ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Origin of Shi'tte Islam and It's Principles (a) the Marriage Agreement ============================= Marriage is of two kinds: (1) for life; (2) temporary. As the name implies, temporary marriage (also blown as mut'ah) means that it is for a fixed period of time which is agreed upon, before completing the marriage agreement. So far as the first kind of marriage is concerned, all Muslims are unanimous in accepting it.

As regards the second kind, only the Shi'ah consider it lawful. The latter base their acceptance on the following verse of the Holy Qur'an: "famastamtatum bihi minhunna fa'tu hunna ujurahunna - and as such of them with whom you had mut'ah, give them their dowries as a fixed reward." (Surah an-Nisa': 24) This problem has been a topic of discussion since the time Of 'sahaba" (companions of the Prophet (s.a.w.) up to the present time.

In view of the importance of this matter it would seem appropriate to clarify some of its points. No-one who has spent some time in the study of religious laws can deny the validity of mut'ah. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) himself made it lawful. During the life of the Prophet (s.a.w.), many distinguished 'sahaba' put it into practice. Moreover, after the demise of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), the noble 'sahaba' continued to take advantage of this law.

'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari, ibn Mas'ud, and Ubay ibn Ka'ab, who were men of exalted rank and eminence, all insisted on the lawfulness of mut'ah and would recite the verse in this way: "Famastamtatum bihi min hunna ilaajalin musamman" (And as such of them with whom you had mut'ah for specified term).

We should not however think that these companions considered that there was any defect in the Qur'an, since they were well-versed in its interpretation, they merely wanted to make a commentary on this verse so that its meaning might be clearer. Since these distinguished persons had remained devoted to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) throughout his mission, they had had the opportunity to understand the interpretation of the Qur'an directly from the tongue of the Prophet himself (s.a.w.).

They therefore had no hesitation in disclosing the true meaning of this verse according to what they had learnt from the Prophet (s.a.w.).