Question:
Regarding the permissibility of temporary marriage (Nikah Mut’ah) by the Rafidah, they present the verse:
فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً
What is the reality of their argument?
Answer:
The Divine command is:
فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً
Those women from whom you benefit, give them their due dowry.
❀ Imam Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
The correct interpretation of this verse is: The women whom you have married and with whom you have secluded yourself, give them the dowry. The reason this interpretation is correct is that evidence proves that the mut’ah (temporary marriage) which Allah Almighty prohibited through the words of His Messenger, peace be upon him, is different from a valid marriage.
❀ Ibn Khawiz Mandad Basri, may Allah have mercy on him
, states:
It is not permissible to derive the permissibility of mut’ah from this noble verse, because firstly, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade mut’ah marriage and declared it unlawful, and secondly, Allah said (in the next verse):
فَانْكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ
Marry women with the permission of their guardians.
And it is well known that the permission of the woman’s guardians, meaning the presence of a wali (guardian) and two witnesses during the marriage, is a condition for a valid Islamic marriage, which is not the case with mut’ah marriage.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, writes:
There is no evidence in this noble verse for the permissibility of mut’ah.
❀ Allah Almighty has said:
وَأُحِلَّ لَكُمْ مَا وَرَاءَ ذٰلِكُمْ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
And (other than the forbidden women) those women are lawful for you, provided that you marry them by paying their dowry and do not intend fornication. Then, those from whom you benefit by paying the dowry, give them their specified dowry. If you agree after specifying the dowry to reduce or increase it, there is no sin upon you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنْكُمْ طَوْلًا أَنْ يَنْكِحَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ
And whoever among you cannot afford to marry free believing women.
Here, the phrase “those women from whom you benefit” refers to women with whom intercourse has taken place. After marriage, the one who has intercourse with the woman is commanded to pay her the due dowry. If a woman is divorced before intercourse and the husband has not benefited from intercourse, she is not entitled to the full dowry but half of it, as Allah Almighty says:
وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَىٰ بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ مِنْكُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا
And how can you take it back while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken a firm covenant from you?
This verse also indicates that intercourse after marriage is the reason for the obligation to pay the dowry. The clarification is that this verse does not specify temporary marriage for a fixed period but rather eternal marriage is the one more deserving of full dowry payment. It is necessary that this verse refers to eternal marriage. This indication may be by specification or generality. The evidence is that after this, the mention of slave girls’ marriage follows, indicating that the matter was generally about the marriage of free women. If it is said that a group of the predecessors’ recitations was:
فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى
You benefit from those women for a specified time.
The answer is that these recitations are not mutawatir (mass-transmitted) but at most like ahad (single) reports. We do not deny that mut’ah was permissible at the beginning of Islam, but the question is whether the Qur’an indicates this or not? Another possibility is that although these words were revealed, they are not established in the famous recitations and thus are abrogated. Their revelation occurred when mut’ah was still permissible. When mut’ah was declared forbidden, these words were abrogated, and the command to pay dowry in temporary marriage remained as a warning for dowry payment in permanent marriage. At most, it can be said that both recitations are correct. When temporary marriage (mut’ah) was permissible, paying dowry was obligatory. This was permissible at the beginning of Islam, so there is nothing in this verse indicating that temporary marriage (mut’ah) is still permissible. Allah Almighty did not say that temporary marriage with women for a specified time is lawful for you, but rather the command is to pay the due dowry to those women from whom you have benefited. Whether the benefit from the woman is lawful or unlawful, this verse includes both types of benefit. This is why the Sunnah of the Messenger, peace be upon him, and the consensus of the Ummah both prove that dowry is obligatory even in an invalid marriage. If the one who benefits considers the act lawful, dowry is obligatory. As for unlawful mut’ah, this verse does not mention it. If someone benefits from a woman without marriage and with her consent, it is fornication, and no dowry is due. If the woman is coerced, there is a difference of opinion. Regarding the statement that Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, forbade mut’ah, it is established from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he initially permitted mut’ah with women but later forbade it. This is narrated by trustworthy narrators in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, etc., from Imam Zahri, may Allah have mercy on him, who narrated it from both sons of Muhammad ibn Hanfiyyah, Abdullah and Hasan, who narrated it from their father, who narrated it from Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that when Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas declared mut’ah lawful, Sayyiduna Ali said to him: You have deviated from the right path in this matter because the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade mut’ah and donkey meat in the year of Khaibar. This narration was narrated by Imam Malik ibn Anas, Imam Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, and others, who were the greatest scholars of Sunnah and hadith preservation in their time. There is consensus among the muhaddithin on the authenticity and acceptance of this hadith. None of the scholars have criticized it. Similarly, it is established in Sahih Bukhari that the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade mut’ah from the year of the conquest of Mecca until the Day of Judgment. Thus, Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah followed Sayyiduna Ali and the other rightly guided caliphs in this matter as narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, while the Shia opposed Sayyiduna Ali’s statement and accepted the opposing view. Furthermore, Allah Almighty has declared wives and slave girls lawful in His Book, while the woman with whom mut’ah is contracted is neither a wife nor a slave girl. If she were a wife, she would be entitled to inheritance, the waiting period (‘iddah) would be obligatory upon her due to the husband’s death, and three divorces would apply to her, as these are the rulings for wives in the Qur’an. Since the conditions of marriage are not present in the mut’ah woman, it is evident that there is no valid marriage, because when the necessary conditions end, the consequences also end. Allah Almighty has declared wives and slave girls lawful and other women forbidden:
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ، إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ، فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَاءَ ذٰلِكَ فَأُولٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ
The believers protect their private parts except from their wives and those whom their right hands possess; for them, they are not to be blamed. But whoever seeks beyond that, they are transgressors.
After mut’ah was forbidden, the woman with whom mut’ah is contracted is neither a wife nor a slave girl, so mut’ah is declared unlawful by the clear text of the Qur’an. The mut’ah woman is not a slave girl, and due to the absence of marriage conditions, she is not a wife either, because inheritance entitlement, obligatory waiting period, occurrence of three divorces, and entitlement to half dowry if divorced before intercourse are among the conditions of marriage. If it is said that sometimes a wife does not inherit, such as a dhimmi woman or a slave girl, it can be said that marriage with a dhimmi woman is not permissible according to them, and marriage with a slave girl is permissible only when necessary, but they consider mut’ah absolutely permissible. Then it can be said that marriage with a dhimmi woman and a slave girl entitles inheritance, but here there is an obstacle, namely slavery and disbelief, just as lineage also entitles inheritance, but if the son is a slave or disbeliever, an obstacle arises. This is why when the son becomes free or Muslim during the father’s lifetime, he becomes the heir. Similarly, when a dhimmi wife becomes Muslim during her husband’s lifetime, there is consensus among Muslims on her inheritance. This entire situation differs from the mut’ah woman because her mut’ah marriage does not entitle inheritance. She can never be an heir. This marriage is like the illegitimate child born in her husband’s bed. Such a child can never be attributed to the adulterer as a son who can inherit. If it is said that sometimes the rules of lineage change, the same applies to marriage. It can be said that there is a difference of opinion, and the majority accept it, but there is no evidence for the Shia because all the conditions of being a wife are absent in the mut’ah woman. There is no characteristic of a lawful marriage in her.
It is understood that the Qur’an does not establish mut’ah marriage at all, but only establishes the validity of Islamic marriage.
Note: When Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked about mut’ah, he recited this verse as:
فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى
Those women from whom you benefit for a specified period.
Initially, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, believed in the permissibility of mut’ah, but later, upon knowledge of abrogation, he retracted.
❀ Sayyiduna Rabi’ ibn Sabrah, may Allah be pleased with him, states:
فما استمتعتم به منهن إلىٰ أجل مسمى
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, retracted this ruling before his death.
Benefit: The narration that Sayyiduna Abi ibn Ka’b, may Allah be pleased with him, also had this recitation is not established because Sa’id ibn Abi ‘Uroobah and his teacher Qatadah ibn Du’amah are considered muddallis (those who obscure the chain). Therefore, attributing this to Sayyiduna Abi ibn Ka’b is not correct.
فما استمتعتم به منهن refers to marriage.
Sayyiduna Sabrah ibn Mu’adh, may Allah be pleased with him, states that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said during the Farewell Pilgrimage:
استمتعوا من هذه النساء، والاستمتاع عندنا التزويج
Benefit from those women. (The companions said:) To us, benefiting means marriage.
Imam Hasan Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, says that this means marriage.
If someone says this means mut’ah, the answer is that Sayyiduna Sabrah al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him, states that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: O people! Indeed, I permitted you to practice mut’ah with women, but now Allah has forbidden it until the Day of Judgment. Whoever has any such woman should let her go and not take back anything given to them.
