Ruling on Mut’ah (temporary) marriage

Praise be to Allaah.

Mut’ah marriage means that a man marries a woman – either Muslim or from the people of the Book – and specifies how long the marriage will last, for example five days, or two months, or half a year, or many years. The beginning and end of the marriage are specified, and he pays her a small mahr (dowry), and after the specified time is over, the woman exits the marriage. This kind of marriage was permitted during the year of the Conquest of Makkah for three days, then it was disallowed and prohibited until the Day of Resurrection. This was reported by Muslim (1406).

The wife is the one with whom one stays on a long-term basis, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… and live with them honourably …” [al-Nisaa’ 4:19], but in the case of mut’ah a man does not live with the woman for long.

The wife is the one who is called a wife in sharee’ah, with whom the relationship is long-lasting. She is mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Except from their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess, ¾ for then, they are free from blame” [al-Mu’minoon 23:6] – the latter (a slave whom one’s right hand possesses) is not a wife according to sharee’ah, because her stay is limited to a short time.

The wife is the one who inherits from the husband, or from whom the husband inherits, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“In that which your wives leave, your share is a half if they have no child…” [al-Nisaa’ 4:12]. But the woman in a mut’ah marriage does not inherit, because she is not a wife, since she spends such a short time with the man.

On these grounds, Mut’ah marriage is considered to be zinaa (adultery or fornication), even if both parties consent to it, and even if it lasts for a long time, and even if the man pays the woman a mahr. There is nothing that has been reported in sharee’ah that shows that it may be permitted, apart from the brief period when it was allowed during the year of the conquest of Makkah. That was because at that time there were so many people who has newly embraced Islam and there was the fear that they might become apostates, because they had been used to committing zinaa during the Jaahiliyyah. So this kind of marriage was permitted for them for three days, then it was made haraam until the Day of Resurrection, as was narrated by Muslim, 1406

From al-Lu’lu’ al-Makeen min Fataawa Fadeelat al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Jibreen, p. 41.
 

Temporary Marriage

Praise be to Allaah.

There is no such thing in Islam as so-called “temporary marriage,” but some people who follow misguided innovations that have been introduced into the religion still believe in the validity of something known as “mut’ah marriage,” which is a form of temporary marriage. However, this type of marriage was abrogated or cancelled out and is not part of Islamic law (translator’s note: it was allowed for a brief period during the very early days of Islam, when society was in transition, but was definitively and for all time abrogated during the life of the Prophet SAW (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)).

You should beware of such people, and not let your emotions overwhelm you and stop you from following the truth.

And Allaah knows best.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid