Muta', Temporary Marriage in Islamic Law

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Author(s): Sachiko Murata

Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications - Qum

Category: Sunni Shi’a Marriage

Topic Tags: Muta Temporary Marriage Shariah Islamic Law Miscellaneous information: The present work is based on an MA dissertation completed in 1974 under the direction of Professor Abu l-Qasim Gurji of the Faculty of Theology at Tehran University (most of the Persian text was published under the title Izdiwaj-i muwaqqat: (muta-sigha) [Tehran: Hamdami, 1358/1979]). First Published by Muhammadi Trust, then by Al-Serat Volume XIII, No. 1, and then by Ansariyan.

Featured Category: Explore Shia Sunni Responses to Misconceptions

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A description of the legal situation of mut'a / mutah in Shi'ism and the origin of this divergence between Sunni and Shi'i law on temporary marriage

Introduction

Though there are important differences between Twelve-Imam Shi’a m and Sunnism on the level of the principles of the religion (usul al-din), on the level of the sharia and fiqh or jurisprudence there are surprisingly few places where Shi'i or 'Ja'fari' law differs from all four Sunni schools, the Hanaf'i, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i.

Perhaps the most important difference occurs in relation to the institution of mut'a, or 'temporary marriage'. The Sunni authorities agree that mut'a was permitted by the Prophet at certain points during his lifetime, but they maintain that in the end he prohibited it completely.

In contrast the Shi’a maintain that the Prophet did not ban it, and they cite numerous hadith from Sunni as well as Shi'i sources to prove this. Having established its legality, they then

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