ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Shi'ite Encyclopedia (chapter 6) Temporary Marriage in Islam (part Viii) Some Frequently Asked Questions on Mut'a After reading the earlier parts of this discussion, some people corresponded with me asked me some hypothetical questions, and also some good questions. I present their questions in the following format: Q1: Can Someone Contract Mut'a Marriage for 1 hour? I would say theoretically yes!

Much in the same way that it is possible for some one to marry a woman permanently and then divorce her in one hour or even less. Logically, since the possibility of this action does not invalidate the regular marriage, therefore, it should not be applied in the case of Mut'a either! Q2: What could be the difference between temporary marriage and prostitution?

In the previous sections, we explained the difference between the Mut'a and the long-term marriage (conventional), and one can see that there is not much differences between them. Also as I mentioned, one may marry permanently and then divorces his wife after one day. So what will be the difference? Moreover, Allah (SWT) did not consider it prostitution when He revealed the verse, but you do!?

All Muslims agree that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has legislated Mut'a at some point, and we as Muslims believe that the Prophet does not speak from his own desires (La Yantiqu Anil Hawa), so God has permitted it at some point of time. This very fact differentiates between temporary marriage and adultery, because God and His Prophet do NOT legitimize adultery. No prophet of God ever did that. A simple answer for your question is that one is legal and the other one is illegal.

Let me give you an example: Suppose a foreigner who may be very experienced in driving car back home, when going to another country he may need to apply for a driver license to be able to drive. Now if he drives without driver license, then what is the difference between him and a person who drives with license but may not be as experienced as the former? The answer simply is that the act of the former is illegal while the latter is legal.

The partners may have sex in the three cases of prostitution, temporary marriage, and permanent marriage. Quran declares the first one illegal but has made the latter two legal.