assume that some of the Shia practices are not Islamic because they haven't heard about it before, or they do not know the justifications behind it. What I tried to prove by the previous parts of the discussion was: 1. Temporary marriage was NOT invented by the Shia. 2. Allah made it legal in the Quran (4:24). 3. There are authentic Sunni references which indicate that various companions did NOT agree on being it abolished. This happens to agree with the Shia point of view. 4. It was also indicated that there are few allegations for its banning, but they are inconsistent and are weaker claims. Their variety is sufficient indication of the fact that they are based on opinion-only, mainly to justify the present situation. Also, not to mention their obvious conflict with above three points. Moreover, the Hadith is always tested against the Quran and not the other way around. The Quran is always in the higher authority. In that effort, I was not trying to convince the Sunnis that Mut'a is permitted for them as a "Sunni", as much as, I was trying to show that the Shia point of view in this issue has a very strong basis in Quran and Hadith, and is not inconsistent with Islam and its documented history. I also tried to illuminate the fact that Mut'a can be legal, depending on which companion's point of view we take. In this part and the next two parts, however, I would like to talk More about Mut'a itself, its specifications, regulations, advantages, and to answer some the questions which I received from the Sunnis on this issue. WARNING: What follows in this and the next parts is only a scientific discussion and in NO way it should be considered as some kind of verdict. Interested readers may contact the Shia scholars or read books on Shia Jurisprudence to learn more about this issue, its terms, and its restrictions. Fixed-Term/Temporary/Pleasure/Mut'a Marriage is a contract between a man and woman, much in the same way the Long-Term/Conventional Marriage is. The same vows are exchanged by the partners or their authorized representatives in both cases, including stating the dowry. In temporary marriage a fixed period of time (like one year, four years of college, etc.) should be clearly specified. After the expiration date of the marriage, the couple must either extend it to another specified time or they will automatically separate without divorce, and the woman must count the "Iddah" (waiting period) before which she can not marry any one else. The dowry (Mahr/Sidaq) should be specified at the time of contract. It may be a calculated sum of money, or a certain work like teaching a certain science, or something like a ring or bracelet by specifying or showing them. As for the dower which are not present at the time of contract, it is sufficient that the dower be described in such a manner that the woman's misunderstanding will be removed, i.e., that it be described exactly as it is. Usually in this type of marriage, the couple do not plan to have any child. But it becomes accidentally the case, then the kids from this marriage are the legal sons/daughters of their parents. All regulations of permanent marriage will apply to the children. The man and woman are husband and wife till the expiration date of the contract, much in the same way as the normal marriage is. In fact the author of al-Jawahir (the biggest Shia Encyclopedia in Jurisprudence) said: "Originally the same rules apply to permanent and temporary marriage, except what was excluded by certain proofs." For instance, similar to the permanent one, in the temporary marriage it is necessary for the virgin girl to get the permission of her guardian (which is usually her father) before accepting such offer. Imam al-Ridha said: "A virgin may not be married temporarily without her father's permission." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p458). As for a non-virgin, she can make her decision alone without getting the agreement of her guardian or any other person, but it is still encouraged to get the permission. Temporary marriage is valid with the Muslim women and the woman of the People of the Book like the Christians and the Jews. And if the Christian/ Jewish girl is virgin, the prosper should still seek the permission of her guardian even if that guardian is not a Muslim. Under very extraordinary circumstances, if it is proved that her guardian does not care about her benefit, a Muslim scholar (or the judge when the government is truly Islamic) can let her marry. In this case the necessity of the permission of the father is lifted and will be shifted to the permission of the scholar/judge. This is true for permanent marriage as well. Marriage with a woman who is atheist, or blasphemer, or apostate, or a woman who declares animosity against Ahlul-Bayt, or the extremist (one who believes Ali is God) is not allowed; and the same applies to man with the addition that marriage of Muslim woman with a non-Muslim man is not allowed either. It is undesirable/discouraged (Makrooh) that one temporarily marries the fornicatress who is not famous for practicing fornication. Conservative way is to avoid marrying her at all. As for the woman who is famous for committing fornication like a prostitute, it is forbidden to do Mut'a with her, unless she repents. Her repentance is known if she was called to commit sin and she refused; then that should indicate her trustworthiness, and an indication for the possibility that she may revive her soul with the opportunity of temporary marriage and being in the company of a person who can guide her to the right path. Nonetheless, it is highly encouraged that the wife in both temporary and permanent marriage to be modest and temperate, not reckless or cheap. It is recommended that a Muslim man contract a temporary marriage only with a chaste ('Afifa) Muslim woman. Here chaste means someone who has never committed fornication and who follows the Shari'ah in her activities, and in general is honest and upright. The two attributes 'Muslim' and 'chaste' are mentioned in the following two tradition: Imam al-Ridha (AS) was asked: "Is it possible for a man to contract a temporary marriage with a Jew or a Christian?" He (AS) answered: "I would prefer that he engage in Mut'a with a free Muslim woman." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p452). To a question about performing Mut'a, the Imam Ja'far replied: "It is permissible. So marry none but a chaste woman, for God says, 'And those who guard their private parts' (23:5). Hence you should not put your private parts where you do not feel safe with your dirhams." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p452). How to distinguish a modest and temperate woman? In the case that one may have suspicious to the unknown woman who want to offer the temporary marriage, one way is to test her, yet this is not necessary as we will discuss shortly. It was reported that a modest woman was astonished when a believer asked her to commit the sin of fornication. She thought the man committed sin by saying such thing. She did not know that it was a test with no lying meant. That was a question and not a decision to do wrong. For it was Abdullah Ibn Ya'fur who asked the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS) that if she can temporarily marry an unknown woman. The Imam answered: "One could invite her to commit sin, and if she accepted he should not marry with her." If someone makes an accusation against a woman, it is recommended that before contracting of Mut'a with her the man ask her about her situation, i.e., as to whether or not she has a husband and whether or not she is chaste. However, in general, asking is not a condition of the contract (Jawahir, v5, p165). The rule of Jurisprudence regarding to "the principle of correctness of the acts of a Muslim" demands that one consider the act of a woman who has declared herself ready to enter into Mut'a as correct. According to this principle, whenever we are in doubt concerning the correctness of the act of a Muslim, we preserve the social and legal order by judging that his/her act was correct, unless otherwise proven by chance. Several traditions are related which demonstrate the reprehensibility of asking about the woman's situation AFTER the contract has been made. Temporary marriage is discouraged when one has a permanent wife who is sexually available to him. Ali Ibn Yaqtin (RA) who was married, asked Imam al-Ridha (AS) about pleasure marriage. The Imam said to him: "Why do you want to bother with it while God has provided you what's better (i.e., permanent wife)." Another one also asked him about Mut'a, and the Imam (AS) said: "It is absolutely permissible and allowed to whom is not provided with (permanent) marriage, then he may act decently by resorting to pleasure marriage. If he was provided with a (permanent) wife, then it is allowed for him (to engage in temporary marriage) when he is away from his wife (e.g., like a traveler)." Also Imam al-Ridha (AS) wrote to one of his followers: "You should revive the Islamic law, but do not persist on pleasure marriage where it would keep you occupied from your permanent wives, for they (permanent wives) might reject the faith and then accuse us." The scholars consider such restricted allowance only as undesirable, but not forbidden. This is due to other traditions that make it permissible, but it is undesirable/discouraged in the case of having a permanent wife who is sexually accessible. As we mentioned earlier, there are some differences between the temporary marriage and the permanent marriage which I now briefly pinpoint here: DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 1) Temporary marriage is NOT necessarily a sex relationship DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD The couple who want to enter in temporary marriage contract may put a condition at the time of contract that the marriage shall not be consummated. Such condition can NOT be put in permanent marriage and it is the religious obligation of the permanent wife to be sexually available to her husband and should be responsive to his sexual requests; and at the same time, man should not avoid intercourse for more than four month and should sleep with his permanent wife at least once each four nights. Such sexual necessities do not apply in temporary marriage, because it has been designed for wider purposes which will be explained later. In the case that the couple put a condition that they do not have sex, then they can only enjoy other things in a couple life. If, later, the woman agrees to have sex, the condition is resolved, and the marriage can be consummated. This is due to the fact that the obstacle to sexual relations was the woman's unwillingness to permit anything more than what was agreed upon in the contract. But the marriage contract warrants intercourse, i.e., the marriage contract itself establishes the permissibility of intercourse. Thus if the obstacle is removed, the default contract will come into play, unless such obstacle could not be removed by the woman (e.g., permission of the father of a virgin girl). (see Matajir, v2, p300; Riyadh, v2, p116) In other words, if the condition of non-intercourse is laid down, that is the woman's right over the man. So if she chooses to waive the condition, union is lawful. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 2) Mut'a with sex is strongly discouraged for a virgin girl DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Although a virgin girl can temporarily marry if her guardian permits, such marriage is strongly discouraged (Makrooh Muakkad) for a virgin girl * if * having sex is to be involved. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS) in one tradition mentioned this and gave the reason that "it may bring shame for her family." In practice, most Muslim parents do not allow such thing either. But there is no problem for a virgin girl to temporarily marry if they put the condition at the time of the contract that the marriage can not be consummated, by saying for instance: they can just visit each other under the supervision of the parents. However, under some circumstances, the temporary marriage (with no restriction) may become necessary even for a virgin girl if her guardian feels that there is a great possibility of committing sin for her girl due to personal and or environmental situation, and if no qualified man proposed her permanent marriage. DDDDDDDDDDDDDD 3) Inheritance DDDDDDDDDDDDDD In temporary marriage the wife and the husband don't inherit each other, while their kids inherit from their parents. According to the Imam Ja'far (AS): "Among the regulations of Mut'a is that you do not inherit from the woman, nor does she inherit from you." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v4, p486). However man and woman can inherit each other if it is made a condition at the time of contract. Also it is possible that only one of the spouses may be named heir to the other, in which case the inheritance is one-sided. The reason that inheritance is permissible provided that the condition is entered into the contract is first the universal applicability of the prophetic Hadith: "The believers hold fast to their promises." (Sahih al- Bukhari, v3, p120). Second, according to the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq: "If they should stipulate the condition of inheritance [in the contract of Mut'a], they must hold fast to this condition." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v4, p486). DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 4) Financial Support DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD In this type of marriage, man is not required to financially support his wife, yet he is required to support the kids if any. However, man should financially support his wife if it is made a condition at the time of contract. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 5) The length of the waiting period (Iddah) DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD After the expiration of marriage woman should wait for a specific amount of time before which she can not marry any one else. This is the case if the couple had intercourse, otherwise there is no waiting period. This rule also applies for permanent marriage in the case of divorce. However the length of this waiting period is slightly different. The waiting period of a temporarily married woman is equal to that of slave-girl which is different from the permanent married woman since temporary marriage is a "weaker" marriage much the same as marriage with slave-girl is a "weaker" marriage. The length of waiting period for woman is two complete menstrual periods (about two month) for temporary marriage, if she menstruates. If the woman is of menstruating age but for some reason does not menstruate, her waiting period is 45 days. (It should be emphasized that having intercourse with a girl who has not reached to the age of puberty is forbidden in Islam). Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: "The waiting period of a divorced (free) woman is three months, ... and what is required of a wife by Mut'a is the same as what is ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ required of a slave." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p484) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It has been narrated from both Imam Baqir (AS) and Imam Musa (AS) that: "To divorce a slave, one must pronounce the formula of divorce twice; her waiting period is two menstrual periods." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v15, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ p469). If the woman is pregnant, her waiting period is the remaining time it takes to give birth, provided that this time is not shorter than her regular waiting period in this case. (See al-Fiqh ala al-Madhahib al-Khamsah, by Muhammad Jawad Mughniyyah). As for the case of free permanent married woman who is divorced, it is the clear text of Quran that her waiting period of three complete menstruation (about three month). In temporary marriage the couple will separate from each other automatically after the expiration date without divorce, and it is the consensus of the scholars that there is no divorce in Mut'a. Even for the permanent marriage, the waiting period is not three month if the separation is not due to divorce. For instance see 2:234 where it prescribes a different waiting period for the case of death of husband. The Holy Quran only provided some general regulations and left behind many specific regulations to be specified by the Prophet himself. For instance Quran does not say that we should pray two units in Fajr or how we should pray. It was the Prophet (PBUH&HF) who explained all these regulations which were all revelations but were not a part of Quran. This is the Sunnah of the Prophet which has been transmitted by his Ahlul-Bayt (peace be upon them all). The fact is that we do NOT need to know the reasons behind the religious regulations set by Allah and His Prophet in order to obey them. These regulations are based on the infinite wisdom of Allah. However, using logic, one may find some of the reasons behind them. Yet, one can never claim these findings are the only reasons behind those regulations. Allah mentioned in Quran that "You have not been granted knowledge but little." Logically speaking, the waiting period for woman has many advantages: 1. If woman is pregnant she will realized this fact within the first two months. 2. If not, this waiting period will serve as preparation time for woman to adopt a new lifestyle. It is neutral interval for rest, psychological relaxation, and the transition from one state to another. 3. In most cases in permanent marriage, the divorce is the result of dispute between the couple, and they separate from each other with broken heart and tragic feelings. It is likely that after a period of isolation, they soon realize that they need each other and they still love one another, and what they did was wrong. This period provides enough time for both couple to rethink about their behavior which may lead to re-uniting before the woman marries a different man. However, in the temporary marriage the problem mentioned in Item 3, does not exist. The couple know from the beginning that they will separate from each other after a fixed period of time, and with that understanding they entered to such contract. Therefore there is no surprises nor is any hard feelings when the marriage period expires. They need no extra time to rethink about returning to each other or to pass the period of hard feelings and mistreatments which is the case when permanently married couples divorce. Thus it seems reasonable why in the temporary marriage, the waiting period is a little shorter. Moreover, as we mentioned, the waiting period for temporary marriage is equal to that of the slave-girls which does not follow the rule of permanent marriage in this regard. According to a Sunni report: Ibn Abbas was asked: "Is Mut'a fornication or marriage?" He answered: 'Neither the one nor the other.' The questioner then asked: "Well then, what is it?" Ibn Abbas replied: "It is Mut'a', just as God has said." The questioner continued: "Is there a waiting period in Mut'a?" He replied: "Yes, a menstrual period." He was also asked: "Do the husband and wife inherit from each other?" He answered: "No." Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p286 In the above Sunni tradition, it is attributed to Ibn Abbas that the waiting period for Mut'a is only one menstrual period. However, this is not acceptable for us due to more accurate traditions from the Imams of Ahlul- Bayt which explain that it is two menstrual periods. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 6) The Time-period of Marriage DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD The time period of a temporary marriage must be expressed at the time of contract in a manner which allows no possibility of increase or decrease. According to the Imam al-Ridha (AS): "...(Mut'a must) be a stipulated thing for a stipulated period." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p479). The Imam was once asked if it is possible to conclude a contact of Mut'a for 'one or two hours'. He replied, "No exact time limit is understood from 'one or two' hours." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p479). Based on the opinion of some of the scholars, if the stipulated period is not mentioned at all in the text of the contract, the marriage cannot take place and the contract is invalid. (Matajir, v2, p299; Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p287; Jawahir, v5, p169). Some scholars, however, are in the opinion that if the time period is not specified then the marriage reverts to a long- term marriage and separation can only happen by death or by divorce. In this case, all the rules of the regular marriage apply. They base their opinion on a tradition from Imam Ja'far Sadiq (AS) who said: "If a time period is stated, the marriage is Mut'a; if it is not stated, it is permanent." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p469). al-Shahid al-Thani comments that the above tradition does not state explicitly that the desire of the two parties to the contract was to establish a marriage of Mut'a, but then they fail to mention the time period. On the contrary, the purport of the Hadith is that marriage with a stated period is Mut'a while marriage without a stated period is permanent marriage. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p287). There is no upper or lower limit to the duration of the time period. It makes no difference if the period is extremely long, so that one doubts whether the parties will survive its duration; or if it is extremely short, so that there is no possibility of consummation. In other words, any time period is permissible, so long as it is specific and both sides are aware of the situation and are satisfied. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p285). There are traditions which indicate that it is permissible for the agreed upon time period either to be joined to the moment of establishing the contract or to be postponed. (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p446). As for the possibility of postponing the beginning of Mut'a, this is conditional upon the stipulation of the day and the month in which it is to begin. For example, if the man states that the contract will be for one month but fails to stipulate exactly when that month is to begin, the contract is invalid because the exact time is not stated. But if the contract is meant for both sides to be in effect immediately, without any mention of a postponement, then the marriage begins as soon as the contract is made, and the marriage is valid. (Matajir, v2, p300; Jawahir, v5, p171). DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 7) The Due Dowry vs. Consummation DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD In the permanent marriage the consummation of marriage is only due to sexual act. But the temporary marriage is different from the permanent marriage because there is AN EXTRA FORM OF CONSUMMATION, that is the consummation of the time period. Therefore the consummation of the time period also must also be taken into account for the issue of dowry. (Masalik, v1, p538). The above explanation follows that once the Mut'a contract is made the wife receives the whole dowry, whether or not the husband consummates the marriage before the time period expires. Starting the Mut'a marriage means consuming the time period which requires full dowry. The wife is entitled to the dowry as long as she places herself at her husband's disposal and does not present him with any obstacles to consummating the marriage. When the time period is over, the wife is freed from the obligations of the contract. (Matajir, v2, p300; Jawahir, v5, p170). If the couple made a condition at the time of contract to avoid or limit sex, then the woman is not religiously obliged to be sexually available to her husband and she is still entitled to the dowry. The woman may ask for the whole amount of the dower at the beginning of the marriage. In this case, the man may not take back any of the dower under any circumstances, unless for some reason the contract turns out be invalid from the beginning. Several traditions are recorded which establish this point without question. (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, pp 482-483). In a situation where a contract is made, but BEFORE THE BEGINNING of the time period the man decides not to go through with the marriage but to 'give back' to the woman the contracted time, she is entitled to one-half the dower. The situation is similar to divorce before consummation in permanent marriage. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p285; Shara'i, v2, p24; Matajir, v2, p300; Masalik v1, p538). Since the consummation of time is taken into account in the issue of dowry for Mut'a, it follows that if a woman who has made a contract of Mut'a separates from her husband on her own free will before the end of the time period, whether before or after consummation, the man is allowed to reduce the dower in proportion to the amount of time by which the time period of the Mut'a has been reduced, provided that he has not already paid her the full dower. (Sharh al-Lum'a v5, p285). Thus, for example, if the woman's dower is $300 and the time period 30 days; and if the woman decides to avoid her husband after 20 days, her husband would reduce the dower by one-third. Hence, if the woman should fail to fulfill any of the conditions of the marriage for the whole time period, she forfeits the whole dower. Numerous traditions have been recorded concerning this particular point. For example, the Imam Ja'far (AS) was asked if it is permissible to hold back part of the dower if the woman fails to put herself at her husband's disposal. He replied: 'It is permissible for you to hold back what you can [i.e., what you have not already given her]. so if she goes back on her word, take from her [in proportion to] the amount she has broken the contract. (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p481). However, if the woman fails to provide the man with conjugal rights because of an excuse sanctioned by the Shari'ah, such as menstruation or 'fear of an oppressor', then the dower can not be reduced. A man came to the Imam Ja'far and said: "I contracted Mut'a marriage with a woman for one month for a given amount. But the woman only came to me for part of the month, and part she stayed away." The Imam replied: "An amount should be held back from her dower equivalent to the amount she avoided you, except for the days of her menstruation, for those belong to her." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p481). If the marriage has been consummated and the woman was aware of the contract's invalidity, she can have no claim to a dower, since she is a fornicatress, and there is no dower for fornication. In this case, if the man has already given the woman the whole dower, she must return it as soon as the invalidity of the contract becomes apparent. If she no longer possesses the amount which must be returned, she is liable for it, no matter how it may have left her hands, whether, for example, she has spent it or it was stolen. (Matajir, v2, p301; Sharh al-Lum'a v5, pp 287-288). If the woman passes away during the period of the Mut'a, even if it be before consummation, her dower may in no way be lessened, exactly as is in permanent marriage. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p286). In the next part, we will discuss the necessities and the advantages of the Temporary marriage, Insha Allah. ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part VII) =========================================== The Necessities and the Advantages of Mut'a =========================================== Sexual feelings are strong forces within human beings which are created by God, and like any other force or instinct, should be directed and supervised. Marriage is God's legislation to direct this very strong force which might otherwise destroy the human being's prosperity and salvation. Permanent marriage is the most recommended form of marriage, however, there are situations in which for different reasons permanent marriage, where the intention is to construct a family, is NOT possible. Then what should be done in these cases? Can we accept that God has left us on our own in this important issue, or should we expect some legislation in this case as well? If we do not accept temporary marriage, there are two options left: 1) Sexual promiscuity and licentiousness, with all it's results. This is what happens (and is promoted by media, Hollywood, etc.) openly in the West, and not very openly in other cultures. 2) Suppressing all sexual feelings and instincts until a permanent marriage is possible. There are, however, a few problems with this choice: A) It is not possible to enforce it in any large scale form, as a general rule for society. B) Even if we assume that it can be enforced, it may cause psychological disorders, and many other complexities. Suppressing natural needs and instincts (sexual or otherwise) is not a healthy practice and Islam does not approve of it either. It is evident that permitting temporary marriage (until a permanent marriage becomes possible) is the best solution. Mut'a is just a sanctification of the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Two people may also live together all their lives without marrying. But a marriage ceremony sanctifies the relationship. The couple acknowledge their actions as fulfillment of God's will and not merely their personal desires. They are under an obligation to God to fulfill their commitment. In a similar way, Mut'a sanctifies what would otherwise be just a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. One person mentioned that the Imam Ali's (AS) narration: "If it were not for Umar's prohibition of temporary marriage no one would commit adultery except a wretched" is not acceptable because it draws a distorted picture of men's sexuality! Well, I must say that it is not just men who commit adultery, and Imam Ali (AS) is referring to both men and women. Temporary marriage, as well as permanent marriage, has two sides, and BOTH sides are supposed to benefit from it. Consequently, depriving them for these benefits may cause both men and women to go wrong. It seems that some people have no problem with what is promoted in the West, with a culture of nudity and nakedness, with using women as adverting objects, with reducing the sexual values and ethics to the garbage and obscenity we see everyday on TV, media, etc. There is nothing humiliating and unethical about using a young, pretty, half-naked girl (the ideal woman!) as a sex object to sell bear. A woman selling her beauty to a magazine or show is considered to have a "respectable" career and is called a "model"! What a meaningful terminology! On the contrary, playing the role of a "mother" in a family is considered to be unimportant, if not humiliating. Being boyfriend-girlfriends is accepted as a sign of freedom, culture, and growth. However, if we talk about temporary marriage suddenly these people start to cry! Some also believe that the spread of pre-marital relationships in the West is not completely a result of moral breakdown, rather it is also due to changed socio-economic conditions. In older times, marriage was simpler and the average age of marriage was much lower. In today's complex society, it is no longer possible to be economically self-sufficient enough to get married until one is nearly thirty years old. This means that the only option to avoid pre-marital relationships is to extend the period of pre- marital celibacy to as much as 15 years. Education is another obvious example. The man and woman usually can not find a job if they are unskilled or uneducated, and therefore financial independence is not feasible in the early stages of their life. Such prolonged celibacy is unnatural and cannot be sustained in any society for long. This is one reason why the traditional marriage customs broke down in the west during the last 30 years. Today, most Muslim countries are also rapidly modernizing. It is inevitable that they will also face many of the pressures that most Western countries are facing. They have a choice to make. They can either try to mount a futile struggle against inevitable change and face a chaotic breakdown of their traditional customs. Or they can courageously take the initiative and revive the Islamic values such as Mut'a to respond to changing needs of the society in the true spirit of Islam. Choosing the second option will be a satisfying answer to the problem of prolonged pre-marital celibacy. Allowing an open and honest relationship committed to in the name of God with best of intentions, will discourage secret or promiscuous sexual behavior which is much more harmful to the moral fabric of a society. Below I have summarized few reasons, out of many, for the necessity of Temporary Marriage, and the advantages associated with it: 1) As I mentioned, temporary marriage is not necessarily a sexual relation, and it could be for many other reasons. One purpose could be: getting to know each other closely. In the Shia communities it is even widely applied for a virgin girl to enter into such temporary marriage WITH the condition that the marriage is NOT to be consummated. This is actually for done a boy and girl want to permanently marry, but they don't know much about each other, and to familiarize themselves to each other, they will enter to such contract few months before the official permanent marriage. This period is what is known as "engagement". The engagement for the Shia Muslims means that they have contracted Mut'a marriage. (There is no other way for engagement in Islam!) In this period the boy regularly visits the girl in the house of the girl's parents and he is considered as a part of their family. They are "Mahram" to each other (i.e., boy can see the girl and her mother without head-cover, as a result of temporary marriage contract). They talk, study, have fun, go to picnic along with their parents, and so on. The boy and girl are husband and wife, but the only thing that they can't do, is to sleep together. This gives an opportunity to the boy and the girl in order to know each other more closely and to see if they can live together for the rest of their life and if their personal feelings are sort of compatible. Usually if something is found to be wrong, they will break up before the time when they want to permanently marry. This helps to decrease the rate of divorce in permanent marriage (when the permanent marriage may have been consummated and they may even have children) which is the worst thing in the family life. 2) Another justification about temporary marriage is that, in Islam, the right of divorce has been given to the husband and not the wife. Also according to the Islamic teaching, a girl and a boy can not be with each other before marriage. So if the only way in Islam was to permanently marry, then this would be unjust towards a woman who does not know his husband before marriage. What if the woman later finds out that she does not have a very happy life with her husband because they are not morally compatible? Is she is bound to live with the husband that she didn't know and she does not like him to the extent that she desires? The answer for permanent marriage is Yes. She can not get divorced unless her husband wants to divorce her. (Under some circumstances, a Muslim scholar/Judge can divorce her if she can prove that she is being harassed and is deprived of her rights or her man is sexually impotent, etc. But this is not likely to happen if she just does not like her husband too much or if she finds that she does not have too much compatibility and interest with her husband. Moreover, such procedure is risky, since the verdict of judge may be different than the wish of woman). The option of temporary marriage removes this unjust look of authority. In Temporary marriage a girl and a boy have opportunity to live together for sometime to find if they will see a good future for their permanent marriage. As I said, the couple entered in temporary marriage contract may put the condition at the time of contract that the marriage is not to be sexually consummated. The guardian of the girl can also enforce such condition and the couple can just visit each other during the day to talk, study, and take part in any other non- sexual activities. 3) Temporary marriage is a conditional marriage. The purpose of such contract can be even only for talking to each other. Although necessary talks between two sexes in order to get along with daily life, without evil intention and without possible evil consequences, is not forbidden in Islam, but a man and woman who are presently unmarried and who are in close contact with each other due to the job, study or whatever, are encouraged to enter to such contract. This removes any possibility of sin. 4) In another case, a boy and a girl may NOT have reached to a point to manage a family life with all financial and legal responsibilities. Or they might be able to manage it financially but they are in a temporary situation where they can't plan for permanent marriage, like bachelor students who come to other countries to study where they may not be able to find a good match for the permanent life in the foreign country as a result of cultural differences. If they feel they can't stand emotionally, they may enter to such contract for the few years that they are away from home. In any situation, if one can not control himself/herself, it is necessary to either temporarily or permanently marry. Obviously, temporary marriage is more practical in such situations. 5) In each community, there are some women who have lost their husbands either by death or divorce, and no body had offered them a permanent marriage proposal after their first husband. She will have to do one of the three things: First to imprison the calls of nature in her body and bury her feelings, and then become like a nun. Sometimes this happens when the society tries to keep her as a prisoner of injustice, cultural traditions, and priesthood which Islam has made illegal. Second, she also could fight back and run towards indecency and immorality which is what happened in the western societies. Third, she could also become poor, weak, and homeless if she could not find a job to support herself. Islam should have a solution for such problems and emotional needs, and that is temporary marriage which she could benefit to the time she finds a qualified permanent husband. Of course, she can refuse to marry either way, and agree to a life of piety and loneliness away from any marriage, then that's no problem! The problem occurs when the matter becomes one of the two: whether she would fall into indecency as what happened in the western societies, or whether she would preserve her chastity from sin through temporary marriage, based on the rule of Almighty God and His Messenger (PBUH&HF). 6) According to the Islamic teaching, although the permanent marriage of a Muslim man with a woman from the People of the Book is not forbidden, but it is discouraged (Makrooh). Because permanent marriage is a plan for the whole lifetime while there is no guarantee that such woman will change her belief in future. Islam is not a custom but is a complete way of life. Such marriage could not be a successful marriage if the opposition in beliefs and practices wants to continue for the whole lifetime. In contrary, temporary marriage is a plan which expires after its period, and by that time, it would be apparent if the non-Muslim woman is really interested in the teaching of Islam, and whether she is a suitable match for the whole lifetime. 7) A nice aspect of temporary marriage is that the couple can extend the period of their contract or even can convert the temporary marriage into a permanent marriage if they find that they both wish to live with each other permanently. They can do this only after the expiration of the first contract, or else the man can wave the rest of time period to his wife, so as to finish the temporary marriage earlier, and he should give her the dower (if it has not been paid yet), and then start a new contract with her with another specified period with a new dower. When the woman remarries the same man, she has no waiting period. This latter method of renewing the contract is established by a tradition related from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS). He was asked about a man who married a woman for a period of one month, but then found that a love for her was developing in his heart. Before the period expires, could he renew the contract and increase the time period and dowry? The Imam answered that such a course of action was not permissible so long as the first contract remained in effect. Therefore: "He must return to her the remainder of the days [of the contract] and then set up a new contract." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p478). This way guarantees that woman has free choice without any pressure or temptation to decide if she would like to renew the marriage after she has fully received the dower of the previous marriage contract and after the previous marriage has ended. In any way, it is necessary that the contract be repeated all over again, with specifying dowry (Mahr; Sidaq), new permission of the father of virgin girl (if the case), and also the marriage sentences ('Aqd) need to be spoken literally again. The acceptance in heart is not enough, and some specific words should be uttered. One of the requirements of any kind of marriage is verbal offer and equal acceptance by the other party or their authorized representatives. 8) Temporary marriage is not like polygamy which should be rare. It can be widely applied in an ideal Islamic society. Temporary marriage will result in less divorce rate, less rate of the youth committing unlawful sex, less eye-contact sins and so on. There are many more advantages for this Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), but here we are limited by space. Tawfiq al-Fukaiki in his book "The Mut'a and its effect/benefit on society", in Arabic, discusses some of the would- be benefits. However, we emphasize that the allowance of temporary marriage should not cause the importance of the institution of permanent marriage and family to be overlooked. All efforts should be made to promote permanent marriage, to eliminate the barriers and problems in its way. Therefore, temporary marriage, in general, should be looked upon as a secondary measure to protect both society and the individuals from the effects which otherwise would rise. It is not very difficult to see these problems both in the West and in the "Islamic" countries. ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Temporary Marriage in Islam (Part VIII) ======================================== Some Frequently Asked Questions on Mut'a ======================================== After reading the earlier parts of this discussion, some people corresponded with me asked me some hypothetical questions, and also some good questions. I present their questions in the following format: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q1: Can Someone Contract Mut'a Marriage for 1 hour? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? I would say theoretically yes! Much in the same way that it is possible for some one to marry a woman permanently and then divorce her in one hour or even less. Logically, since the possibility of this action does not invalidate the regular marriage, therefore, it should not be applied in the case of Mut'a either! ???????????????????????????????????????? Q2: What could be the difference between temporary marriage and prostitution? ???????????????????????????????????????? In the previous sections, we explained the difference between the Mut'a and the long-term marriage (conventional), and one can see that there is not much differences between them. Also as I mentioned, one may marry permanently and then divorces his wife after one day. So what will be the difference? Moreover, Allah (SWT) did not consider it prostitution when He revealed the verse, but you do!? All Muslims agree that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has legislated Mut'a at some point, and we as Muslims believe that the Prophet does not speak from his own desires (La Yantiqu Anil Hawa), so God has permitted it at some point of time. This very fact differentiates between temporary marriage and adultery, because God and His Prophet do NOT legitimize adultery. No prophet of God ever did that. A simple answer for your question is that one is legal and the other one is illegal. Let me give you an example: Suppose a foreigner who may be very experienced in driving car back home, when going to another country he may need to apply for a driver license to be able to drive. Now if he drives without driver license, then what is the difference between him and a person who drives with license but may not be as experienced as the former? The answer simply is that the act of the former is illegal while the latter is legal. The partners may have sex in the three cases of prostitution, temporary marriage, and permanent marriage. Quran declares the first one illegal but has made the latter two legal. The other difference, of course, is that the prostitute has another contract one hour later, but in both temporary and permanent marriage it is the duty of woman to wait for a couple of months before entering another contract. As I mentioned according to ALL of the Shia scholars the "Iddah" for the Mut'a is two menstrual cycles (or at least 45 days if the woman is of menstruating age but for some reason does not menstruate). This would provide less than 8 customers a year for a prostitute!!! I think any prostitution agency would go bankrupt in the first year if it wants to follow the regulations of Mut'a. And there are many more differences between prostitution and temporary marriage. May Allah guide those who unknowingly ridicule His religion and His Prophet. ??????????????????????????????????????? Q3: Would someone give the hand of his own daughter in temporary marriage? ??????????????????????????????????????? I would say yes! Other than because they already do in a normal marriage, there are good reasons to do that in temporary marriage. Let's say a father has a daughter who if not married will commit the sin of fornication, but no one has come forward to ask her hand in long term marriage - whatever the reasons maybe. Would he give her to some known pious person who ask in temporary (if it is proved to be the Sunnah of the Prophet), or would he risk her committing fornication. I am sure many can think of other circumstances. This does not even address the issue from the man's perspective - students in foreign countries who do NOT wish to marry permanently from People of the Book (Ahlul Kitab); the possibility of turning the foreign wife to a Muslim and Da'wa (call to Islam) to her family, etc. Do you think "Christian" parents mind? I think not! Even about Muslim countries I should say: Although Islam intends to revolve the culture of people, as a result of tendencies and ignorance in many countries dominated by Muslims, the culture affected the Islamic teachings, while it is supposed to be the other way around. One should be able to discriminate between the true teachings of a divine religion like Islam, and a culture. About marriage in general, many Muslim families still have major "traditional" and cultural problems in marrying their daughters, for all kinds of seemingly stupid reasons. Yet, we do not blame the religion for such old tribal mentality and the shortcomings of the followers of Islam. Such feelings are all as a result of our cruel cultural traditions and not the true sense of normal feeling and pure instinct. Is trying to safeguard the boys and girls by putting laws to a relationship of pleasure a corruption? What is the standard with which we determine what is corruption and what is reformation? Shouldn't we depend only on the proven legal Islamic ruling? If that is the case, then we have already proven that temporary marriage is authorized and should not be prevented. My feeling is that the average Muslims today are more tolerant of friends and family whom they know or have heard that they have committed fornication; but less tolerant on accepting that the idea of Temporary Marriage could solve many social problems and prevent the majority of adultery in many communities, if it were allowed and promoted as it was the case before the rule of Umar. ???????????????????????????????????? Q4: Does any brother accept that her sister contracts Mut'a marriage? ???????????????????????????????????? This question is fairly similar to the previous one. Is the standard what brother accepts or rejects? Isn't it first satisfaction of Almighty God? Or may be the religion of God should submit to the desires of brother and his jealousy. Also why would a brother in many cases allow himself to do things which he prevents his sister from doing? Since when did our desires become the standards of what is wrong? Sex is a natural desire that Allah created within the human nature. What difference does it make if a husband had pleasure with someone's sister in a temporary or a permanent marriage that is followed with a fast divorce? By such standard, permanent marriage is even more wicked because it is having continuous pleasure with the sister. Why do we suppose that the husband is having pleasure and the wife is not? Why don't we accept that the right of pleasure is for both of them, as it is in reality? Why don't we accept that temporary marriage is not just a physical relationship, but it involves love, emotions, and sensational feelings even if it is for one month? I guess what we should really avoid is to distort Islam based on the darkness of our complications and our unjust traditional problems. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q5: Why can't we use the permanent marriage for the purpose of familiarization between husband and wife? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Permanent marriage can not be used for familiarization period because: 1. After the contract of permanent marriage woman can not divorce her husband if she finds that her man is not so great! Thus in the case that man likes his wife, but his wife does not like him very much, the divorce will not happen. In other words, the proposal of using the first few months of permanent marriage as familiarization) is only good for men!!! In contrary, temporary marriage will end after its period, and BOTH man and woman can decide again (to convert it to a permanent one or not). However, as I mentioned before, under some circumstances, a Muslim scholar/Judge can divorce her, but this would be a risky way for woman since the Judge's decision might be different than her wishes and certainly a period of familiarization does not worth for all these headaches. 2. In permanent marriage contract, one can not make the condition that marriage is to be unconsummated. In other words, sex is an indispensable part of permanent marriage. Then how can a woman enter into permanent marriage contract for familiarization only? On the other hand, such necessities do not exist in temporary marriage. 3. Although one can divorce her permanent wife, this is considered the most hateful permitted act in Islam. The reason is that the couple have some moral obligations/expectations that they intend to live together for good. If a man divorces his wife after a couple of month being with her and after removing her virginity, by saying that he did not like her too much in this period of familiarization(!!) then it will be a very bitter experience for that Muslim woman. Remember if a man does this shameful act, no body can punish him because he has just used his divorce right. But this action is morally detestable. This in fact shows that permanent marriage is not a good choice for familiarization period. Remember that your proposal should be practical, and not imaginary based on the ideal case where the unfamiliar couple have full trust to each other before the marriage. In contrary, Temporary marriage is risk free. First of all, both man and woman are aware that they will separate after the specified period and so there will be no surprises. Non of them has any moral obligation to extend the marriage beyond that period nor do s/he has any such expectation from the other side. Also, as mentioned, they can set a condition that marriage is not to be consummated. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q6: If the husband leaves the town after the expiration of Mut'a marriage, is it incumbent upon him to later inquire whether the union was fruitful, and take the custody of his child? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? When a man goes to a journey and temporarily marries, it is incumbent upon him to provide some information to that woman about his original place and how he can be reached, so that in the case of pregnancy, the father is informed, and he should provide all the financial means for his child. This goes for permanent marriage too. If a man divorces his wife, and immediately leaves the town for another place, it is incumbent upon him to provide information to his ex-wife as how he can be reached in the case of pregnancy. In both cases, the child is the legal heir of his father and his mother. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q7: Can a man engage in temporary marriage even if he already has four temporary/permanent wives? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yes. The case of the temporarily married girl in this regard (as well as other issues such as waiting period) is similar to the case of the bondwomen in Islam. All Muslims do agree that one can marry an unlimited number of slave-girls. Islam did NOT limit it as it did with the permanent marriage. The reason that Islam strictly limited the number of permanent wives into four, is that in permanent marriage there are obligations which do not exist in the other types of marriage, and these obligations can not be fulfilled if one goes more than four permanent marriages. For instance, the permanent couples are necessary to be sexually active, and man should sleep with his wife once each four nights; so how can he go further than four permanent wives? Also necessity of support of wife financially is no easy! These obligations do not apply to temporary marriage, and thus one may go further than that, yet it is not recommended at all. As I quoted some traditions earlier, it is also discouraged for a person who has permanent wife available, to engage in temporary marriage (even one) because it may cause complications for his family. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q8: Is there any witness required for Mut'a, or the persons can say the sentences of marriage alone? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? The above question has the same answer for both permanent marriage and temporary marriage. In both cases, religiously speaking, there is no witness necessary. They themselves can pronounce the sentences of marriage. However if the girl is virgin, then the boy needs the permission of her guardian beforehand. But her guardian does not have to be present as witness when they are pronouncing the marriage sentences. Please note that I am only talking about the religious law. However, if the couple want to register their marriage by the secular government (which is not religiously necessary), they may have to do many other things, including the witness (if the secular government requires). However those who choose to temporarily marry in western countries, do not need to register since they know they will separate from each other soon. This is a temporary relation only, without many legal responsibilities that a permanent marriage bears (like the necessity financial support, inheritance and so on). In the view of a western government, such relationship is nothing worse than boyfriend-girlfriend relationship which is commonly practiced in the West without any barrier. However, religiously speaking, the couple who would like to temporarily marry, are required to satisfy all the religious obligations when entering such contract and when separating from each other. Also, for the same reason, in the western countries, there is no need for witness because no body cares about the relation of a boy and a girl. However in Muslim countries where people may accuse the boy and the girl of committing adultery, it might be necessary to have some witnesses just for the protection of the couple. But this is not a condition for the validation of marriage. Also in the case of temporary marriage, the couple do not have to announce the marriage publicly, specially when the public opinion is not in favor of Mut'a. Public announcement is not necessary for the permanent marriage either, though it is encouraged. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q9: The sentences of Mut'a as I have seen, are in Arabic, is it necessary to say them in Arabic? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? Again, the above question has the same answer for both permanent marriage and temporary marriage. Scholars do not have the same idea as to whether the marriage sentences (for both types) are necessary to be in Arabic or not. The majority of scholars require it to be in Arabic. Others state that it should be in Arabic if one of them knows Arabic, otherwise they can pronounce its equivalent in their mother language. Please note that the marriage sentences are very short. So learning its Arabic equivalent is not so difficult. Also it is not necessary that both boy and girl know it. If the boy knows it, it is enough. The girl can authorize the boy to pronounce the marriage sentence in her behalf, much the same as a third party usually does. In the case that neither boy nor girl know the Arabic sentences of marriage, and if there exists a third party who will do it in Arabic, they can authorize him to pronounce it on their behalves. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Q10: In your opinion (which I do not consider as a Fatwa) how is it to follow some of the things that one feels logical in Shia Fiqh while keeping his Sunni faith? Is it Haraam? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? My personal answer is that you can. In fact, I know some Sunni brothers who believe that although they know more about the specific school that they have been raised with, they do not bound themselves to that specific school. If some thing is proven to us by Quran and authentic Hadith, then they follow it. For instance, I personally know a few of knowledgeable Hanafi friends who believe they can join Duhr and Asr prayer like what the followers of Ahlul-Bayt do. When I asked them why, they said we found in Sahih al-Bukhari some traditions which state that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) joint Duhr and Asr prayer while he was not in travel and while he did not have any emergency. So since there exists at least one Islamic school which allows joining the prayers (referring to Shia Imamiyyah), and at the same time there exists authentic traditions in support of it, then we feel free to do that even though we are raised as Hanafi. Below I have included the Fatwa of Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot, the head of al- Azhar University which clearly removes the barrier between the Sunni and the Shia, and allows the Sunnis to follow the Fatwa of any of them. I just give a part of his Fatwa here: Head Office of al-Azhar University: IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL Text of the Verdict (Fatwa) Issued by His Excellency Shaikh al-Akbar Mahmood Shaltoot, Head of the al-Azhar University, on Permissibility of Following "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah" School of Thought His Excellency was asked: Some believe that, for a Muslim to have religiously correct worship and dealing, it is necessary to follow one of the four known schools of thought, whereas, "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah" school of thought is not one of them nor "al-Shia al-Zaidiyah." Do your Excellency agree with this opinion, and prohibit following "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" school of thought, for example? His Excellency replied: 1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular madh'hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so. 2) The Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought. Muslims must know this, and ought to refrain from unjust prejudice to any particular school of thought, since the religion of Allah and His Divine Law (Shari'a) was never restricted to a particular school of thought. Their jurists (Mujtahidoon) are accepted by Almighty Allah, and it is permissible to the "non-Mujtahid" to follow them and to accord with their teaching whether in worship (Ibaadat) or transactions (Mu'aamilaat). Signed, Mahmood Shaltoot. The above Fatwa was announced on July 6, 1959 from the Head of al-Azhar University, and was subsequently published in many publications in the middle east which include, but are not limited to: 1. Al-Sha'ab newspaper (Egypt), issue of July 7, 1959. 2. Al-Kifah newspaper (Lebanon), issue of July 8, 1959. *************************************************************************** ______________________________________, | w w w |\ | || || | || |\ | o_,_7 _|| . _o_7 _|| 4_|_|| o_w_, |\ | ( : / (_) / ( . |\ |______________________________________|\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Debate on the Legitimacy of Mut'a The following piece is adopted from the book "Temporary Marriage in Islamic Law," by Abul Qasim Gourji, and is presented with some modifications. ============ Introduction ============ The word Mut'a was more commonly used than other terms for temporary marriage both during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards. Both its proponents and opponents preferred this word and its derivatives. In books on jurisprudence the terms Mut'a, al-Nikah al-Munqati' (discontinued marriage), and al-Nikah al-Muwaqqat (temporary marriage), Istimta' (having pleasure), and the related word of tamattu' (pleasure) are all employed. The scholars both Sunni and Shia, agree that Mut'a was permitted at the beginning of Islam. However, they disagree as to the reasons it was permitted. ============= The Shia View ============= In the chapter titled "Women", after listing those women to whom marriage is forbidden, the Quran states as follows: "Lawful for you is what is beyond all that, that you may seek, using your wealth, in wedlock and not in license. So those of them whom you enjoy, give them their appointed wages; it is no fault in you in mutually agreeing after fulfillment (of the wage). God is All-Knowing, All-Wise" (4:24). All Shia scholars and many Sunni scholars hold that this verse - especially the words: "Such woman as you enjoy (Istamta'tum)" - refers to the permissibility of Mut'a. The Shia present several arguments to prove this point. (See Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p248-253; Jawahir, v5, p163). This verse was revealed towards the beginning of the Prophet's stay in Medina. By the revelation of this verse, the temporary marriage became a legal custom in Medina and was looked upon as one kind of marriage and was referred to by the term Istimta'a, the same word employed in the Quranic verse - even though the literal meaning of the word is "to seek benefit" or "to take enjoyment". Hence the meaning of the Quranic verse must be understood in terms of the conventional usage of the time, for as is well- known in the science of Quranic commentary and Islamic jurisprudence, the Quran follows the conventional usage of the people in all edicts and legal prescriptions. If someone wants to understand a word in the Quran in other than the conventional meaning of the time, he must supply a strong reason for doing so. Moreover if one looks up the traditions of the chapter of temporary marriage in the authentic Sunni collections such as Sahih al- Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, one can see that the messenger of Allah and his companions exactly used the word Istimta'a when referring to this contract, which is exactly the same word as what Quran employed. The context of the verse also indicates that it is referring to the temporary marriage. In the previous verse, i.e. 4:23, the Quran enumerates the women who are forbidden to men. These are divided into seven kinds stemming from blood relationship and seven more stemming from other causes: "Forbidden to you are your mothers and daughters...". The next verse adds a fifteenth category of women forbidden to men: "And married women, save what your right hands own." It continues with the words quoted above: "Lawful for you is what is beyond all that." In other words, any woman not belonging to one of the fifteen categories is permitted, whether by marriage or ownership. Next the verse states: "that you may seek, using your wealth, in wedlock and not in license." Grammatically, this clause is in apposition to "what is beyond all that." It explains the legitimate mode of seeking sexual relationships with women, whether as the result of marriage or the purchase of slaves. The next part of this same verse states as follows: "So those of them whom you enjoy, give them their appointed wages." The word "so" (fa) shows that this part of the verse is either part of the previous subject matter, or an example of it; in other words, its relation to the previous section is either that of the part which is completing the whole, or the particular example to the universal principle. And since the previous section deals with the DIFFERENT KINDS of legitimate sexual relationships, either by marriage or the purchase of slaves, we can conclude that this section of the verse is the exposition of a FURTHER KIND of marriage, not mentioned previously; a kind which also requires that the man pay the wages of his wife. Many sayings have been related from the Companions of the Prophet and those who followed them (al-Tabi'een) confirming the Shia view that verse 24 of this chapter concerns Mut'a. Several of the companions, including Ibn- Abbas, one of the highly respected companions of the Prophet, Ibn Masud, one of the first to accept Islam, and Ubayy Ibn Ka'ab, one of the scribes of the revelation, and many others used to read the verse with three more words resulting in the sentence of the form: "So those of them whom you enjoy TO AN APPOINTED TIME (Ila Ajal Musamma)." This clearly indicates that the verse refers to Mut'a. In Majma' al-Bayan, Abu Ali al-Fadl Ibn al-Hasan al-Tabarsi (d. 548/1153), one of the Shia commentator of the Quran summarizes the Shia arguments: the word 'enjoy' in this verse refers to the marriage of Mut'a, i.e., a marriage for a specified dower and a determined time period. This opinion has been related from Ibn Abbas and many of the 'followers' of the Companions such as Isma'il Ibn Abdurrahman al-Suddy (d. 127/744- 45) and Sa'id Ibn Jubair al-Asadi (95/713-14). In fact, this clearly must be the case, for although the words Istimta'a and Mut'a have the literal meaning of 'enjoyment', in Shari'ah (divine law) they refer to the contract of temporary marriage, especially when they are followed by the word 'women'. Hence the meaning of the verse is: 'Whenever you draw up a contract of Mut'a with a woman, you must pay her wages.' Reference: Majma' al-Bayan, by Abu Ali al-Tabarsi, v3, p32 ============== The Sunni View ============== As was indicated above, the Sunnis agree that at the beginning of Islam Mut'a was permitted. For example, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1209), the famous Sunni theologian, writes in his Commentary on the Quran that Mut'a was at first permitted. The Prophet made a lesser pilgrimage (Umrah) to Mecca, and the women of Mecca made themselves up especially for the occasion. Some of the Companions complained about the long separation from their wives, and the Prophet replied: "Then go and enjoy (Istamta'a) these women." (Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p286) Those Sunnis who hold that the Quranic verse mentioned above (4:23) does indeed refer to the permissibility of Mut'a also maintain that the verse was subsequently abrogated (Naskh) by other Quranic verses. They offer three arguments to prove their point: other Quranic verses, the sermon of Umar banning Mut'a, and the Hadith transmitted by some Companions. The Shia, in turn, reject each of the arguments: ==================================== Debate on the Quranic Verse of Mut'a ==================================== Some Sunnis argue that sexual intercourse is forbidden except with one's wife or a slave by reason of the verse: "Prosperous are the believers ... who guard their private parts save from their wives and what their right hands own." (23:14). According to the Prophet's wife Aisha and others: 'Mut'a is forbidden and abrogated in the Quran where God says: "who guard their private parts..." (al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Quran, by al-Qurtubi, v5, p130). The Sunni argument continues by pointing out that without question a woman enjoyed through Mut'a is not a slave. Nor is she a wife, for several reasons: if she were a wife, she and her husband would inherit from each other, since God says: "And for you a half of what your wives leave..." (4:12). But everyone agrees that Mut'a does not involve inheritance. If she were a wife, the child would belong to the husband, since according to the Prophet: "The child belongs to the bed." But again this is not the case. And finally, if she were a wife, it would be necessary for her to maintain the waiting period, since this is commanded by God (2:234); but this also is not the case. We have already seen that some of these arguments, taken from Fakhr al- Razi's Commentary, do not in fact apply to Mut'a as the Shia understand it. It is the Ijma' of the Shia scholars that the child born of Mut'a belongs to the husband and that the woman is obliged to observe the waiting period after the expiration date of the marriage. However, it will be useful to see how the Shia answer each of the above Sunni claims: As for the 'abrogation' of the verse concerning Mut'a, historical considerations show that this can not be the case. The verse mentioned as abrogating Mut'a was revealed in Mecca before the migration, while the verse establishing Mut'a was revealed after the Prophet had emigrated to Medina. But a verse which abrogates another verse must have been revealed after it, not before it. It is also well-known that the Prophet allowed the companions to practice Mut'a in Medina, and if Mut'a had already been illegalized in Mecca (before Hijra) by Quran, then the Prophet would not have allowed his companions to practice it after the migration. (Tafsir al- Mizan, by al-Tabatabai, v3, p132). As for the Sunni claim that a wife by Mut'a is not a legitimate wife because she does not fulfill the religious requirements for being a 'wife', this also is false. In the question of inheritance, the Quranic verse is a general one, and there is no reason to suppose that it may not have certain exceptions. In fact, the specific requirements of Mut'a as established by the Hadith literature show that Mut'a is an exception. Nor is it the only exception, since a non-Muslim cannot inherit from a Muslim, nor can a murderer inherit from his victim. Also if a man is sick and marries a woman, but dies due to that sickness before consummating the marriage, the woman will not inherit from his husband. Thus being husband and wife (even in the permanent marriage) does not always necessitate the inheritance. Quran usually provides the general rules and he was the Messenger of Allah who clarified the exceptions as well as the conditions for applying the rule. In short, inheritance pertains to permanent marriage, but even in permanent marriage it has certain exceptions, so that the verse establishing it cannot be interpreted as nullifying the validity of Mut'a. Also inheritance is possible in the temporary marriage as long as it is made condition at the time of contract. (See Asl al-Shia wa Usuliha, by Kashif al-Ghita', p116; al-Bayan Fi Tafsir al-Quran, by al-Khoei, p219) In the question of the child, there is no reason to claim that it is illegitimate. In Mut'a the "bed" is legitimate, so is the offspring. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p277) The Imam Ja'far was asked: "If the wife becomes pregnant as a result of Mut'a, to whom does the child belong?" He replied: "To the father," i.e., ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the child is legitimate. (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p488) In a similar manner numerous traditions exist to prove that a wife by Mut'a must observe the waiting period of two months. Some of such traditions are even documented in the Sunni sources. For example Fakhr al-Razi himself quotes a relevant saying from Ibn Abbas that: Ibn Abbas was asked: "Is Mut'a fornication or marriage?" He answered: 'Neither the one nor the other.' The questioner then asked: "Well then, what is it?" Ibn Abbas replied: "It is Mut'a', just as God has said." The questioner continued: "Is there a waiting period in Mut'a?" He replied: "Yes, a menstrual period." He was also asked: "Do the husband and wife inherit from each other?" He answered: "No." Reference: Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p286 Certain Sunnis also argue that Mut'a cannot be considered a legitimate form of sexual union because it excludes such things as inheritance, divorce, sworn allegation, forswearing, and Bihar. Since these necessary concomitants of marriage do not apply to Mut'a, it cannot be considered marriage, so the woman cannot be considered a legitimate wife. If she is neither a wife nor property, sexual intercourse with her is illegitimate: "Prosperous are the believers, who... guard their private parts, save from their wives and what their right hands own. . .; but whosoever seeks after more than that, those are the transgressors" (23:1-7). Hence, people who engage in Mut'a transgress God's law. A typical Shia answer to this argument runs as follows: First, the Quranic verse is a general statement, and there is no reason why its specific applications may not be clarified by other verses and the traditions. Second, it is not true that the above things are concomitants of marriage: there is no inheritance in the case of a non-Muslim wife, a murderer, or a slave-girl. A legitimate sexual relationship may be dissolved without divorce in the case of a wife who is the subject of a sworn allegation, a spouse who leaves Islam, or a slave-girl who is sold. Sworn allegation, forswearing, and Bihar are all concomitants of permanent marriage, not of legitimate sexual relationships in general (i.e., they do not apply to sexual relationships with a slave). Even if we suppose that these things do in fact pertain to legitimate sexual relationships, then it will be necessary to specify that there are certain exceptions. This is the only way we will be able to combine the Quranic verses and the traditions which show that these pertain to legitimate sexual relationships with those traditions which demonstrate that they do not pertain to Mut'a. (Jawahir, v5, p163). ============================== Debate over the Sermon of Umar ============================== In a famous sermons the second caliph Umar banned Mut'a with the following words: "Two Mut'a were practiced during the time of the Prophet: Mut'a of women and Mut'a of Hajj, but I forbid both of them and will punish anyone who practices either." References: - Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, commentary of verse 4:24 - Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p52 Al-Razi summarizes the Sunni interpretation of Umar's words by saying that they were pronounced in a gathering of Companions and no one protested. Therefore, the situation must have been as follows: either (1) everyone knew that Mut'a was forbidden, so they remained silent; or (2) they all knew that it was permitted, yet they remained silent out of negligence and in order to placate Umar; or (3) they did not know whether it was forbidden or permitted, so they remained silent since the matter had just then been clarified for them, so they had no reason to protest. Reference: al-Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p287 Al-Razi continues by saying that the first possibility is what he is trying to prove. If we maintain the second possibility, then we must call Umar and the companions who were with him unbelievers. For they knew that the Quran and the Prophet had permitted Mut'a, yet Umar went ahead and banned it without the Quranic verse permitting it having been abrogated. This is unbelief (Kufr); and those who knew Umar was wrong without protesting shared in his unbelief. But such a supposition requires that we call Islam a religion of unbelief, which is absurd. The third possibility that Umar's listeners had not known whether Mut'a was permitted or forbidden is also absurd. For, if we suppose that Mut'a was permitted, then people would need to have knowledge of that fact in their everyday lives, just as they need to have knowledge about the permissibility of marriage. So the legal situation of Mut'a must have been known, just as everyone knew about marriage. Al-Razi concludes that as soon as we see that the second and third possibilities are in absurd, then we know for certain that the companions remained silent only because they all knew that Mut'a had already been abrogated. The Shia answer Fakhr al-Razi's arguments as follows: Umar's sermon demonstrates that during the lifetime of the Prophet Mut'a was permitted. The reason Umar attributed the banning to himself is that he wanted to show that he was expressing his own view. If the Prophet himself had prohibited Mut'a, or if its permissibility pertained only to a specific period in time, then Umar would have attributed its prohibition to the Prophet, not to himself. (Majma' al-Bayan, v3, p32). Another saying concerning Mut'a is also attributed to Umar: "God permitted for His Prophet what He willed, and the Quran has been revealed in its entirety. So complete the Hajj and the Umrah as God has commanded you. But avoid marrying these women, and do not bring before me any man who has married a woman for a specified period, or I will stone him." (Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, v2, p885, Tradition #145. For English version see: v2, chapter CDXLII, Tradition #2801) As for the fact that no one protested against Umar's pronouncement cannot be considered proof that the Prophet himself had forbidden Mut'a. For Umar threatened the people with stoning, and considering his fabled severity and harsh temper, no one would have dared to speak against him. If Ali had been able to protest against Umar, he would not have remained silent. But because of the circumstances he had no choice but to have patience and to bide his time. The case of Mut'a is similar. For it was Ali himself who said: "If Umar had not prohibited Mut'a, no one would commit fornication except the wretched!" (Sunni commentaries of Quran by Tabari, Tha'labi, Qurtubi, Fakhr al-Razi, Suyuti, Ibn Hayyan, Nishaboori, and Jassas. As for Shia, see al-Mut'a, by al-Dizfuli, pp 68-69). The Shia scholars also point out that without question stoning as a punishment for having performed Mut'a could not be permissible, even if we were to accept that Mut'a is forbidden. For stoning can only be a punishment when a married man has committed fornication with a woman. Hence Umar had no right for laying down this edict. (Jawahir, v5 p161, al-Bayan, p229). Fakhr al-Razi answers this line of reasoning by saying that perhaps Umar only mentioned stoning to intimidate his listeners and make them think more seriously about the consequences of temporary marriage. (al-Tafsir al- Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v3, p287). Concerning Umar's two sayings banning Mut'a, the Shia argue as follows: If his prohibition was based on "independent judgment" (Ijtihad), then it is baseless, since all scholars agree that independent judgment can never gain or contradict the saying of the Quran or the traditions. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, p182-183; Jawahir, v5, p161; al-Bayan, p229). As for the Quranic basis of Mut'a, we have already seen that as far as the Shia and certain individual Sunnis are concerned, the Quran permits it in the chapter of Women. As for its basis in the prophetic Hadith, many traditions have been related in the standard Sunni collections which proves the permissibility of Mut'a of women at the time of the Prophet. Concerning Umar's "independent judgment", one of the contemporary Shia scholars argues as follows: Umar may have made his judgment completely on his own initiative and in direct contradiction to the words of the Prophet; or he may have based his judgment on a prohibition issued by the Prophet himself. If the first case is true, then Umar's judgment is groundless, as noted above. And the second case cannot be true, since a number of the companions have given witness to the fact that Mut'a was permitted during the lifetime of the Prophet and up until the time of his demise. (al-Bayan, p229). In general the Shia argue that if Umar's prohibition had been based upon the words of the Prophet, then other Companions would have known about it. How is it possible for the Prophet to have forbidden Mut'a, yet, during the rest of his life, the period of Abu Bakr's caliphate and the beginning of Umar's caliphate, for prohibition to have remained unknown to everyone but Umar? Moreover, if his prohibition were based upon the words of the Prophet, why did he not attribute it to the Prophet instead of to himself? Fakhr al-Razi answers that it might be that beside Umar, some other Companions had heard the prohibition from the Prophet, but they forgot it later. But when Umar mentioned the prohibition in a large gathering, everyone knew he was speaking the truth, so they remained silent. The Shia reply to the argument of Fakhr al-Razi as follows: It is impossible to imagine that all of the Companions other than Umar had forgotten that Mut'a had been forbidden, considering its everyday importance. People need legitimate sexual relationships almost as much as they need food and water. They could not have forgotten when they continued practicing Mut'a after the demise of the Prophet till the time of Umar's rule. The Shia authors also point out that Umar banned the two kinds of Mut'a together, whereas everyone, Sunnis and Shia agree that the Mut'a of al-Hajj is permissible. Hence the Mut'a pertaining to women should also be permissible. (Majma' al-Bayan, v3, p33). =================================== Debate on the Controversial Reports =================================== In the Sunni sources few traditions have been attributed the Prophet showing that he banned Mut'a during his lifetime. In most of the Sunni "sound" collections (Sihah), it is related from Ali that he said: "Verily the Prophet of God banned the Mut'a of temporary marriage and the eating of the meat of domesticated asses on the day of Khaibar." Ibn Sabra relates from his father the following: I came upon the Prophet of God who was leaning against the Ka'ba. He said: "O People! I commanded you to seek enjoyment (Istimta'a) from these women, but now God has forbidden that to you until the Day of Resurrection. So if you have a temporary wife, let her go her way; and do not take back anything of what you have given her." Another Hadith is related from Salama Ibn al-Akwa'. Through his father he reported that the Prophet of God permitted Mut'a in the year of Autas (8/629) for three days; but then he prohibited it. Shia do not consider these three traditions of any authority. To illustrate how they reject them, we can summarize the arguments of al-Khoei. The Hadith attributed to Ali cannot be authentic, since all Muslims agree that Mut'a was permitted in the year Mecca was conquered. So how could Ali have claimed that Mut'a was banned on the Day of Khaibar (close to two years before Mecca's conquest)?! Because of this obvious discrepancy, some of the great Sunni authorities have maintained that the words "on the day of Khaibar" probably refer only to the meat of domestic asses. But this is absurd, for two reasons: First, it is counter to the rules of Arabic grammar: if the phrase referred only to asses, the verb would have to be repeated. Thus, in Arabic one says: "I honored Zaid and Amr on Friday", or one says: "I honored Zaid and I honored Amr on Friday", thus making it clear that "on Friday" refers only to Amr. If the adverbial phrase referred only to the meat, the text of the Hadith would have to read: "Verily the Prophet of God banned Mut'a, and he banned the eating of the meat of domesticated asses on the Day of Khaibar." In short, since everyone agrees that Mut'a was permitted when Mecca was conquered, the Prophet cannot have banned it three years before that. Hence the Hadith is not authentic. (al- Bayan, pp 222-224). The second reason that the "Day of Khaibar" cannot refer only to the meat of domesticated asses is that this clearly conflicts with Hadith related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (three of the authoritative Sunni collections). For their versions of Ali's Hadith is as follows: "The Prophet banned the Mut'a of marriage on the Day of Khaibar, as well as the meat of domesticated asses." As for the tradition related by Ibn Sabra from his father, al-Khoei points out that although his Hadith has been related by many chains of authority, they ALL go back to Ibn Sabra himself, and thus the Hadith is of the type known as Wahid, i.e., it derives from a single companion. And a Quranic verse cannot be abrogated even by the most authentic kind of Hadith, and thus by far, it can not be abrogated by a relatively weak one. Moreover the very content of the Hadith shows that it is not correct. It is hardly conceivable that the Prophet could have stood before the Ka'ba in front of a large group of Muslims and ban something until the Day of Resurrection, and that then only one person Sabra should have heard him or related his words. Where were those Companions who recorded even the gestures and the glances of the Prophet? Certainly they should have joined Sabra in reporting the prohibition of Mut'a until the Day of Resurrection. And where was Umar himself? He certainly should have known about the prohibition so that it would not have been necessary to attribute the banning of Mut'a to himself. Finally, there are discrepancies in the various versions of the Hadith of Sabra. In some versions the prohibition is said to have occurred in the year of the victory of Mecca (8/630), in others in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage (10/632). This discrepancy makes the Hadith even more untrustworthy. Shahid al-Thani points out another problem concerning the Hadith of Ibn Sabra. He mentioned Ibn Sabra himself is the only source for his father's words, but no one knows anything about him. He is not mentioned in any of the books on Hadith as a transmitter, nor has any other Hadith been related from him. For this reason al-Bukhari the most famous Sunni authority, and generally considered the most reliable for the Sunnis, left the Hadith of Ibn Sabra out of his collection. (Sharh al-Lum'a, v5, pp 264-282). As for the Hadith of Salama Ibn al-Akwa, al-Khoei remarks that again it is a saying related from only one Companion (Wahid) and cannot abrogate a Quranic verse. In addition, if it is an authentic Hadith, it is strange that it remained unknown to such important Companions as Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, and Jabir Ibn Abdillah. How is it possible for the Hadith to be authentic, while Abu Bakr did not forbid Mut'a during the whole period of his caliphate and Umar only banned it towards the end of his own? (al- Bayan, pp 222-223). There are many sayings of the Companions which indicate that Mut'a was permitted up until the time of Umar's prohibition. Three of the most famous are those of Ali, Ibn Abbas, and Imran Ibn al-Husain. As we have already seen, Ali said: 'If Umar had not prohibited Mut'a, no one would commit fornication except the wretched.' This is the most famous form of a saying reported in numerous sources and a number of different versions. The above version is derived from Sunni works; a Shia version is related from the fifth Imam, al-Baqir: "If it were not for that [i.e., Mut'a] with which [Umar] Ibn al-Khattab preceded me, no one would commit fornication except the wretched." The saying related from Ibn Abbas is reported by the tenth/sixteenth century Sunni scholar al-Suyuti in this form: "God have mercy on Umar! Mut'a was naught but a mercy from God, through which He showed mercy to Muhammad's community. If Umar had not banned it, no one would need fornication except the wretched." (al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v2, p141). ============================ More Arguments on the Hadith ============================ The Sunni argument for the prohibition of Mut'a based upon the Hadith can be summarized as follows: The reason that the scholars have differed concerning Mut'a is that it was permitted and then banned a number of times. Ibn al-Arabi (d. 638/1240), the famous Sufi who wrote on the meaning of the Shari'ah, calls Mut'a one of the most remarkable edicts in Islamic law, since it was permitted at the beginning of Islam, then forbidden at the Battle of Khaibar, then permitted again at the war of Autas. Finally it was forbidden and remained forbidden. No other edict in Islam was changed a number of times with the exception of the Qibla (the direction of prayer), for that was abrogated twice before being finalized. Al-Qurtubi reports that other authorities who have studied the traditions concerning Mut'a say that its edict was changed seven times. He refers to the traditions in six Sunni collections explaining how the situation of Mut'a was changed. As for the Hadith of Sabra, which states that the Prophet permitted Mut'a at the Farewell Pilgrimage in the year 10/632, Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi acknowledges that this is not in keeping with the other Hadith. He explains that the Prophet permitted Mut'a at the conquest of Mecca, when the men complained of separation from their wives. They could not have complained of such separation during the Farewell Pilgrimage, since all of the wives were present, and the single men could have taken permanent wives in Mecca. So the special situation that existed during the other journeys and battles was lacking. However, we can explain the situation as follows: Since the Prophet usually permitted Mut'a during journeys away from Medina, in this case also he permitted it; but then he banned it for the final time wanting all the Muslims to know about it, for all of them were present for the Farewell Pilgrimage. There is also the fact that the Meccans were in the habit of practicing Mut'a widely. Thus the Prophet banned Mut'a in Mecca so that they would understand that they could not continue in their former custom. The Shia answer to the Sunni argument on the basis of Hadith can be summarized as follows: As has been mentioned already, if Mut'a was made forbidden in the last pilgrimage where according to al-Tahawi's argument most of the Muslims were with the Prophet, then how can only Sabra have heard of the saying of the Prophet?! Moreover, the Hadith demonstrating that Mut'a is forbidden are in conflict with those that show it is permitted. They also conflict with Hadith that show that Mut'a continued to be permitted during the times of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Umar, up until the time that Umar banned it. The correct course of action is to prefer those Hadith which establish its permissibility, for a number of reasons: (a) The Hadith indicating the permissibility of Mut'a outnumber those which show that it is banned. (b) Everyone agrees that the, traditions indicating that Mut'a was permitted at certain times are authentic and have been transmitted in parallel, but this is not the case concerning those which indicate that it was banned. Hence one can speak of a consensus (Ijma') in the sense that all Muslims at one time agreed that Mut'a was permitted, even though afterwards a disagreement arose. In order to choose the right course, we can not base ourselves upon opinion but must hold fast to that which we have certainty. Hence we must conclude that Mut'a is still permitted, as long as we do not have firm knowledge to the contrary. (c) The traditions which point to the banning of Mut'a are themselves questionable. When we realize that one of the incontestable elements of Shia as established by the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt is the permissibility of Mut'a, then no Hadith related from Ali stating that Mut'a is forbidden can be authentic. Someone who held without question that Mut'a is permissible would not relate a Hadith from the Prophet that it is forbidden. On many occasions Ali censured Umar's banning of Mut'a. His saying: 'If Umar had not banned Mut'a, no one but the wretched would practice fornication' is well-known, and no one has questioned its authenticity. Reference: Jawahir, v5, pp 162-163. Those who hold that Mut'a is forbidden have also claimed the consensus of the Community as one of their proofs. They say that after Umar banned Mut'a, all of the Prophet's Companions went along with him with the exception of Ibn Abbas, and perhaps he might have changed his opinion towards the end of his life. In answer to this claim, the Shia point out that 'consensus' was never established for the banning of Mut'a; and in any case, the very fact that the Shia Imams (the Household of the Prophet) who are the very pillars of Islam, have all agreed that Mut'a is permitted shows that there was in fact no consensus. Moreover, from the first the Shia have agreed on the permissibility of Mut'a, to such an extent that this view has always been singled out as one of the specific features of Shia. Given this fact, to claim consensus is meaningless. In addition, as we have seen above, many of the Prophet's outstanding Companions and their followers held that Mut'a was permitted. Finally, the claim that Ibn Abbas changed his view on Mut'a toward the end of his life has never been substantiated. Even if it were to be proven, one could only claim consensus if we were certain that no one was opposed to the view that Mut'a is forbidden; whereas we know that in fact the number of opponents was quite large. In short, the Shia conclude, there is no real evidence to show that Mut'a is not permitted; and when the Hadith are investigated, the conclusion is likely to be reached that not only is it permitted (Mubaah), it is even recommended (Mustahabb). ============================================ The Opinion of the Four Sunni Schools of Law ============================================ The four Sunni schools of law agree that temporary marriage is invalid. That which invalidates the contract is the stipulation of a time period. If such a marriage takes place, it must be annulled, and if it is consummated before the annulment takes place, the woman must be paid the "normal dowry". The Shafi'i school adds that even if the time period stipulated by the contract is the life-time of the husband or the wife, the contract is still invalid, since the contract of marriage requires that its effects continue after death. That is why a spouse may give his or her spouse the ritual purification of the dead before burial (otherwise, the washer of the dead must be of the same sex as the corpse). A marriage contracted with a stipulation that it comes to an end when one of the spouses dies would mean that the effects of the marriage would end at death. So such a stipulation invalidates the contract. The Hanafis add that if the time period stipulated is so long that as a rule the spouses could not remain alive until it comes to an end (e.g., if the man were to say: "I will marry you until the hour of Resurrection"), then we can no longer call the marriage "temporary". in effect this stipulation means forever. Hence it is not considered as a stipulation of a time-period and the contract is sound. If the husband's intention in contracting the marriage is to enjoy the woman's company only for a period of time, but he does not make such a stipulation in the contract, the marriage is correct. In the same way, if a person should marry making it a condition of the contract that a divorce will take place after a certain period of time, the contract is correct but the condition is nullified, since such a condition can not limit the contract. Reference: Fiqh Ala al-Madhahib al-Arba'a, v4, pp 90-94 In any case the four Sunni sects agree that the punishment for a person who enters into a temporary marriage is not the same as that of the fornication. In the latter case the punishment (Hadd) is 100 lashes for each party in the case of an unmarried woman, and stoning to death in the case of a married woman. But the punishment for Mut'a is defined as Ta'zeer, i.e., less than the full punishment for fornication, depending on circumstances and the opinion of the judge. The penalty for fornication is not specified by the Sunnis because certain doubts remain concerning the status of Mut'a as a result of the traditions of Ibn Abbas. ===================================== The Opinion of the Shia School of Law ===================================== The Shia have always considered Mut'a to be of special importance and have tried to keep it alive as an institution of Islamic society. The Shia law of Jurisprudence is often referred to as the "Ja'fari school of law", since in reality the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS), had a golden opportunity of teaching during the clashes between the Umayad and the Abbasid. During that short period when the tyrants of both sides were busy with each other, the Imam was teaching Jurisprudence and theology in classes with as much as 5000 students. Hence it is appropriate to quote a few of his many sayings concerning the Mut'a. Imam Ja'far Sadiq (AS) said: "Mut'a was approved by the text of the Quran and became part of the Sunnah of the Prophet." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p437). Imam Ja'far considered the Quranic verse referred to above (4:24) the basis for Mut'a. He said: "The verse proves the permissibility of Mut'a." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p439). Once Abu Hanifa, the founder of one of the four Sunni sects (who was a student of the Imam Ja'far before he starts his business), asked the Imam about Mut'a. He replied: "Which of the two Mut'a do you mean?" Abu Hanifa answered: "I have already asked you about the Mut'a of the Hajj. So tell me about the Mut'a of marriage." The Imam said, "Glory be to God! Have you not read the Quran? 'So those of them whom you enjoy, give to them their appointed wages' (4:24)." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p437). Someone asked Imam Ja'far (AS): "Why is it that four witnesses are necessary [for proof to be established] in cases of adultery, but two are sufficient in the case of murder?" He replied: "God made Mut'a permissible for you, but He knew that you would not approve of it. So He made the witnesses to number four as a protection for you. If it were not for that, it would be brought against you [that you are committing fornication, whereas you are in fact practicing Mut'a]. But seldom do four witnesses come together on a single matter." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p439). The Imam Ja'far (AS) considered Mut'a a divine mercy by means of which people were saved from the sin of fornication and delivered from God's retribution. Concerning the Quranic verse: "Whatsoever mercy God opens to men, none can withhold (35:2)," the Imam said: "Mut'a is part of that mercy." (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p439). The Imam Ja'far said: "I do not like a man to leave this world without having married temporarily, even if only on one occasion." (Wasa'il al- Shia, v14, p444). The Imam Ja'far said: "It is reprehensible in my eyes that a man dies while there yet remains a practice of the Messenger of God that he has not adopted." He was asked: "And did the Messenger of God practice Mut'a ?" He replied: "Yes." Then he recited the Quranic verse: "And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a certain matter...(66:3-5)" (Wasa'il al-Shia, v14, p442). Note how beautiful the Imam explains the reason why one should uphold the practice of Mut'a. The encouragement, promotion, and rewards for the Mut'a are not for the physical/sexual action, but are rather due to REVIVING the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) which has been forsaken by the majority of Muslims. If Umar would not have abolished this Sunnah of the Prophet, such reward would not have been attached to the Mut'a. The Shia call Abu Ja'far Muhammad al-Tusi (d. 460/1068) the "Elder of the Denomination" (Shaikh al-Ta'ifa), since he was the first who organized a systematic methodology for demonstrative jurisprudence (al-Fiqh al- Istidlali). We can conclude this discussion with a summary of his views on Mut'a. He writes that the Shia reasons for considering Mut'a permissible are as follows: - The Consensus of the Twelver Shi'ites. - The words of the Quran : "Marry such women as seen good to you! (4:3)," since Mut'a is a kind of marriage, but one which men desire to perform by expending their property. - The words of the Quran: "So those of them whom you enjoy, give to them their appointed wages (4:24)." The word Istimta'a (enjoy), unless otherwise qualified, signifies temporary marriage. - Ibn Masud's version of the Quran, which adds the words "to an appointed time" to the above verse. - There is no disagreement over the fact that Mut'a was allowed at the beginning of Islam. So those who claim that the verse was abrogated must prove their assertion. - The principle from which discussion must begin is that Mut'a is permitted. That it should be forbidden should be proven. - The words of Umar concerning the two types of Mut'a. Here Umar tells us that at the time of the Prophet, Mut'a was permitted, i.e., that it was a part of the religion of Islam. Proof must be provided that it is no longer so. Reference: al-Khilaf, v2, pp 179-180 After referring to the above reasons, al-Tusi answers the arguments of those who claim Mut'a is forbidden in much the same way that we have seen above. ========== References ========== (1) al-Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, Istanbul, 1307/1889-90 (2) al-Durr al-Manthoor, by Jalaluddin Suyuti, 1377/1957 (3) al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Quran, by Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abi Bakr al- Ansari al-Qurtubi (d. 671/1273), Cairo, 1967 (4) al-Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Published in Beirut (5) Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, Saudi Arabia, 1980 (6) Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, Saudi Arabia (7) al-Fiqh Ala al-Madhahib al-Arba'a,by Abd al Rahman al-Jaziri, Cairo 1969 (8) Wasa'il al-Shia, by Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili, Tehran, 1385/1965-66 (9) Sharh al-Lum'a (al-Rawdat al-Bahiyya fi Sharh al-Lum'at al- Dimashqiyya), by al-Shahid al-Thani (Zayn al-Din Muhammad Ibn Ali al- Jab-i al-Amili d. 965/1558), Beirut 1967. (10) Jawahir al-Kalam, by Shaykh Muhammad Hasan (d. 1266/1850), Tehran, 1325/1907. (11) al-Khilaf, by Abu jafar Ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi, Tehran 1372/1952-53 (12) Tafsir al-Mizan, by Muhammad Husain Tabatabai (d. 1982), Beirut 1974. (13) Majma' al-Bayan, cited as al-Bayan, by Abu Ali al-Fadl Ibn al-Hasan al- Tabarsi (d. 548/1153) Tehran, 1339/1960 (14) al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran, by Abul Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei, Najaf, 1375/1955-56 (15) al-Mut'a, by Murtada Ibn Muhammad Amin al-Dizfuli (1214-81/1800-64) Tehran, 1352/1973 (16) Temporary Marriahe in Islam, by Abdullatif Berry, Arabic-English, Al- Zahra International Co. (17) Fixed Term Marriage, by Mohammad Sharif, English, Islamic Seminary Publications. (18) Temporary Marriage in Islamic Law, by Abul Qasim Gourji, rendered to English by Sachiko Murata. *************************************************************************** *********** End of Chapter 6.a of the Shi'ite Encyclopedia v2.0 *********** ***************************************************************************