Question:
What is the ruling on Nikah Mut’ah?
Answer:
The Shariah of Muhammad is a perfect and complete code of life. There is no room for change in it until the Day of Judgment because Islam has made the laws, which vary in different eras and circumstances, permanent. A solid constitution of life has been granted from the time of the revelation of the Divine message until the Day of Judgment. It was a demand of perfection that laws were formulated not only keeping individuals in view but the entire society. Actions that caused corruption in society were gradually removed from life. Take the example of alcohol, how the Muslim society was purified from it in an imperceptible manner. First, by stating that its harms outweighed its benefits, a general aversion towards it was created; then intoxication was prohibited during prayer times to break the addiction; finally, it was declared permanently forbidden.
Nikah Mut’ah (temporary marriage) is also among those diseases which Islam has permanently removed from the Shariah for the reform of society. Just as alcohol was consumed before its prohibition was revealed, similarly, under a gradual strategy, Nikah Mut’ah was permissible for a time, then it was declared forbidden until the Day of Judgment, and the permanent and obligatory principle of Shariah marriage was established in its place.
Just as it is not permissible to declare alcohol lawful by citing incidents before its prohibition, similarly, it is not permissible for any Muslim to insist on the permissibility of Nikah Mut’ah by citing incidents from the prophetic era before its prohibition.
Nikah Mut’ah had very harmful effects on individuals and society, due to which it was declared forbidden until the Day of Judgment. In contrast, Shariah marriage was established, which is completely free from harms and has countless benefits for individuals and society.
The main purpose of Shariah marriage is the protection of chastity and modesty, which is not achieved through Nikah Mut’ah. Also, an important element of Shariah marriage is permanence and continuity, which is absent in Mut’ah. The main benefit of Shariah marriage is love, affection, and tranquility, which are absent in Nikah Mut’ah. Shariah marriage allows the concept of more than one wife simultaneously, but the concept of more than one husband is absolutely not found, whereas in Nikah Mut’ah, the concept of more than one husband is clearly present. There is no restriction on a woman disgracing herself with dozens of men in one day through Nikah Mut’ah.
Through Nikah Mut’ah, society falls into moral decay and brutal behavior spreads among people. When a woman has relations with many men through Nikah Mut’ah, how can it be known whose child is growing in her womb? Such children generally become bloodthirsty beasts, not peaceful citizens. The rights of the guardian (wali) are also violated in Nikah Mut’ah. Chastity, which is the essence of humanity, is destroyed and vagrancy spreads in the environment. Among the many evils of Nikah Mut’ah is that it causes even married women to take the path of immorality.
❀ Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Hasan Tusi, may Allah have mercy on him
, wrote:
ليس على الرجل ان يسالها هل لها زوج ام لا
It is not even necessary for a man who performs Nikah Mut’ah to ask the woman if she has a husband or not.
Despite so many evils, Nikah Mut’ah is a fundamental part of the Shia religion. Shia jurist Muhammad bin Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili, may Allah have mercy on him
, wrote:
ان اباحة المتعة من ضروريات مذهب الامامية
Declaring Nikah Mut’ah permissible is a religious necessity for the Imami Shias.
Nikah Mut’ah is invalid:
The consensus and agreement of the Muslim Ummah is that Nikah Mut’ah or temporary marriage is abrogated and invalid, and it has become forbidden in Islamic Shariah until the Day of Judgment.
❀ Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates:
When Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was elected Caliph, he gave a sermon: O people! Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, permitted Mut’ah three times and then forbade it. By Allah! If I come to know of anyone performing Mut’ah with a married woman, I will surely stone him. However, if he brings four witnesses that the Prophet, peace be upon him, permitted it after forbidding it, then I will leave him.
❀ Hafiz Khateeb Baghdadi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
قد يعلم بالاجماع
The prohibition of Mut’ah is established by consensus.
❀ Allama Abu al-Fath Nasr bin Ibrahim al-Maqdisi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
This is evidence of the authenticity of the claim of consensus we mentioned, because these reports show that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, announced the prohibition of Mut’ah on the pulpit on behalf of the Prophet, peace be upon him, warned against this act, and declared it misguidance. He also mentioned that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade Mut’ah by declaring it haram. This entire event took place in the presence of the Muhajirin and Ansar, the noble companions, but no one opposed or rejected Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, although the companions were eager to express the truth, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong, as Allah and His Messenger have described them. Did you not see that Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b, may Allah be pleased with him, opposed Sayyiduna Umar regarding Hajj Tamattu’ and Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal opposed him regarding stoning a pregnant woman? The reason is that it is not possible for the companions, who were people of strong faith, to remain silent upon hearing falsehood or compromise in matters of religion, especially in a matter that pertains to Shariah and is to remain in Shariah forever. When all the companions remained silent and no one denied, it became clear that this was the truth and that the abrogation and prohibition of Mut’ah is established in Shariah, as was the view of Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. This matter is equivalent to the acknowledgment of all the companions regarding the prohibition and abrogation of Mut’ah, therefore it is permanently forbidden. Besides Sayyiduna Umar, a group of companions narrated hadiths on this matter. The prohibition of Mut’ah is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib, Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah bin Mas’ud, Abdullah bin Zubair, and Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them all. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, abandoned the permissibility of Mut’ah after the truth became clear and the hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, regarding its prohibition reached him. This is the religion of all the Tabi’in, great jurists, and Imams of religion. Even if, hypothetically, only one companion declared Mut’ah forbidden and no other companion opposed him, we would be obliged to follow that companion’s knowledge and statement because a companion can only say such a thing based on solid knowledge. There is consensus among the companions on the prohibition of Mut’ah. Whoever considers Nikah Mut’ah lawful in opposition to them is against consensus and the enemy of truth and righteousness.
❀ Allama Fakhr al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, declared the prohibition of Mut’ah in the presence of the companions and no companion objected to him. In this situation, three things can be said: First, the companions knew about the prohibition of Mut’ah, so they remained silent. Second, they knew it was permissible but remained silent due to compromise. Third, they had no knowledge about the prohibition or permissibility, so they hesitated and remained silent. The first is correct. The second would require declaring Sayyiduna Umar and all the companions as disbelievers because whoever knows that the Prophet, peace be upon him, permitted Mut’ah and then says it is forbidden without evidence of abrogation, commits disbelief with Allah, and whoever knowingly confirms this error is also a disbeliever. This would lead to the disbelief of the entire Ummah and contradict the command of Allah:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ
You are the best nation.
The third, that the companions had no knowledge of the prohibition or permissibility and thus remained silent, is also false because if Mut’ah were permissible, it would be like marriage, and just as people need knowledge of marriage, they would also need knowledge of Mut’ah. Such a matter cannot remain hidden but must be widely known. Just as everyone knew that marriage is permissible and its permissibility was not abrogated, similarly knowledge about Mut’ah was necessary. Since the last two are false, it is established that the companions remained silent only because they knew Mut’ah had been abrogated in Islam.
❀ Imam Abu Ubaid Qasim bin Salam, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
There is consensus among Muslims that Nikah Mut’ah is abrogated and forbidden. The Book and Sunnah have abrogated it. There is no narration permitting Nikah Mut’ah from any companion, except Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who believed in its permissibility but later abandoned it.
❀ Imam Ibn Mundhir, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
At first, permission for Mut’ah was given, but now I do not know anyone except the Rafidah who considers it permissible. The opposing view has no weight against the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger, peace be upon him.
❀ Imam Abu Ja’far Tahawi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, forbade women from Mut’ah in the presence of the companions on behalf of the Prophet, peace be upon him. No one objected. This proves that all the companions agreed with Sayyiduna Umar in forbidding Mut’ah. This consensus of the companions is clear evidence of the abrogation of Mut’ah.
❀ Allama Abu Bakr Jassas, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
After discussing the permissibility of Mut’ah, we have presented the evidence from the Book and Sunnah and the consensus of the predecessors on its prohibition. There was no disagreement about this in the best of generations, as we have explained. Also, jurists from all regions agree on its prohibition and do not differ on this matter.
❀ Allama Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
There is consensus among Muslims on the prohibition of Mut’ah, except for some Shias. Even according to their rules and regulations, this is not correct because they refer to Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and his family in disputed matters. The abrogation of Mut’ah is established from Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Hafiz Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated from Ja’far bin Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, that when asked about Mut’ah, he said: This is open fornication.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
The companions, the Tabi’in, and later great scholars and jurists of Muslims all unanimously agree on the prohibition of Mut’ah. Among them are Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, from the people of Madinah; Imam Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, and Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, from the people of Kufa; Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, from the Ahl al-Hadith and jurists; Imam Awza’i, may Allah have mercy on him, from the people of Sham; Imam Laith bin Sa’d, may Allah have mercy on him, from the people of Egypt; and all other great muhaddithin, may Allah have mercy on them.
❀ Hafiz Baghawi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
اتفق العلماء على تحريم نكاح المتعة وهو كالاجماع بين المسلمين
There is consensus among the scholars on the prohibition of Mut’ah. This is the consensus of the Muslims.
❀ Allama Ibn al-Arabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
Initially, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, believed in the permissibility of Nikah Mut’ah, but later his abandonment is established, so consensus on the prohibition of Mut’ah has been formed.
❀ Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
Except for the Rafidah, all scholars have reached consensus on the prohibition of Mut’ah.
❀ Allama Ali bin Abi Bakr Marghinani Hanafi, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما صح رجوعه الى قولهم فتقرر الاجماع
The abandonment of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, is established, thus consensus has been formed.
❀ Mufassir Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
انعقد الاجماع على تحريرها
Consensus has been reached on the prohibition of Mut’ah.
Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, told Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him:
ان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن المتعة وعن لحوم الحمر الاهلية زمن خيبر
During the Battle of Khaybar, the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade Nikah Mut’ah and the meat of domestic hyenas.
In another narration, Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
نهى عن متعة النساء يوم خيبر وعن اكل لحوم الحمر الانسية
On the day of the Battle of Khaybar, the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade Mut’ah with women and eating the meat of domestic hyenas.
❀ In Sahih Muslim
, it is narrated:
Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, heard Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, speaking softly about Mut’ah with women, so he said: Ibn Abbas! Stop this fatwa, because the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade Nikah Mut’ah and eating the meat of domestic hyenas on the day of the Battle of Khaybar.
