he had married 70 women of mutah ( see zahabe in his book mizan vol...

he had married 70 women of mutah ( see zahabe in his book mizan vol: 6 p 147) these two points show that there was not ijma* of sunni muslim communities to forbid mutah until the third century of the islamic history because it was a controversial issue until the time of mamoon. ( the abbaside caliph, in the 3rd century a.h.) from this one can conclude that : 1). the hadith that forbids mutah contradicts itself in date. therefore, they are not certain. 2).

there would have been no need for ' umar to forbade it after prophet (p.). 3). there would have been no room for controversial discussion until the third century if it was forbidden before. therefore, it is best to say that 'umar's prohibition was his own personal view and that mutah was not forbidden until his own reign. this represents the validity of mutah according to sunni sources, however the sources of shi'a have different reports.

witnesses in marriage most sunni schools of law consider two witnesses at the time of marriage why is there a need for witnesses for validity for marriages? (l. neeley, palatka, fl 32077) as a required condition for validity of marriage, they believe that marriage is not valid without witnesses. the reasons given are as follows: husband would not be able to deny the marriage if two witnesses go against him. hadith from the prophet muhammad (p.) which orders to announce marriages.

the shi'a point of view is contradictory. shi'a believe it is recommend to have witnesses, but it is not obligatory. they indicate neither of the above mentioned reasons are valid. in the first case, it is possible that a marriage be contracted with two witnesses; then the witnesses be asked to keep it secret. in this, case we see the presence of witnesses without any reason; the presence of two witnesses is not going to change the situation.

the only important fact is the agreement between husband and wife. as to the second reason, the hadith only encourages to announce tmarriage at the time of marriage contract, so everybody shall know that the couple are married. thus, shi'a strongly recommend to have witnesses, though it is not obligatory. on prophethood what is the status of one who denies the prophethood of the prophet (p.) and believes in imam ali (a.)?

imam abu bakr, kalamazoo, mi 49007 it is obvious that that anyone who denies the prophethood of the prophet muhammad (p.) is not muslim, i.e.; kafir *. also, anyone who believes that imam ali (a.) was a prophet is also kafir.