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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Temporary Marriage in Islamic Law Chapter 2 The Four Pillars Of Mut'a The Arabic dictionaries define mut'a as 'enjoyment, pleasure, delight'. The root form, m-t: signifies, 'to carry away, to take away'. A 'marriage of mut'a' is a marriage which the contract stipulates will last for a fixed period of time. This 'marriage of mut'a' is referred to both in the hadith literature and, in much more detail, in the books on jurisprudence (fiqh).

In the hadith and in other sayings related from early Muslims the word 'mut'a' itself is usually employed. The Shi'is hold that this particular term is the preferred name for temporary marriage because the Qur'an itself refers to this kind of marriage employing a term derived from the same root. In the following verse, the word istimta', the tenth verbal form of the root m-t-', is translated as 'enjoy': 'So those of them [women] whom you enjoy, give to them their appointed wages' (4:24).

In general the word mut'a was more commonly used than other terms for temporary marriage both during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards during the time of the Shi'i Imams and other Muslim leaders. Both its proponents and opponents preferred this word and its derivatives. In Wasa'il al-shi'a, the comprehensive and definitive reference work for Shi'i hadith concerning all branches of jurisprudence, the word mut'a is employed in the headings of all sections on temporary marriage.

In books on jurisprudence the terms mut'a, al-nikah al-munqati' ('discontinued marriage'), and al-nikah al-muwaqqat ('temporary marriage') are all employed. Al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli [^1] still employs the term 'discontinued marriage' in his writings, [^2] and hence his commentators use the same expression, although in sections of the statutes relating to this kind of marriage they also employ the terms istimta' and the related word tamattu'.

Al-Shahid al Thani [^3] employs the same term as al-Hilli [^4] , but others, such as al-Shahid al-Awwal, [^5] al-'Allama al-Hilli [^6] and al-Shaykh al-Ansari [^7] prefer the term mut'a. [^8] Among Sunni jurisprudents there is a discussion concerning whether or not the marriage of mut'a is the same as 'temporary marriage'. Most of them have agreed that they are synonymous. [^9] In some works a special term is applied to women who participate in mut'a: musta'jara, or 'rented woman'.