Marriage of Mut’ah in Islam

Answer: All Praises and thanks due to Allah (swt), and may peace and blessing of Allah be upon his prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alihe wa sallama).

Definition: Mut'a is a form of temporary marriage where a man can marry a woman for an agreed amount of time and money (mahr). In Mut'a, the husband is not financially responsible for the wife. Also, the time period can be as little as one hour to as long as sixty years. In addition, a man who is permanently married can do as many Mut'a as he feels like.

Decision:  According to the Fiqh of Ahlu Ssunnah Mut’a is Haram forever, and it’s not allowed in any circumstance. However it is permissible according to the “Fiqh of Jafari” with specific rules and regulation ; detail can be found in Shi’ah libraries and with shi’ah scholars.  

References: Our Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alihe wa sallama) allowed Mut'a twice in his lifetime. The first time was at the war of Khaiber, and after three days He made it Haram.

Once Imam Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) argued with a man who believed in Mut'a and told him that the Prophet made Mut'a and the meat of donkey Haram on the day of Khaiber  (Bukhari vol. 7, pg. 287 and vol. 4 pg. 134).

According to Shi’ah reference a Hadeeth narrated by Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) which states that the Prophet made Mut'a Haram on the day of Khaiber (Book of Tahdeeb: vol. 7, pg. 251, rewaya 10).

The second time Prophet (Sallallahu Alihe wa sallama) allowed it was at the conquest of Mekka, for three days, and then he made it Haram again till the day of Judgment (Muslim vol. 4 pg. 133).

Note, the practice of Mut'a was made Haram till the Day of Judgment. This is confirmed with the hadiths in the following books: Imam Ahmed’s Musnad vol. 16 pg. 192-193, Muslim vol. 4, pg. 132, Bukhari vol. 7 pg. 293-294. Since there was a time when Mut'a was halal. Therefore, one can find hadith saying that it was halal. However, the latter hadith, which follows the final order of jurisprudence set by the Prophet, takes precedence over the former hadith.

Almost ninety-nine percent of the prophet’s companions followed this opinion, but there was almost one percent who believed Mut'a can be performed in extreme case of necessity in the land of war. This one percent is divided into two groups. One says, it is allowed with the Caliph's permission, and the other says there is no need for the permission. Those who do not believe in Caliph's permission say that it was Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who made it Haram. Their proof is based upon an opinion by a companion namely Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them).

When people misused the opinion of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) until he clarified himself and said, by Allah! I did not mean what they did! I meant similarly to what Allah meant when he allowed the meat of dead animals and pork to be eaten in extreme necessity.

This is referring to the time when people abused the rule of necessity at time of Umar, following the understanding of the one percent. Finally, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) declared and taught it to be Haram when a lady came to Umar complaining about how her husband in Mut'a, who was married, would not take responsibility of the child. He realized how the society could become corrupt. Thus, he had to teach people and make Mut'a Haram even in the case of the one percent opinion.

If Mut'a really was to be done in case of need then why is it permissible for a married person to do Mut'a? Also, if one cannot marry due to financial insecurity then how can one be responsible for supporting the child and not be able to support the wife?

Mut’a Limited term marriage contract

The following comparison between a universally accepted Nikah and a Mut’a will be sufficient for even a layman to pronounce through common sense that Mut’a is illegitimate sex.

* Two witnesses are a must (according to all Shia Scholars) for a normal Nikah to be solemnized. No witness is required for the contract of Mut’a.

* The husband is responsible for the maintenance of wife including her clothes and lodging.

* In a Mut’a, the man has no such responsibility.

* In special circumstances, and subject to some stiff conditions, a man can have more than one wife, but not exceeding four wives.

* In case of Mut’a, a man can keep as many women as he likes without any condition of equality between them.

* A wife has a share in her husband’s property after his death. The women of the Mut’a contract have no share in the man’s property in case of his death.

* The term of the normal Nikah is till the death of the spouse. The term of a Mut’a contract may be fixed at one hour or 60 years as per agreement between them.

* Shia scholars decree that two just witnesses are necessary for a Talaq to be valid. No witness is required to terminate the contract of Mut’a.

* The Iddat or waiting period of the divorced woman is 3 months and 10 days. The waiting period of the divorced woman of a Mut’a is half of the above.

* Talaq of a normal marriage cannot be pronounced during the menstrual period of the wife. There is no such condition for terminating Mut’a contract.

* The wife is entitled to her maintenance during the Iddat of Talaq in a normal marriage. She has no right of maintenance during the Iddat of a Mut’a.

Mut’a, in fact was a custom of the Arabs of the days of ignorance which remained in practice during the earlier days of the Prophet’s era till on the day of Khaibar the Prophet (Sallallahu Alihe wa sallama) pronounced its total prohibition, in the same manner as wines were declared unlawful in a phased manner.

Most importantly that Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) maintained the prohibition of Mut’a during his rule and his reign and the.