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Why Do Shia Muslims Uphold Mutʿah (Temporary Marriage)?

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Why Do Shia Muslims Uphold Mutʿah (Temporary Marriage)?

Shia Muslims uphold mutʿah (temporary marriage) because it is explicitly permitted in the Qur’an (4:24), permitted by the Prophet Muhammad and practised by his Companions during his lifetime and under Abū Bakr, and only prohibited later by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. In Shia law, mutʿah remains a valid, transparent, and regulated form of nikāḥ.

 
Explanation

Mutʿah is not an innovation but a Qur’anic and Prophetic allowance used by the Companions—especially during travel or hardship—within clear contractual limits (consent, mahr, term). Sunni ṣaḥīḥ reports show this practice continued through the caliphate of Abū Bakr, after which ʿUmar forbade it by decree. Shia scholarship holds that a Prophetic ruling cannot be overturned by later policy, so mutʿah remains licit in Shia jurisprudence. It is strictly regulated—requiring mutual consent, mahr (dowry), a fixed term, the correct formula, and ʿiddah (waiting period)—and children born from mutʿah are fully legitimate with standard lineage and inheritance.

 
Evidence

1) Qur’anic Foundation

Arabic: ﴿فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً﴾
Transliteration: Famā istamtaʿtum bihi minhunna fa-ātūhunna ujūrahunna farīḍah
English: “So for whatever you have mutually enjoyed of them, give them their due compensation as an obligation.”
📖 Reference: Qur’an 4:24 (classical Sunni and Shia exegesis discuss this verse in relation to mutʿah).

Reported early gloss/reading (attributed to Companions/exegetes such as Ibn ʿAbbās, Ubayy b. Kaʿb, Saʿīd b. Jubayr):
Arabic: «فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى…»
English: “…for whatever you have enjoyed of them to a specified term…”
📖 Reference: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr (they cite the linkage and then argue abrogation—see below).

 

2) Practice in the Prophet’s Lifetime and Abū Bakr’s Caliphate (Sunni Sources)

  • Jābir b. ʿAbdillāh:
    Arabic: «كُنَّا نَسْتَمْتِعُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ حَتَّى نَهَى عَنْهُ عُمَرُ»
    English: “We practised mutʿah during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and (during) Abū Bakr, until ʿUmar forbade it.”
    📖 Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Nikāḥ (Bāb Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah; Jābir’s report).
  • ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd:
    Arabic: «كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فَأَذِنَ لَنَا أَنْ نَتَزَوَّجَ الْمَرْأَةَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ بِشَيْءٍ»
    English: “We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he permitted us to contract marriage with a woman for a fixed term in exchange for something.”
    📖 Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Nikāḥ (expedition permission; b. Masʿūd’s report).
  • Companions associated with practising/allowing mutʿah (in Sunni ḥadīth/early works):
    Jābir b. ʿAbdillāh, ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd, Sabrah al-Juhanī (first-person practice, then prohibition narration), ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn (reports “āyat al-mutʿah” and practice in the Prophet’s time), and Ibn ʿAbbās (permissive fatwās—some reports mention later restriction).
    📖 Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah section); Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Tafsīr and Nikāḥ chapters); early ḥadīth/fiqh compilations.

 

3) Who Banned Mutʿah?

  • ʿUmar’s policy ban is explicitly reflected in Sunni reports: Jābir states it was practised until ʿUmar forbade it (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim).
  • The well-known pulpit formula is transmitted in early Sunni literature:
    Arabic: «مُتْعَتَانِ كَانَتَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ، وَأَنَا أُحَرِّمُهُمَا وَأُعَاقِبُ عَلَيْهِمَا: مُتْعَةُ النِّسَاءِ وَمُتْعَةُ الْحَجِّ»
    English: “Two mutʿahs existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I forbid them and will punish for them: mutʿah of women and mutʿah of Hajj.”
    📖 Reference: Cited by classical Sunni works (e.g., al-Qurṭubī under 4:24; al-Bayhaqī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā 7:206; al-Ṭaḥāwī, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār 2:144–146).

Balance note on Sunni sources: Sunni ḥadīth collections also preserve narrations from Sabrah al-Juhanī that the Prophet ﷺ later forbade mutʿah (with some reports tying the ban to Khaybar and others to the Conquest of Makkah). Shia authorities consider these narrations contradictory and maintain that no Prophetic abrogation occurred; rather, ʿUmar instituted the ban as policy/ijtihād.

 

4) Shia Ḥadīth on Mutʿah

  • Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (AS):
    Arabic: «إِنَّ الْمُتْعَةَ نَزَلَ بِهَا الْقُرْآنُ، وَجَرَتْ بِهَا السُّنَّةُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ»
    English: “Mutʿah was revealed in the Qur’an, and it was established as a Sunnah by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
    📖 Reference: al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 452.
  • Imam al-Ṣādiq (AS) on form:
    Arabic: «إن سَمَّى الأجَلَ فَهِيَ مُتْعَةٌ، وإن لم يُسَمِّ الأجَلَ فَهُوَ نِكَاحٌ بَاتٌّ»
    English: “If a term is specified, it is mutʿah; if no term is specified, it is a permanent marriage.”
    📖 Reference: Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 21 (Bāb Shurūṭ al-Mutʿah).

 

5) How Mutʿah Works in Shia Jurisprudence (Summary)

  • Requires mutual consent, mahr (dowry), a fixed term, and the correct formula.
  • Without a term, it defaults to permanent marriage.
  • ʿIddah is observed before remarriage.
  • Children are fully legitimate with standard lineage and inheritance.
 
Sunni Marriage Types that Shia Jurisprudence Rejects
  1. Nikāḥ al-Misyār (زواج المسيار) — “Traveller’s/Convenience marriage”
    ➡️ A permanent marriage in form, but the wife agrees to give up rights like housing, maintenance, or equal nights. Popular in parts of the Gulf.
    📖 Source: Contemporary fatwā councils (e.g., IslamQA, Ibn Bāz).
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — rights fixed by Allah (nafaqah, housing, dignity) cannot be waived to legitimise the contract.
  2. Nikāḥ al-ʿUrfi (الزواج العرفي) — Informal/unregistered marriage, often secret
    ➡️ A contract done with witnesses but not registered with the state, often kept hidden from families or society. Common among students in Egypt.
    📖 Source: Egyptian Dar al-Iftāʾ rulings; Sunni fiqh manuals.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — secrecy contradicts the Qur’anic principle of public marriage and enables exploitation.
  3. Nikāḥ with intention to divorce (الزواج بنية الطلاق)
    ➡️ A man marries a woman while secretly intending to divorce her after a short time, without informing her.
    📖 Source: Ibn Bāz, Ibn Taymiyyah, modern fatwā councils.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — dishonesty invalidates the contract. If time-limited, it must be openly declared (mutʿah).
  4. Nikāḥ al-Taḥlīl / Halālah (نكاح التحليل)
    ➡️ A woman divorced three times marries another man only so she can return to her first husband. Condemned in hadith.
    📖 Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1415; Tirmidhī 1120; Abū Dāwūd 2076.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — cursed by the Prophet ﷺ; marriage cannot be used as a trick.
  5. Nikāḥ al-Jihād (جهاد النكاح) — “Sex jihad”
    ➡️ A rumour spread in 2013 that women travelled to Syria to marry fighters for short periods. Found to be propaganda, not based in Islamic law.
    📖 Source: No basis in Qur’an, Sunnah, or classical fiqh.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — fabricated, condemned outright.
  6. Nikāḥ al-Shighār (النكاح الشغار)
    ➡️ Two men marry each other’s daughters/sisters in exchange, without offering mahr. Explicitly forbidden in hadith.
    📖 Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1416.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — violates Qur’an 4:4, which obligates mahr.
  7. Nikāḥ al-Misfār (زواج المسفار / Travel marriage)
    ➡️ A marriage conducted during travel, often with a hidden intention of being temporary, but without declaring it.
    📖 Source: Contemporary Gulf fatwā councils.
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — mutʿah already exists as the legitimate, declared time-limited nikāḥ. Misfār hides reality and invites abuse.
  8. Nikāḥ al-Taysīr (زواج التيسير) — “Facilitated marriage”
    ➡️ Simplified form of marriage with a very light mahr and reduced expenses, to encourage youth to marry easily.
    📖 Source: Modern Sunni fiqh discussions.
    🔎 Shia view: Accepted only if all Qur’anic conditions are fulfilled (mahr, witnesses, formula, consent). If rights are cut, it becomes invalid.
  9. Nikāḥ al-Muʿallaq (النكاح المعلق) — Conditional marriage
    ➡️ A marriage tied to a condition (e.g., “If such happens, you are my wife”). Disputed among Sunni madhhabs.
    📖 Source: Debated in Sunni fiqh (Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī).
    🔎 Shia view: Rejected — marriage must be based on direct ijāb (offer) and qabūl (acceptance). Conditions create uncertainty.
 
Conclusion / Summary
  • Qur’an 4:24 underpins mutʿah; early Sunni exegesis records its linkage to the verse.
  • Authentic Sunni reports show mutʿah was permitted by the Prophet and practised by Companions in his lifetime and under Abū Bakr, then forbidden by ʿUmar.
  • Sunni compilations also transmit narrations of a later Prophetic prohibition; Shia authorities reject these and hold ʿUmar’s decree as the cause of prohibition in Sunni practice.
  • In Shia law, mutʿah is a lawful, regulated marriage—transparent and responsible—while Shia jurists reject later Sunni substitutes that enable secrecy or waive essential rights.
 
Quick FAQ

Q: Do Shia consider mutʿah a casual relationship?
No. It is a legal marriage requiring consent, mahr, a fixed term, proper formula, and ʿiddah—children are fully legitimate.

Q: Did the Prophet forbid mutʿah?
Shia: No—no Prophetic abrogation is accepted.
Sunni sources: Yes, many cite narrations (e.g., Sabrah) of a later prohibition. Shia contest those reports and cite ʿUmar’s decree.

Q: Which Companions practised or permitted mutʿah?
Jābir b. ʿAbdillāh, ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd, Sabrah al-Juhanī (first practised, then narrates prohibition), ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn, and Ibn ʿAbbās (permissive fatwās with some reports of later restriction).

Q: Why do Shia reject misyar/ʿurfi/intention-to-divorce?
Because they enable secrecy or waive rights absent from Qur’an and authentic Sunnah; mutʿah is the declared, regulated time-limited marriage.

 
References
  • Qur’an 4:24; classical exegesis under this verse: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr.
  • Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Nikāḥ (Bāb Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah):
    Jābir b. ʿAbdillāh: “We practised mutʿah… until ʿUmar forbade it.”
    ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd: expedition permission to marry to a fixed term.
    Sabrah al-Juhanī reports of later prohibition.
  • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Tafsīr reports on “āyat al-mutʿah” (ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn); Ibn ʿAbbās permissive verdicts.
  • ʿUmar’s ban: al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Ṭaḥāwī.
  • Shia sources: al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 452; Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 21.
  • On substitutes: Tirmidhī (1120); Abū Dāwūd (2076) on halālah; Sunni fatwā discussions on misyar, ʿurfi, intention-to-divorce.

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