Mut'a (Temporary marriage)

Nikah mut'ah is a private and verbal temporary marriage contract that is practiced in Twelver Shia Islam in which the duration of the marriage and the mahr must be specified and agreed upon in advance. It is a private contract made in a verbal or written format.

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answer updated 5 anni fa

Bismihi ta'ala

Marriage is based on sacred commitment, love, respect, honour and tolerance. Each of these features is a fundamental pillar of marriage. Anything that disturbs the internal cohesion of a spousal relationship must be avoided. 

This married man is doing wrong by neglecting his wife, and this could lead to oppression. Should he have issues with his wife, they need to be addressed through communication, or through counceling. 

If it is purely him pursuing his lust, then this will destroy the harmony of his home, and hence it will get him nowhere. 

This clip speaks about how to deal with a promiscuous husband:

Wassalam

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 5 anni fa

Bismihi Ta'ala

I would like to firstly address this issue in point form:

1. Marriage and spousal relationships falls within Islamic Shari'ah, given to us by Almighty God, and the details of which are in our Fiqh.

2. Marriage in Islam is something recommended, but if one was to fall into sin, marriage would become obligatory upon them.

3. It is important to distinctively distinguish between the jurisprudential laws of marriage, and the social, moral and spiritual dimensions of marriage and a relationship.

4. The entity of marriage is sacred, based not only on certain rights, but also on moral obligations and commitments.

5. Anything that disrupts the harmony of this entity must be avoided. 

Secondly, there are  a variety of issues that are related to this seemingly simple question. Our social duties are not easily dealt with, and nor should we look at Islamic laws in abstract form, or just black and white. 

Yes, from a fiqhi perspective, as a ruling, a husband does not need the shar'i consent of his wife, but that is not because Islam aims at belittling the status of the wife, or seeing her feelings to be of no value. 

Like other religions, Islam permits a man to have more than one wife, and this is not something we should shun away from. 

We also realise that as Muslims we conform our beliefs and views with Islam, the Quran, and the authentic Sunnah. Not modern norms, or non-Islamic social customs and practices. 

Of course, there are many conditions placed for the purpose of regulating marrying multiple wives. Some jurists have added some further conditions. The nature of a man is different to that of a woman, in their physiology, their mentality, and other differences. 

A husband must be absolutely just and fair between the wives. In accommodation, in expenses, in food, in time, in expressions. If he cannot do this, then he cannot get married. 

Divorce is detested in Islam, and so if the husband is having problems with his, or his wife is sick, or she is in jail, or away from him, then he should not quickly opt for ignoring, mistreating or abandoning her. 

Also, we can see in I.R. Iran, that it is required for the husband to have legal consent of the first wife, should he wish to marry a second wife, and this is also on the condition that he has a legitimate reason to marry a second time. 

There is also a difference between "getting permission" and "consulting and informing." If she is ok with it, the fine, but if she is not ok with it, as he has the choice to marry, she has the choice to stay, or to get divorced. However, the first wife's consent is not a prerequisite for the husband to remarry. The marriage contract would be "valid," but this does not mean that the husband is doing right as far as his social/moral obligations to his household. This is why such a topic has many dimensions to it.  

Also, bear in mind that the wife has the choice of stipulating pre-marital conditions, and one of them is that if the husband wishes to re-marry, the wife has a certain options for her to choose from to ensure her requirements. 

It is for these reasons that a husband must focus on the foundations of marriage, and ensure a healthy relationship, based on commitment, loyalty and the best of moral conduct. A man must also commit to avoid pursuing his sensual lusts outside of his household, for the sake of preserving the relationship. Just because it is permissible, does not mean that he needs to perform it, especially if it will destroy the entity of his marriage and family life. 

It is for the wife to also create a positive productive atmosphere in the household so that the relationship continues to flourish and each stay strong with each other. 

Wassalam

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Temporary marriage, or mut'at al-nisa, was sanctioned in Islamic law via the revelation of Qur'an 4:24. There is no debate between the various schools of Islam, as far as I know, about this verse being revealed to confirm the validity of this kind of marriage.

The debate is about its scope and whether it stays applicable to this day or was rendered void in the early years of Islam.

Ibn Taymiyya, well-known for his lack of love for the Shi'a, writes:

  • According to Ibn Hazm: Ibn Mas'ud, Mu'awiya, Abu Sa'id (al-Khudri), Ibn 'Abbas, Salama and Ma'bad, the sons of Umayya bin Khalaf, Jabir (bin 'Abdullah al-'Ansari), and 'Amr bin Hurayth continued, after the death of the Prophet, to consider it (i.e. mut'a) lawful. Moreover, Jabir reported, regarding all the Companions, that they continued to uphold its lawfulness during the time of the Prophet and of Abu Bakr and almost till the end of 'Umar's caliphate.
  • Then he (i.e. Ibn Hazm) adds, "Among the Successors of the Companions, Tawus, Sa'id b. Jubayr, 'Ata', and the rest of the Makkan jurists believed in its permissibility."

    Source: Ibn Taymiyya al-Harrani, al-Muntaqa min Akhbar al-Mustafa, edited by Muhammad Hamid al-Faqqi, 2 volumes, Cairo: al-Maktabat al-Tijariyya, 1931 edition, volume 2, page 520.

This is confirmed from multiple earlier sources but this seemed like a nice summary to share.

The two key messages, then, are as follows:

1. Something happened towards the end of Umar b. al-Khattab's rule as caliph that made most, but not all, people stop practicing mut'a.

The event that led to many people abandoning mut'a was a declaration by 'Umar as follows:

  • Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: We contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of dates or flour as a dower during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and during the time of Abu Bakr until 'Umar forbade it in the case of 'Amr b. Huraith.

    Source: Saheeh Muslim: Book 008, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 3249

In his famous Tafsir, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari under verse 4:24 that, as mentioned earlier, is the Qur’anic basis of mut’a, reports a narration from al-Hakam bin 'Uyayna who was asked whether this verse on mut'a was abrogated.

He said, "No." He then said, "'Ali said that had it not been for 'Umar's prohibition of the mut'a, no one would have committed zina except a scoundrel.'"

An easily accessible source in its English translation is Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's Ta'rikh al-khulafa where al-Suyuti has a section for the 'Firsts' of 'Umar. He says quite clearly that 'Umar was the first to prohibit mut’a. See page 136 of the book The History of the Khalifas who took the Right Way, by Ta-Ha publishers, 1995 edition.

2. Those who continued to consider it permissible included much later scholars.

These included, as mentioned by Ibn Taymiyya, Tawus b. Kaysan, Sa'id b. Jubayr, 'Ata b. Abi Rabah who were all considered authorities of hadith transmission and are relied upon by the Bukhari, Muslim and so on.

Therefore, the validity of mut’a was a bona fide valid legal position in Islamic circles even a century after the Prophet’s demise.

But by that time the waters had been muddied by the hadith fabricators.

Knowing that ‘Ali and those who were inclined towards him held it valid, and knowing that ‘Umar’s prohibition in itself was not convincing enough for all legal scholars, words were put in the mouth of ‘Ali to say mut’a had been banned by the Prophet (s) on the day of Khaybar.

There are several reasons why this does not add up, and why the narration must be discarded as false.

  • Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani quotes saying that ".... in it (narration) is the banning of the nikah of mut'a on the day of Khaybar, and this thing is not known by any of the scholars of the sirah or the narrators of reports".
    Source: al-'Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, Cairo edition, volume 9, page 138
  • al-'Ayni, another major commentator on Bukhari's Sahih, says: "Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said that the mention of the banning of mut'a on day of Khaybar is incorrect"
    Source: al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-Qari, Cairo edition, volume 17, page 246
  • al-Qastallani, another major commentator on Bukhari's Sahih, says: "al-Bayhaqi said that it (i.e. banning of mut'a at Khaybar) is not known by any of the scholars of the sirah"
    Source: al-Qastallani, 'Irshad al-Sari, Cairo edition, volume 6, page 536

Conclusion

So there are two important matters here that touch on the essence of what happened after the Prophet (s) and why the Muslim community is divided even today.

First, it is about what happens when you follow the wrong role model after the Prophet (s) who, consistent with his temperament, decided one day to ban mut’a following his own personal judgement and also promised punishment to those who opposed that ruling.

Second, this is about how fake narrations were created to support ‘Umar’s unilateral banning of mut’a as a tool of propaganda against ‘Ali’s position. These were created long after ‘Umar had passed away, during and soon after the time of the Fitna when the community lay divided between ‘Ali’s supporters and his enemies.

A banning by ‘Umar could never stand against the position of ‘Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt who maintained that mut’a was allowed. And so the fabricators went to work to create fake hadith so they could attribute that decision of ‘Umar back to the Prophet (s) and, cheekily, do it through ‘Ali himself.

But liars always leave traces. You just have to know where to look.

Abolfazl Sabouri, Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has... Answer updated 5 anni fa

There is some Hadiths about temporary marriage and even the verse 24 Sura 4 is about it but Sunnies believe it happened Naskh about it. Some of them say the Naskh was in the time of Prophet and some say it was in the time of Umar. 

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Jerrmein Abu Shahba, Jerrmein Abu Shahba is originally from Egypt and has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a masters in Chemistry from Rutgers State University in the US. She is actively involved in many Islamic... Answered 5 anni fa

Yes, according to most scholars, a virgin woman regardless of age should seek her father's approval for any type of marriage.  Exceptions in specific circumstances may apply and a Marje can be consulted for those circumstances.

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 5 anni fa

Thank you for your question. The answer may vary depending on which Jurist you follow but here are a couple of verdicts of Ayatullah Sistani according to his book Code of Practice for Muslims in the West:

Question: Some Western governments allow the daughter to be independent of her parents, after she has passed the age of sixteen. If she seeks her parents advice, it is only for seeking their opinion or out of respect for them. Is such a virgin girl allowed to marry, be it permanent or a temporary marriage, without the consent of her father?

Answer: If this means that the father has allowed her to marry whomsoever she wants or that he has withdrawn from interfering in the matter of her marriage, it is permissible for her to do so; otherwise, based on obligatory precaution, it is not permissible. 

Question: If a woman is over thirty years of age, and still virgin, is it necessary for her to seek the permission of her guardian for marriage?

Answer: If she is not independent, it is obligatory on her to seek his consent. Rather, even if she is independent, she must seek his consent, as a matter of compulsory precaution.

May you always be successful