Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Can we have temp wives?

Regards 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Concept of Mutah

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

‘Mutah’ was a term used for a form of ‘temporary’ marriage prevalent in the Days of Ignorance before Islam, where a man would ‘temporarily’ contract a woman for a fixed period, fulfil his lust with her, and divorce her at the end of the agreed period without any responsibility towards the woman whatsoever. This mutually agreed period would be at an agreed and negotiated price between the man and the woman, for a fixed period of time which could be for a couple of hours, or days, or weeks, etc. as negotiated.

The society in the Days of Ignorance before Islam had tried to give a legal ‘veil’ to the abomination of ‘zina’ and prostitution by various means, and the ‘mutah’ was one of such veils! Islam removed all such veils from the abomination of ‘zina’ and declared that the only legal way for a man and woman to enjoy conjugal relationships was for the man and woman to be legally wedded to each other in the ‘nikaah’ contract, where the man would shoulder the responsibility of a proper marriage. One should note here that it was not Islam who started or initiated this evil concept of ‘muta’, but it was a system prevailent in the days of ignorance before Islam. Allah and His Messenger (saws) completely and absolutely abolished and forbade this evil concept of ‘muta’ for those who sincerely believed in Allah and the Last Day.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.527 Narrated by Ali bin Abi Talib

On the day of Khaibar, Allah's Messenger (saws) forbade the Mut'a (i.e. temporary marriage), and the eating of donkey-meat.

Beloved brother in Islam, if any fair-minded person just looks at the system of ‘mutah’, he would conclude that it is nothing but a manifestation of the abomination of prostitution and nothing else. Which righteous parent or guardian would allow his daughter or sister to temporarily have sex with a man in exchange for a material reward?

Prostitution is described as an act where a woman ‘temporarily’ engages in sexual activity with a man in return for a negotiated fee. If one asks oneself what is the difference between prostitution and ‘mutah’, one would find it extremely difficult to differentiate the two terms!

The concept of ‘muta’ was and is a shallow attempt of what we recognize today as prostitution; and absolutely all forms of ‘zina’ and prostitution are forbidden in the deen of Truth called Al-Islam. The believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day must recognize and abstain from this and all forms of indecency and ‘fahisha’, and fulfill their needs only through the legal channel and sacred concept of Islamic ‘nikaah’.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan