Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the meaning of the verse: “فما استمتعتم به منهن فآتوهن أجورهن فريضة”?
This verse refers to the obligation of paying Mahr (bridal due) in a valid Nikāḥ (marriage), particularly after consummation.
❀ Imām al-Ṭabarī رحمه الله (d. 310 AH) said:
“The correct interpretation of this verse is that those women with whom you have contracted marriage and consummated it, you must pay them their Mahr. The reason for this interpretation is that there is conclusive evidence that the Mutʿah (temporary marriage) which Allah declared prohibited through the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ is **not the same as a valid marriage (Nikāḥ).”
[Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/738]
❀ Ibn Khuwazmandād al-Baṣrī رحمه الله (d. 390 AH) said:
“It is not permissible to derive the permissibility of Mutʿah from this verse because:
① The Prophet ﷺ prohibited Mutʿah marriage and declared it haram.
② The following verse says:
﴿فَانكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ﴾
“Marry them with the permission of their families.”
It is well known that Mutʿah does not involve the permission of the woman’s guardian or witnesses—whereas Sharʿī Nikāḥ does.
[Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 5/129–130]
❀ Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) clarified:
﴿فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً﴾
“Give them their due Mahr as an obligation.”
﴿وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَىٰ بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ﴾
“How can you take it back when you have been intimate with each other?”
[Minhāj al-Sunnah: 2/155]
فما استمتعتم به منهن إلى أجل مسمى
“Those women you have enjoyed for a specified period…”
❀ Example: Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه told Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه:
“You have erred. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ **prohibited Mutʿah and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the Day of Khaybar.”
Allah says:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ • إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ﴾
“Those who guard their private parts, except from their wives or those their right hands possess…”
[Surah al-Mu’minūn: 5–6]
Hence, she is not a legal wife, and the relationship is not considered a valid marriage.
❖ Question:
What is the meaning of the verse: “فما استمتعتم به منهن فآتوهن أجورهن فريضة”?
✿ Answer:
This verse refers to the obligation of paying Mahr (bridal due) in a valid Nikāḥ (marriage), particularly after consummation.
◈ Interpretation by Classical Scholars:
❀ Imām al-Ṭabarī رحمه الله (d. 310 AH) said:
“The correct interpretation of this verse is that those women with whom you have contracted marriage and consummated it, you must pay them their Mahr. The reason for this interpretation is that there is conclusive evidence that the Mutʿah (temporary marriage) which Allah declared prohibited through the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ is **not the same as a valid marriage (Nikāḥ).”
[Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/738]❀ Ibn Khuwazmandād al-Baṣrī رحمه الله (d. 390 AH) said:
“It is not permissible to derive the permissibility of Mutʿah from this verse because:
① The Prophet ﷺ prohibited Mutʿah marriage and declared it haram.
② The following verse says:
﴿فَانكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ﴾
“Marry them with the permission of their families.”
It is well known that Mutʿah does not involve the permission of the woman’s guardian or witnesses—whereas Sharʿī Nikāḥ does.
[Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 5/129–130]◈ Detailed Refutation by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:
❀ Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) clarified:
- The verse does not prove the permissibility of Mutʿah.
- Allah said:
﴿فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً﴾
“Give them their due Mahr as an obligation.”
- This applies to a woman in a valid, permanent marriage from whom physical benefit (intimacy) is obtained.
- If the marriage is not consummated, then only half the Mahr is due, as stated in another verse:
﴿وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَىٰ بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ﴾
“How can you take it back when you have been intimate with each other?”
- Thus, intimacy after a valid Nikāḥ necessitates full Mahr.
- There is no specification in this verse for temporary marriage (Mutʿah), nor any distinction from permanent marriage.
- It is incorrect to assume this verse supports Mutʿah.
[Minhāj al-Sunnah: 2/155]◈ Regarding the Alleged Qirāʾah “إلى أجل مسمى”:
- Some claim an alternative reading was:
فما استمتعتم به منهن إلى أجل مسمى
“Those women you have enjoyed for a specified period…”
- Ibn Taymiyyah explained:
- This reading is not Mutawātir (mass-transmitted).
- Even if it existed in early Islam, it was abrogated once Mutʿah was declared haram.
- After abrogation, only the reading without “إلى أجل مسمى” remained valid.
◈ Consensus of the Ummah:
- The Prophet ﷺ initially permitted Mutʿah, but later prohibited it permanently.
- Narrations confirming its prohibition are found in:
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
- Other reliable hadith collections.
❀ Example: Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه told Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه:
“You have erred. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ **prohibited Mutʿah and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the Day of Khaybar.”
- This narration is reported via:
- Imām Mālik
- Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah
- And others—recognized imams of ḥadīth.
- The Ummah has accepted this hadith without objection.
◈ Permanent Prohibition in the Qur’an:
Allah says:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ • إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ﴾
“Those who guard their private parts, except from their wives or those their right hands possess…”
[Surah al-Mu’minūn: 5–6]- Any sexual relationship outside of marriage (Nikāḥ) or legal ownership (slavery) is forbidden.
- A Mutʿah partner is neither a wife nor a slave woman, thus haram by Qur’anic text.
◈ Legal Implications:
- A woman in Mutʿah:
- Does not inherit.
- Is not entitled to ʿiddah like a wife.
- Three divorces do not apply.
- No obligation for maintenance or child legitimacy.
Hence, she is not a legal wife, and the relationship is not considered a valid marriage.
❖ Summary:
- The verse ﴿فما استمتعتم به منهن فآتوهن أجورهن فريضة﴾ refers to Mahr payment in permanent marriage after consummation.
- It does not support the legality of Mutʿah.
- Mutʿah is prohibited according to the Sunnah, Ijmāʿ, and Qur’an.
- Scholars from the Salaf, including ʿAlī رضي الله عنه, clearly stated the prohibition of Mutʿah.
- All necessary conditions of a valid Nikāḥ are absent in Mutʿah, such as inheritance, ʿiddah, divorce rules, and maintenance.
