ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Laws of Ayatullah Khui Marriage A woman becomes lawful for a man by contracting marriage. There are two kinds of marriages: (i) Permanent marriage and (ii) Fixed time marriage. In a permanent marriage the period of companionship is not fixed and it is for ever. The woman with whom such a marriage is concluded is called daima (i.e. a permanent wife).

In a fixed time marriage (Mut'ah) the period of companionship is fixed, for example, when matrimonial alliance is concluded with a woman for an hour, or a day, or a month, or a year, or more. However, the period fixed for the marriage should not exceed the ordinary lives of the spouses, because in that case the marriage will be treated to be a permanent one. This sort of fixed time marriage is called mut'ah or sigha.

Marriage Formula **2372.**Whether marriage is permanent or fixed time, simply the consent of man and woman is not sufficient for its completion, but it is also necessary that the formula (Sigha) of the marriage contract be recited. The formula of marriage contract is pronounced either by the man and the woman themselves or by a person who is nominated by them as their representative to recite it on their behalf. 2373. The representative should not necessarily be a man.

A woman can also become a representative from the other side to pronounce the marriage formula. 2374. So long as the woman and the man are not convinced that their representative has pronounced the formula, they cannot look at each other as mahram (like husband and wife) and mere thinking that the representative has pronounced the formula is not sufficient. However, if the representative says that he has pronounced the formula it is enough. 2375.

If a woman appoints a person her representative so that he may, for example, contract her marriage with a man for ten days but does not specify the day from which the period of ten days should commence the representative can contract her marriage with that man for ten days commencing from any day he likes. However, if their representative knows that the woman intends a particular hour or day he should pronounce the formula according to her intention. 2376.

One person can act as the representative of the two persons for reciting the formula of permanent or fixed time marriage and it is also permissible that a man may himself become the representative of a woman and contract permanent or fixed time marriage with her.