From: ali@babar.inria.fr (Ali Atie)
Subject: RE: Temporary marriage
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Originator: Mughal@Romeo.Caltech.Edu (Asim Mughal -Moderator)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 16:08:00 GMT


[Postmarked: 12 Jul 92 10:32:44 GMT ]

assalam alaikum,

Sister Sandra writes
>>  Ali writes
>>   "O you who believe! do not forbid the good
>>    things which Allah has made lawful for you and do not exceed
>>    the limits; surely Allah does not love those who exceed the
>>    limits." (5:87)

>Quite frankly, I fail to see how 5:87 proves your point.  But is only
>the Shia scholars who support this mut'ah that use this ayah.  But it seems
>to me they have made a dangerous independent ijtihad, since they are
>quoting this ayah OUT OF CONTEXT.

I refered to the above verse not to support temporary marriage, but
to affirm that nobody (Companion or Mujtahed) has the right to
forbid things which Allah(SWT) and his Prophet(sAaas) has made lawful 
for us. In addition, the companion Abdullah Ben Masoud refered to the
same verse when the Prophet(sAaas) made the temporary marriage lawful.
Follows is the proof:
On the authority of Abdullah Ben Masoud: 
we were fighting with the Prophet(sAaas) and
we hadn't our wives with us, so we asked the Prophet(sAaas): could we 
make Khissia (Khissia was imposed on slaves before the Islam). 
The Prophet(sAaas) forbidded that, then he allowed us to marry a woman
for a fixed time giving her a dowry. Thus, Abdullah read the above
verse (5:87).
                   Bukhari 3/85, 3/159
                   Musnad Ahmad  1/420

>>"And do not marry the idolatresses until they believe, and ....

>I fail to see how this proves your point.  In arabic the meaning is
>clear: Do not marry mushrik women.  But what has this to do with
>mut'ah?

I refered to the above verse to say that any marriage to jews
or christians women (temporary or ordinary) was not lawful for
a long time (revelation ---> until a while before Hujjat Al-Wadaa),
and since in Khaibar there were only jews woman, so Khaibar was not
the convenient place to forbid temporary marriage (it was already 
included in forbidding marriage with jews). It's worth to note that what is 
known by Mut'a was called Temporary marriage by the Prophet(sAaas) 
(see Hadith above and others), so it's one of the two kinds of marriage, 
and when marriage to jews was forbidded, we understand that it was about 
the two kinds of such marriage.

The Prophet(sAaas) who was used to choose the convenient circumstances 
to make his point, did he failed to do it here ? No, but those who tried 
to justify the Fatwa of Umar fabricated a Hadith missing the above weakness
which shows without any doubt, that there is something wrong.

>As a woman and a Muslim, Sunni, alhamdulillah, I fail to see any
>kind of redeeming value in temporary marriages.  Maybe it will
>keep men away from zeena, but a traditional marriage is quite
>sufficient to do that.  If the man can't marry, he should fast.

There is two reasons that makes the temporary marriage lawful
1. A married man was forced to live far from his wife for some 
   time (which was the case of the Prophet(sAaas)'s companions,
   and it is always the case in any war (Afghanistan, ....).
2. A poor man who has not the means to pay a house, and to 
   spend money on his wife. What is the solution for this man ?
   Do you think it is so simple to say "he should fast" !!
   Did the Islam (auzu billah) gives priviledge to rich men
   and asks poor men to fast, or not marry at all ? The sex instinct
   is a real feeling which Allah(SWT) created in men and women
   and asked them to obey Him in using it, not to not marry at
   all if they cannot afford sufficient money to do that.

The Islam which brings a solution to each problem did not
let this problem without any solution, this is my view of 
 the Islam.
It is worth to note that if any of the above circumstances is 
not fulfilled, a muslim should not make temporary marriage, he
should rather make an ordinary marriage which is without any
doubt much better and more advised.
I'm not defending the temporary marriage for personal reasons, 
but to show that it is allowed under some circumstances. 
i've never maked it since walhamdulillah, Allah(SWT) gave me
the means to marry permanently, but this should not lead me
to forget those who have not any means to marry.


Your brother Ali Muhammad Atie'.

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