Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah refers to a temporary marriage contract conducted with a woman for a fixed duration, such as two or three days, or any specified term.
[Al-Talīqāt al-Raḍiyyah by Al-Albānī: 2/864]
This type of marriage was initially permitted in Islam under specific circumstances, but was later abrogated permanently.
➊ Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
He said:
"We used to participate in battles with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and we had no wives with us. So we asked the Prophet ﷺ, 'Should we not castrate ourselves?' He forbade us from doing that and gave us permission to marry women for a temporary period in exchange for garments (or something similar). Then ʿAbdullāh recited the verse:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
[Al-Mā’idah: 87]
"O you who believe! Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you."
[Bukhari: 4615; Muslim: 1404; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/292; Ṭaḥāwī: 3/24; Ibn Ḥibbān: 4141; Bayhaqī: 7/79]
➋ Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما was asked about Mutʿah with women and permitted it under extreme necessity or shortage of women.
[Bukhari: 5116, Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Final Prohibition of Mutʿah]
➊ Narrated by ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه:
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade Mutʿah and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the day of Khaybar."
[Bukhari: 5115; Muslim: 1407; Muwaṭṭa: 2/542; Nasā’i: 6/125; Tirmidhi: 1121; Ibn Mājah: 1961; Dārimī: 2/140; Ḥumaydī: 1/22]
➋ Narrated by Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ رضي الله عنه:
"The Prophet ﷺ permitted us to perform Mutʿah during the Battle of Awtās for three days, then forbade it."
[Muslim: 1405; Aḥmad: 4/55; Dāraqutnī: 3/258; Bayhaqī: 7/204; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/292]
➌ Narrated by Sabrah al-Juhanī رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"I had permitted you to engage in Mutʿah with women. Now, Allah has prohibited it until the Day of Resurrection."
[Muslim: 1406; Abu Dawood: 2072; Nasā’i: 6/126; Ibn Mājah: 1922; Ḥumaydī: 846; Aḥmad: 3/404]
➍ Narrated by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه:
While delivering a sermon, he said:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted us to do Mutʿah three times, and then forbade it. By Allah, if I find anyone who does Mutʿah while married, I will stone him with stones."
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1598; Ibn Mājah: 1963; authenticated by Ibn Ḥajar in Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/154]
✔ Imām Bukhārī رحمه الله:
ʿAlī رضي الله عنه’s narration confirms that the permissibility of Mutʿah was abrogated.
[Bukhari: 5119, Book of Nikāḥ]
✔ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah occurred in six different events after it was initially permitted:
➊ Battle of Khaybar
➋ During ʿUmrah al-Qaḍā
➌ Year of the Conquest of Makkah
➍ Battle of Awtās
➎ Battle of Tabūk
➏ Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/173]
✔ Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:
Mutʿah was permitted twice and prohibited twice:
✔ Al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah is agreed upon by the Ummah, except for a group of Shia who consider it permissible.
[Maʿālim al-Sunan: 3/190]
✔ Jumhūr of Salaf and Khalaf (majority of early and later scholars):
Mutʿah has been abrogated and is no longer valid.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/173]
✔ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah is agreed upon by the scholars, except for the Rawāfiḍ (Shia) who continue to permit it.
[Sharḥ Muslim by Nawawī: 9/79]
Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah (temporary marriage for a specified period) was initially permitted under necessity, but was clearly and permanently prohibited by the Prophet ﷺ.
➤ Authentic narrations affirm its abrogation until the Day of Judgement.
➤ The Sahabah and leading Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah are unanimous on its prohibition.
➤ Only certain Shia sects continue to hold its permissibility, which contradicts clear Qur’anic spirit and Prophetic teachings.
❖ What is Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah?
Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah refers to a temporary marriage contract conducted with a woman for a fixed duration, such as two or three days, or any specified term.
[Al-Talīqāt al-Raḍiyyah by Al-Albānī: 2/864]
This type of marriage was initially permitted in Islam under specific circumstances, but was later abrogated permanently.
❖ Evidence for Initial Permission
➊ Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
He said:
"We used to participate in battles with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and we had no wives with us. So we asked the Prophet ﷺ, 'Should we not castrate ourselves?' He forbade us from doing that and gave us permission to marry women for a temporary period in exchange for garments (or something similar). Then ʿAbdullāh recited the verse:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
[Al-Mā’idah: 87]
"O you who believe! Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you."
[Bukhari: 4615; Muslim: 1404; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/292; Ṭaḥāwī: 3/24; Ibn Ḥibbān: 4141; Bayhaqī: 7/79]
➋ Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما was asked about Mutʿah with women and permitted it under extreme necessity or shortage of women.
[Bukhari: 5116, Book of Nikāḥ: Chapter on the Final Prohibition of Mutʿah]
❖ Evidence of Permanent Prohibition
➊ Narrated by ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه:
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade Mutʿah and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the day of Khaybar."
[Bukhari: 5115; Muslim: 1407; Muwaṭṭa: 2/542; Nasā’i: 6/125; Tirmidhi: 1121; Ibn Mājah: 1961; Dārimī: 2/140; Ḥumaydī: 1/22]
➋ Narrated by Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ رضي الله عنه:
"The Prophet ﷺ permitted us to perform Mutʿah during the Battle of Awtās for three days, then forbade it."
[Muslim: 1405; Aḥmad: 4/55; Dāraqutnī: 3/258; Bayhaqī: 7/204; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/292]
➌ Narrated by Sabrah al-Juhanī رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"I had permitted you to engage in Mutʿah with women. Now, Allah has prohibited it until the Day of Resurrection."
[Muslim: 1406; Abu Dawood: 2072; Nasā’i: 6/126; Ibn Mājah: 1922; Ḥumaydī: 846; Aḥmad: 3/404]
➍ Narrated by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه:
While delivering a sermon, he said:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted us to do Mutʿah three times, and then forbade it. By Allah, if I find anyone who does Mutʿah while married, I will stone him with stones."
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1598; Ibn Mājah: 1963; authenticated by Ibn Ḥajar in Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/154]
❖ Scholarly Consensus on Abrogation
✔ Imām Bukhārī رحمه الله:
ʿAlī رضي الله عنه’s narration confirms that the permissibility of Mutʿah was abrogated.
[Bukhari: 5119, Book of Nikāḥ]
✔ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah occurred in six different events after it was initially permitted:
➊ Battle of Khaybar
➋ During ʿUmrah al-Qaḍā
➌ Year of the Conquest of Makkah
➍ Battle of Awtās
➎ Battle of Tabūk
➏ Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/173]
✔ Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:
Mutʿah was permitted twice and prohibited twice:
- Permitted before Khaybar
- Forbidden at Khaybar
- Permitted again during the Conquest of Makkah
- Permanently forbidden afterward
[Sharḥ Muslim: 9/181]
✔ Al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah is agreed upon by the Ummah, except for a group of Shia who consider it permissible.
[Maʿālim al-Sunan: 3/190]
✔ Jumhūr of Salaf and Khalaf (majority of early and later scholars):
Mutʿah has been abrogated and is no longer valid.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/173]
✔ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله:
The prohibition of Mutʿah is agreed upon by the scholars, except for the Rawāfiḍ (Shia) who continue to permit it.
[Sharḥ Muslim by Nawawī: 9/79]
Conclusion:
Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah (temporary marriage for a specified period) was initially permitted under necessity, but was clearly and permanently prohibited by the Prophet ﷺ.
➤ Authentic narrations affirm its abrogation until the Day of Judgement.
➤ The Sahabah and leading Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah are unanimous on its prohibition.
➤ Only certain Shia sects continue to hold its permissibility, which contradicts clear Qur’anic spirit and Prophetic teachings.
