Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As salam u alaikum,

i have one question that "CAN U PLEASE TELL ME WHY THE MUTTAH (TEMPERORY MARRAIGE) IS HARRAM PLEASE ANSWER ONLY FROM THE GLORIOUS QURAN. I THINK IT CAN NOT BE HARRAM BECAUSE THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF MUTTAH IS "REDUCTION IN ADULTRY" PEOPLE WILL NOT COMMIT ADULTRY AS ADULTRY ITSELF IS HARRAM. SO IT WON`T BE FAIR THAT ADULTRY AND MUUTAH ARE HARRAM.

PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION SOON, MAY GOD BLESS YOU, AND MAY GOD MAKE YOU, ME AND EVERY ONE ON THE RIGHT PATH.

WASSALAM.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Why is Muta haraam?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

‘Mutah’ was a term used for a form of ‘temporary’ marriage prevalent in the Days of Ignorance before Islam, where a man would ‘temporarily’ contract a woman for a fixed period, fulfil his lust with her, and divorce her at the end of the agreed period without any responsibility towards the woman whatsoever. This mutually agreed period would be at an agreed and negotiated price between the man and the woman, for a fixed period of time which could be for a couple of hours, or days, or weeks, etc. as negotiated.

The society in the Days of Ignorance before Islam had tried to give a legal ‘veil’ to the abomination of ‘zina’ and prostitution by various means, and the ‘mutah’ was one of such veils! Islam removed all such veils from the abomination of ‘zina’ and declared that the only legal way for a man and woman to enjoy conjugal relationships was for the man and woman to be legally wedded to each other in the ‘nikaah’ contract, where the man would shoulder the responsibility of a proper marriage.

Your Question: CAN U PLEASE TELL ME WHY THE MUTTAH (TEMPERORY MARRAIGE) IS HARRAM PLEASE ANSWER ONLY FROM THE GLORIOUS QURAN.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 1-7:

1 The Believers must (eventually) win through

2 Those who humble themselves in their prayers;

3 Who avoid vain talk;

4 Who are active in deeds of charity;

5 Who abstain from sex

6 Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess; for (in their case) they are free from blame

7 But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors

Your Question: I THINK IT CAN NOT BE HARRAM BECAUSE THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF MUTTAH IS "REDUCTION IN ADULTRY" PEOPLE WILL NOT COMMIT ADULTRY AS ADULTRY ITSELF IS HARRAM. SO IT WON`T BE FAIR THAT ADULTRY AND MUUTAH ARE HARRAM.

Beloved brother in Islam, if any fair-minded person just looks at the system of ‘mutah’, he would conclude that it is nothing but a manifestation of the abomination of prostitution and nothing else. Which righteous parent or guardian would allow his daughter or sister to temporarily have sex with a man in exchange for a material reward?

Prostitution is described as an act where a woman ‘temporarily’ engages in sexual activity with a man in return for a negotiated fee. If one asks oneself what is the difference between prostitution and ‘mutah’, one would find it extremely difficult to differentiate the two terms!

Islam recognized the evils of the temporary ‘mutah’ contract, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) declared the ‘mutah’ absolutely ‘haraam’ for the believers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.527 Narrated by Ali bin Abi Talib

On the day of Khaibar, Allah's Messenger (saws) forbade the Mut'a (i.e. temporary marriage), and the eating of donkey-meat.

Your Question: SO IT WON`T BE FAIR THAT ADULTRY AND MUUTAH ARE HARRAM.

The deen of Islam balances the rights, duties and responsibilities of the man and the woman united in the sacred bond of ‘nikaah’ or marriage. In the concept of ‘mutah’, the rights of the woman are severely compromised, where, just as in prostitution, a woman is given a one time fee for fulfilling the lust of the man; and the man simply walks away without any responsibility towards her after he has fulfilled his desire! The concept of ‘mutah’ would be absolutely unfair to our sisters and daughters in Islam; and whatever is unfair cannot be a part of the deen of Islam!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan