Temporary Marriage in Islam
There are some fascinating narratives concerning mut’a (temporary marriage) from the time of the Prophet Muhammad contained in Sahih Muslim. One of the most illuminating is contained in Volume II, chapter DXLI, 3253 pages 706–707:
Rabi’ b. Sabra reported that his father went on an expedition with Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) during the Victory of Mecca, and we stayed there for fifteen days (i.e. for thirteen full days and a day and a night), and Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) permitted us to contract temporary marriage with women. So, I and another person of my tribe went out, and I was more handsome than he, whereas he was almost ugly. Each of us had a cloak. My cloak was worn out, whereas the cloak of my cousin was quite new. As we reached the lower or the upper side of Mecca, we came across a young woman like a young smart long-necked she-camel. We said: is it possible that one of us may contract temporary marriage with you? She said: What will you give me as a dower? Each one of us spread his cloak. She began to cast a glance on both the persons. My companion also looked at her when she was casting a glance at her side and he said: This cloak of his is worn out, whereas my cloak is quite new. She, however, said twice or thrice: there is no harm in (accepting) this cloak (the old one). So, I contracted temporary marriage with her, and I did not come out (of this) until Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) declared it forbidden.
Now this story is striking in three ways; first if temporary marriage really was a condition of usufruct (see below) wherein the woman was leasing rights to her sexual organs for the man’s pleasure then why did she choose the handsome man with the worn-out cloak? Secondly, it provides a fascinating insight into how to effect a pickup in 7th century Arabia and lastly, why is the narrator comparing her sexual attractiveness to that of a long necked she camel?
This latter point gives some credence to all of the camel jokes that were floating around the Middle East. For example: why is a camel called the ship of the desert? Because it’s filled with semen.
Better yet is the one about the Bedouin who is riding across the desert on his long necked she-camel when he is overcome with lust. Looking around he sees that he is alone in the wastes and decides to avail himself of the camel’s charms. So, he goes behind the camel, but he can’t reach her. In order to get access to her, he piles up a mound of sand to stand on. However, with the object of his desire now in his grasp, the camel takes a step forward. Frustrated, he pushes the mound of sand forward and mounts it again. Unfortunately, the camel takes another step forward. As he is repositioning the sand yet again, he hears a commotion. Looking up he sees a woman being chased by a man with a drawn sword. Springing to the defense of a damsel in distress he draws his sword and engages the would-be malefactor in combat and slays him. The woman, who is absolutely beautiful and exceedingly grateful to have been delivered from a fate worse than death says to the Bedouin: “Thank you for saving me. I will give you any reward you may desire; just name it and I will do it for you.” He says: “Would you mind holding this camel for me.”
There is a superb book on the subject of mut’a marriage called The Law of Desire by an Iranian woman Shahla Haeri published by I.B. Taurus & Co, London 1989.
I’ll let her define the pertinent aspects of muta’.
This form of temporary alliance was common at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, and many of his early converts were children of muta’ unions… The institution of temporary marriage was outlawed by the second Caliph, ‘Umar, who viewed it as fornication, a view perceived to be fallacious to Shi’i Muslims, who have continued to practice temporary marriage. The Shi’i and Sunni ‘ulama never ceased to argue about the legitimacy of temporary marriage…
Mut’a, an Arabic term has been defined as: (a) “that which gives benefits, but for a short while”; (b)”enjoyment,” “pleasure, i. e., to saturate”; and ( c)to have the usufruct of something” (Dikhuda 1959, 318). It is from the same root as mata’, meaning merchandise, goods, or commodity. In the case of a marriage, “A man agrees to give a woman something for a specified period in return for her sexual favors, with the understanding that there would be no marriage (nikah) in the beginning nor a divorce at the end” (cited in Murata 1974, 37; Shafa’i 1973, 13–15). Ideologically, the Shi’i doctrine distinguishes temporary marriage, mut’a, from permanent marriage, nikah, in that the objective of mut’a is sexual enjoyment whereas that of nikah is procreation. This fundamental conceptual and legal distinction is embedded in Shi’i assumptions concerning the “natural” differences between men and women…
Because any clear Qur’anic prescriptions or prophetic instructions were lacking, mut’a marriage was gradually conceptualized and given legal boundaries that defined its relation to permanent marriage during the period of transition following the advent of Islam (“Nikah” 1927,419). Rules and procedures regarding mut’a developed piecemeal and by analogical reasoning at a much later date. That is to say, although mut’a is regarded as having a divine origin, its procedure has been reconstructed by the Shi’i religious leaders within the framework of a contract of lease, and in relation to permanent and slave forms of marriage. Its present form is the outcome of frequent dialogues and debates among the Shi’i scholars, the most prominent of whom is the sixth imam, Ja’far-I Sadiq.
A contract of mut’a marriage has four basic components essential for its conclusion: the legal form of contract, the limitations of interfaith marriage, the duration of temporary marriage, and the consideration or payment…
Mut’a is a contract and like any other contract in Islam, it requires an act of offer, and acceptance which may be performed by either the man or the woman (Khomeini 1977, P#2363), and the ceremony may be performed by either the man and the woman themselves, or by a mulla…As distinct from the contemporary ulama, the classic Shi’i ulama have uniformly and consistently referred to mut’a woman as musta’jirih, the object of lease…
The time that a mut’a marriage shall last must be made quantifiably clear (e.g., two hours or ninety-nine years). One cannot designate one’s lifetime as the length of a mut’a marriage because this timing is imprecise…specifying the number of occasions of intercourse, jama’, such as “once or twice,” is not acceptable because the timing is indeterminate and imprecise. Should the partners, however, desire to be particular about their intercourse, they can do so by specifying the frequency within an unambiguous timetable in the contract…
Mut’a marriage payment, ajr, must be of measurable quality and unambiguous; otherwise, the marriage contract is void… “From a legal perspective,” says Imami, “structurally a temporary marriage is exactly like the lease of people”…The payment of consideration, as in the case of a contract of permanent marriage, is directly dependent on the act of penetration, dukhul…
A contract of mut’a marriage dissolves not by a divorce decreed by the temporary husband, but simply by the expiration of the mutually agreed time.
The book is fascinating and the practice of mut’a among the Shi’i widespread. Bahraini friends of mine used to go to Iran regularly to make mut’a marriage. They said that the best place to find women for mut’a was at the shrine of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Qom. They also stated that the more covered (mutajbeh) the woman was the better one’s chances of contracting a mut’a marriage. This intersection of sexual desire and religion seems to be universal.
