From: hjhejase@mailbox.syr.edu
Subject: Mut`ah
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Originator: Mughal@Romeo.Caltech.Edu (Asim Mughal -Moderator)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 04:54:00 GMT


[Postmarked: Wed, 15 Jul 92 15:05:07 -0400]
[500 lines]

Salamu `alaykom
Here is an article that will educate and shade some understanding on the subj
subject  of Mut`a. The arguments are taken from a study done by Br. Kareem
Ispahani, and includes references from both Sunni as well as from Shi`a
sources. The aim of posting this article is to eliminate the ignorance and
the imagination that some brothers have on this net about this subject.

Temporary Marriage, Legal or Illegal...
The author examined twenty different translations of the Qura'n by many different tran
translators. The Sura and the Ayah that was examined was the 4th Sura and
the 24th Ayah. Next a list is shown:
 1. Ahmad, Ali:" Then give those of these women of you have enjoyed, the
agreed dower." (The Qura'n 4:24)
 2. Ahmad, Ali S.V.Mir:" And as much of them ye had mut`ah with them, give 
them their dowries." (The Qur'an 4:24)
 3. Amir-Ali, Hashim:" Apart from these, allowed to you are others that ye seek to e
    seek to expend on them your property as husbands, not as paramours."
    (The Qura'n 4:24)
 4. Arberry, Arthur J:" Such wives as you enjoy their by, give them their wages
    apportionate." (The Qura'n 4:24)
 5. Asad, Mohammad:" But lawful to you are all (women) beyond these, for you
    to seek out, offering them of your possessions taking them in honest
    wedlock and not in fornication." (The Qura'n 4:24)
 6. Bell, Richard, B.D,D.D:" What is beyond that is allowable for you to
    seek (to obtain) by means of your property (taking them however)
    under ward and not committing debauchery; those of them whom ye enjoy
    means fit pay them their stipulated, and there will be no blame upon
    you." (The Qura'n 4:28)
 7. Dawood, N.
 7. Dawood, N.J:" Give them their doweries for the enjoyment you have had
    of them as a duty." (The Qura'n 4:24)
 8. Irving, T.B.:" Since you have thereby sought enjoyment with them, give
    them their marriage portion as stipulated." (The Qura'n 4:24)
 9. Jalali, Sayyid M. Hussein:" Thus those of them (women) whom you enjoy
    give them their wages as a duty. And there is no harm in whatever you
    agree upon it after the duty. Indeed God is Knowing and Wise." (The
    Qura'n 4:24)
10. Khalifa, Rashad Ph.D.:" This is God's decree for you, and you are
    permitted to marry any woman beyond these categories, provided you
    pay them their due dowry." (The Qura'n 4:24)
11. Mohammad Ali, Maulana:" And lawful to you are (all women) provided
    that you seek (them) with your property, besides those, taking them 
    in marriage and not committing fornication." (The Qura'n 4:24)
12. Maududi, S.Abdul A. La:" Then you should pay them their doweries as
    an obligation for the enjoyment of conjugational relations with 
    them." ( The Qura'n 4:24)
13. Pickthall, Muhammad M:" And those of whom you seek consent (by
    marrying them) give unto them their portion as a duty." (The
    Qura'n 4:24)
14. Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad:" And all the married women, except those 
    women of the unbelievers whom you capture in Jihad. These laws are
    Allah's ordinance for you. Besides these, all women are lawful to
    you provided you seek them in marriage, not committing fornication.
    And those women with whom you have done mut`ah, give them their
    appointed doweries. There is no sin on you if you mutually agree
    to vary the dowery after what was agreed upon. Allah is Knowing,
    Wise." ( The Qura'n 4:24)
15. Rodwell, J.M:" And give those with whom ye have cohabited their
    dowery. That is the law." (The Qura'n 4:24)
16. Sale, George:" And for the advantage which ye receive from them,
    give them their reward, according to what is ordained." (The
    Qura'n 4:24)
17. Shakir, M.H:" And all married women except those whom your right hands
    possess, (this is) Allah ordinance to you; and lawful for you are (
    all women) besides those, provided that you seek (them) with your
    property, taking (them) in marriage not committing fornication. Then,
    as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed;
    there  is no blame on you about what you mutually agree after what is
    appointed, surely Allah is Knowing, Wise." ( The Qura'n 4:24)
18. Sher Ali, Maulawi:" And allowed to you are those beyond that ye seek
    them by means of your property, marrying them properly and not
    committing fornication." (The Qura'n 4:25)
19. Yousif Ali, Abdullah:" Also (prohibited) are women already married,
    Except those whom your right hand possess: These hath God ordained
    (prohibitions) against You: Except for these, all other are lawful
    provided ye seek (then in marriage) with gifts from your property.
    Desiring chastity, not least. Seeing that ye derive Benefit from
    them, give them their dowries at least prescribed; but if after
    dowries prescribed, ye agree mutually (to vary it) their is no
    blame on you and God is All Knowing and All Wise." (The Qura'n 4:24)
20. Zafrulla Khan, Muhammad:" That you seek them in marriage, by means
    of your property, not committing fornication." ( The Qura'n 4:25)

       After listing all these translations, one finds that some translat-
    ors translate the word mut`ah to mean marriage but from the next 
presented definitions, it means enjoyment.

Definitions:
   Three dictionaries were consulted, these are the following:
   1. Author is Muhammad Ibn Mukarram Ibn Ali Al Ansari also known as
      Ibn Munzur died in 711 A.H., gave the following definition of mut`ah:
      It is to enjoy a woman and not intending to live with her... Mut`ah
      was for a certain period permissible in Islam but the it was forbidden.
      It is nowaday allowed according to the Shi`ah faith."
      (Lisan Al-`Arab, v.3 pp. 432-3).
   2. The second dictionary is compiled by Muhammad Murtazha Zabidi, died
      in 1205 A.H. He defines mut`ah as follows:" Mut`ah is to marry a
      woman and to enjoy her for a few days and then to leave her. That
      used to be the practice in Mecca for the three days when they went
      to Hajj with the Prophet. Then God forbade that until the day of 
      judgement. Men used to make contract with women for a certain period
      of time giving her something to marry her and then leaving her without
      marriage or divorce." (Taj Al-`Arus, v.5 pp. 507).
   3. The last dictionary is a contemporary one. It is The Hans Wehr
      Dictionary of Modern Arabic, edited by J.M. Cowan. According to this
      dictionary mut`ah means enjoyment. Mut`ah nikah temporary marriage,
      usufruct marriage contracted for a specific time and exclusively
      for the purpose of sexual pleasure (Islamic Law)." (The Hans Wehr
      Dictionary of Modern Arabic, pp. 840).

    After looking at these definitions, one can come to the concluding
   definition. The root of the word mut`ah means enjoyment. However, when
   it is taken from the technical point of view, it means temporary marriage.
   In contemporary times, it is used solely for sexual gratification, but 
   we can infer from the previous definitions that this was not always the
   case. We can also gather from these definitions that mut`ah was accepted
   by all Muslims previously, at some point in Islamic history, but now
   it is a controversial issue and is only accepted by the Shi`a school of
   thought.

    Next, two commentarries are presented: one from the Sunni point of view
 and the other from the Shi`a point of view.

 Sunni Commentary:
    The first commentary ia an old one called Jami' Al Bayan Fi Tafsir
 Al Qura'n by Muhammad bin Jarir al Tabari died in 310. Al Tabari says:"
 The commentaries of these verse differ. Some say that it refers to permanent
 nikah. Which means whenever or whomever you married and had intercourse with
 the woman; give them their wages as duty meaning their dowries." (He 
 supports this view with 5 hadiths). Then, he says," others say it means who ever 
 you enjoy, among them give then their wages for your enjoymeny not for
 marriage as it is required." (He supports this view with 11 hadiths). He then
 continues" we have proved in other books that mut`ah is not valid marriage
 and it is haram. What is reported by Obey Ibn Ka`b and Ibn Abbas, that
 they have added to the verse the phrase, "to (for) and appointed time"
 cannot be reliable because it does not exist in the Qura'n and no one is
  allowed to add to it without a reliable Hadith." (Jam`a al Bayan fi
 Tafsir al Qura'n, v.5, pp.8-10).
    The second commentary is a contemporary one by Muhammad Izzat Darwaza.
 He says," this verse is subject to many different commentaries and Hadith.
 Among them is Istemta` refers to intercourse which would be permissible
 after contract and dowry. Also nikah mut`ah which is a contract between a 
 man and a woman for a certain period to enjoy her for some wages. When the
 period is over the contract is dissolved without divorce. One is allowed
 to extend the period again by a new wage. This was common among Arabs
 before Islam. This verse nor any other can bear the validity of nikah
 mut`ah. It is important to know that dowry is not for intercourse but
 rather for emphasis on spiritual unity. My heart is comfortable with what
 Sunni leaders say that this verse refers to marriage and emphasizes the
 importance of marriage relationships and abrogates the custom of
jahiliyyah before Islam. Therefore, mut`ah is not valid marriage." (Al
 Tafsir ul Hadith, v.9, pp. 52-56)

Shi`a Commentary
   One of the old Shi`a commentary written by Shaykh Al-Tusi who died in
  460 A.H. is as follows. "Ibn Abbas and Suday both say that mut`ah is for
  stipulated period and this is what we believe. Because the term Istimt`a
  whenever it is used means only temporary marriage.
    Don't you see that when a person says that a person believes in mut`ah
  and the other does not believe in it, in both cases mean that this 
  they mean this particular contract. (Sorry, I messed up the previous
line... omit "mean that this"). One should not think that verse five and 
 six in sura Al-Mu'minoon in which the Almighty says:" those who guard
 their private parts, except before their wives or those whom their right
 hands possess, for their are surely not blamable." (The Qura'n 23:5,6),
 because we say a mut`ah w woman is a wife but 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cont. Mut`ah


Salamu `Alaykom
  Here is a continuation of my posting...
  Shi`a Commentary...Cont.
   One of the old Shi`a commentary written by Shaykh Al-Tusi who died in
   460 A.H. is as follows. "Ibn Abbas and Suday both say that mut`ah is for
   stipulated period and this is what we believe. Because the term Istimt`a
   whenever it is used means only temporary marriage.
   Don't you see that when a person says that a person believes in mut`ah
   and the other does not believe in it, in both cases they mean this 
   particular contract. One should not think that verse 5 and 6 in Sura
   Al Mu'minoon in which the Almighty Says:" those who guard their private
   parts, except before their wives or those whom their right hand possess,
   for their are surely not blamable." (Qura'n 23:5,6), because we say a 
   mut`ah woman ia a wife but not all rules of wives apply to her such as
   divorce etc... For the rules differ from each wife (marriage) to
   another.
   Don't you see that if a Muslim woman becomes a Kafir the marriage dissolves
   without divorce. We believe the same applies to man, if he becomes a 
   Kafir. As far as the waiting period is concerned, she has to observe it.
   The child is a legitimate child like any other child of a legitimate
   marriage. Moreover, since a mut`ah woman is a wife there is no
   contradiction between the two verses.
   The term Ajr i.e. wage is synonymous to mahr or dowry. It would be
   obligatory to pay the whole appointed amount within the contract. This
   contract is valid when all conditions are met.
   As far as Hadith is concerned, if the Prophet had forbidden mut`ah none
    would dare contradict the Qura'n. Thus, the Hadith is Khabar Wahid,
   which means narrated only through one channel, and so being inconsistant
   in report. Therefore, some say that the Prophet forbade it in the year
   Khabar other say it was forbidden in the year Fatah. The best proof is
   what Omar said, "there were two kinds of mut`ah at the time of the
   Prophet and I forbid them and punish upon them." The Khabar shows that
   mut`ah was permissible during the time of the Prophet and Omar forbade
   them based on his own opinion. Other wise he would have attributed this
   prohibition to the Prophet and not to himself." (Tafsir Al-Tibyan, v.3
   pp. 165-167).

      Next, in a different posting will add another commentary before
later on go to the Hadiths that are in common between Sunni and Shi`a
sources.
      Dear sister, bear with me and please send me a message if you
 are receiving my articles. Thank you. Hussein

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cont. Mut`ah



The second Shi`a commentary is a contemporary one. It is by Muhammad Hussain
Tabatabi'e. He quotes many Hadiths on Mut`ah marriage and refutes those
who accuse this principle in Shi`a Fiqh (jurisprudence).
   He says that if mut`ah was not nikah it should be zina and it is clear
that mut`ah was performed in Mecca before Hijra and in Medina after Hijra.
That would imply that the Prophet, God forbid, allowed zina on those 
occasions. Then the verse five and six of Sura Al Mu'minoon would abrogate
the validity of mut`ah. Which was before the verse of mut`ah in Sura Nisa.
This would abrogate all Meccan verses which forbid zina; especially those
who believe that it was the Prophet who abrogated the mut`ah many times.
This means in fact that abrogation was repeated by the Prophet. It is not
in a proper manner to repeat abrogations.
   In addition, we see that those who contracted mut`ah marriage were
known companions of the Prophet and how could they ask permission from
the Prophet to do such an action if it was not permissible? In short,
mut`ah in Qura'nic language is marriage and is not zina. Whether we say
it was abrogated by other verses as majority of Sunni believe or to say
that it was not abrogated as Shi`a believe, which is according to the
teaching of the Ahl-ul Bayt. (Al Mizan, v.4, pp.290-310, v.15 pp. 12-18).

Hadiths-
  A. Sunni References:
      From Sahih Bukhari, vol. 7, p.16 Cairo edition-
    1. Hadith reported by Ibn Abbas that he was asked about Mut`at-ul-Nisa
       and he said it was allowed.

    2. Jabir Ibn Abdullah and Salama Ibn Akwa said, "We were in the army
       when the messenger of Allah (P) came to us and allowed us to 
       perform mut`ah.

      From Sahih Muslim Vol. 2 p. 750. English (Lahore edition):
    1. Abdullah (b Masud) reported: We were on an expedition with the
       messenger of Allah (P) and we had no women with us. We said 
       should we not have ourself castrated? The Prophet (P) forbade
       us to do so. He, then, granted us permission to contract temporary
       marriages for a stipulated period giving her a garment. Abdullah,
       then, recited this verse, " O those who believe, do not forbid
       what God has made lawful for you and do not exceed the limit. Indeed
       God does not like those who exceed the limit." (The Qura'n 5:87).

    2. Jabir Ibn Abdullah and Salama Ibn Akwa said:" there came to us
       the envoy of Allah's messenger (P) and said, " Allah's messenger
       (P) has granted us the permission to benefit ourselves." That is,
       to contract temporary marriage with women."

    3. Salama Ibn Akwa and Jabir ibn Abdullah reported, " The Prophet (P)
       came to us and permitted us to contract temporary marriage."

    4. Ibn Juraih says that:" Ata` reported that Jubair ibn Abdullah came
       to perform `Umra and we came to his abode and then people asked
       him about different things. They mentioned temporary marriage where
       upon he said:" yes we have been benefiting ourselves by this
       temporary marriage during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(P) and
       during the time of Abu Bakr and `Umar."

    5. Jaber Ibn Abdullah reported: We contracted temporary marriage giving
       a handful of dates and flour for some days during the lifetime of the
       Prophet (P) and during the time of Abu Bakr, until `Umar forbade it
       in the case of `Amr Ibn Huraith." Note the original Arabic publicat-
       ion of Muslim reads (al Ayyam) i.e. for some days, but the translation
       gives the meaning wrongly as "Dower".

    6. Abu Nadr reported: While I was in the company of Jabir Ibn Abdullah;
       a person came to him and said that Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zubair differ on
       two types of mut`ah (tamatu' of Hajj and tamatu' of women) whereupon
       Jabir said, we used to do these during the lifetime of Allah's
       messenger (P). `Umar then forbade us. So we did not revert to them."


     These were some Hadiths from Sunni sources, and my next posting I'll
     add Shi`a sources. And at the end, the conditions for peforming mut`ah
     and Allah is Shahed from there on...


Shi`a Hadith-
      The Shi`a school of thought have four main sources of Hadith. These
   are the following:
      Al-Kafi by Shaikh Abu J`afar Muhammad Ibn Y`aqoub Kuleini, died in
   328 A.H. In this book Kuleini has different chapters on Mut`ah and the 
   condition of mut`ah like the mahr and the waiting period. The first
   Hadith quotes Imam Baqer emphasizing that mut`ah is allowed in the 
   Qura'n, referring to the verse (4:24). He also narrates reports from
   Imam `Ali. "If son of Khattab was not forbidden mut`ah, no one would
   dare to commit adultry but an evil person."
      The interesting Hadith is the debate between two scholars as reported
   by Kuleini. (Hadith no. 8, v.5, p.450). That Abu Hanifa asked Sahib 
   Al-Taq. Sahib Al-Taq also is known as Abu J`afar. Q shall denote the
   question and A shall denote the answer.
     Abu Hanifa  Q. What do you say about mut`ah, is it halal?
     Abu J`afar  A. Yes it is.
     Abu Hanifa  Q. Why then don't you order your women to do mut`ah
                    and live on that?
     Abu J`afar  A. Not every Halal is desirable. People are different
                    in rank and have different goals. O! Abu Hanifa,
                    what do you think of beer is it halal?
     Abu Hanifa  A. Yes it is.
     Abu J`afar  Q. Why don't you let your women sit in the store and
                    live on the beer...
     Abu Hanifa  Q. The verse of the Qura'n forbids mut`ah [23:5,6],
                    and the Hadith of the Prophet forbids that.
     Abu J`afar  A. O! Abu Hanifa the verse of the Qura'n is Mecci and
                    the verse of mut`ah is Madani and your report is
                    unique and therefore is rejected. (Al Kafi, v.5
                    pp.448-462).

       The second source of Shi`a Hadith is "Mann la Yahduruhu Al-Faqih"
      by Muhammad bin Ali bin Babwayh al-Qummi who died in 381 A.H. He 
      reports 34 Hadith starting with the saying of Imam Al Sadiq," Who
      does not believe in our return and in our mut`ah is not from us."
      Imam Al Ridha says that Mut`ah is not allowed except for those
      who know it." (Mann la Yahduruhu Al-Faqih, v.3 pp. 291-298).

       The third source is Kitab Tahdhib Al-Ahkam by Muhammad Ibn Hassan
      Al Tusi who died in 460 A.H. He reports 89 Hadiths regarding Mut`ah.
      He quotes Shaikh Al Mufid saying that, "Whoever wants to do mut`ah
      it is recommended for him to have witness with the Khutba announced
      to the public. However, if he does not do that there is no clear
      ...( I messed up the previous sentence... Please delete there is no
      clear....). However, if he does not do that, the marriage is valid"
      Al Tusi follows saying that the proof that mut`ah is valid is to
      know that the Prophet (P) allowed that and that there is no clear
      evidence to forbid it. Therefore, we have assumed that it was not
      forbidden fro the verses of mut`ah and Hadith. He reports from
      Imam Al Baqir saying that Layth had questioned him.
        Layth  Q. What do you say on mut`ah of women?
        Imam   A. It is allowed by Allah in His book and through His
                  Prophet (P) and thus it is halal until the day of
                  Judgement.
        Layth  Q. How do you say so while `Umar has forbidden it?
        Imam   A. Even if `Umar has done so.
        Layth  Q. I don't think you should allow what `Umar has forbidden.
        Imam   A. Then you follow the saying of your friend and I shall
                  follow the saying of the Prophet (P).
          Then Abdullah Bin `Umar interferes and asked the Imam," Would
       you like your women, your daughter, your sisters, your nieces to
       do that? Then,
          Imam Al Baqir turned his face away from him. (Kitab Tahdhib
       Al Ahkam, v. 7 pp. 248-272).

          The fourth source of Hadith is "Al-Istibsar" by Muhammad Ibn
       Hassan Tusi who died in the year 460 A.H. He quotes many Hadith
       on Mut`ah. Among them the Hadith of Imam Al Sadiq saying that
       mut`ah is allowed by the Qura'n and by the Sunnah of the Prophet
       (P)." (Al-Istibsar, v.3 pp.141-154).


           These controversial Hadith in which it indicates `Umar to be
      the first one who forbid it or Imam `Ali by itself shows some
      inconsistancy because none can forbid the saying of the Prophet (P).
      Therefore if the Prophet (P) had forbidden it before, there would
      not be any need for others to forbid it. `Umar and `Ali did not say
      that zina is forbidden as it is clearly was forbidden by the Prophet
      (P). So Imam `Ali and `Umar did not need to forbid it. Thus there is
      inconsistancy in the report about `Umar and `Ali.


          Next, I will report the conditions to perform mut`ah according
      to the J`afari Fiqh (Shi`a School of Thought).

        1. The condition in this marriage is Ejab. That is, for the woman
           to say "mattatuka or jawajtuka or ankahtuka nafsi" -meaning
           I have given marriage of myself to you- and the qubool (acceptance).
           That is the acceptance of the contract, from a (man) who is
           eligible for that, by saying "qabiltu".

        2. The second condition is to mention the mahr.
        3. The third condition is to mention a specific time which cannot
           be longer than the life span of the couple. (e.i., regular life
           span) otherwise, the contract would become a permanent marriage.
           However, if one does not mention the mahr, the `Aqd is invalid.

          Rules governing Mut`ah....
        Rule #   If one forgets to mention the time period, there are
                  different opinions whether the marriage would turn to a
                 permanent marriage or not. But in most likelihood, the 
                 marriage is invalid.

        Rule #   It is Haram to contract mut`ah marriage with infidel
                 woman who is not from the people of the book. Likewise
                 a slave woman over a free woman (who is the wife) without
                  the free woman's permission. Also the daughter of the
                 brother and the sister of her aunt. (This refers to both
                 maternal and paternal nieces). It is disliked to have
                 mut`ah with a virgin girl and with a prostitute. it is
                 precautionary obligation to avoid mut`ah contract with
                 a woman known as a prostitute.

        Rule #   Mut`ah is not limited to any number. It is allowed to
                 contract mut`ah as many as one man wishes, as there is no 
     		 limitation for
                 no limitation for slaves. There is no limit for mahr, no
                 minimum, no maximum. The mahr can be an action such as
                 sewing a cloth or teaching how to write and likewise. It
                 also can be right to waive such as right for tahjeer (
                 which is to acquire land by a sign like laying bricks 
                 or mrks to mark the land). If the husband waives the period
                 of mut`ah before intercourse, he is obliged to pay her
                 half the dowry. However, if she dies or he dies or the
                 period is over the actual dowry cannot be reduced even
                 before intercourse.

         Rule #  Woman owns the whole mahr by the contract when she submits
                 herself to mut`ah. However, if she does not submit for
                 some period of time, the mahr would be reduced in that
                 percentage whether her refusal is for logical reason or
                 not. Except the menstruation period and similar cases
                 during which intercourse is not allowed. more...

         Rule #  If it appears that the contract is invalid, then she
                 would not be eligible for mahr before intercourse. 
                 However, if it happens after intercourse she would be
                 eligible for the less of the two: Mussamma and Mithl.
                 (Appointed or named amount is mussamma; mithl is the
                 market value). This is all on the presumption that she
                 was ignorant about the fact. Therefore, if she knew
                 that the contract would be invalid then she would not
                 be eligible for anything.

          Rule # The child would be considered of the husband if he had int
                 intercourse with her. Even if he ejeculates outside the
                 vagina; it is like intercourse. The same is true if one
                 ejeculates at the vagina. The husband cannot deny the child
                 if there is a possibility of being from him. However, if he
                 being certain of his denial that the child cannot be of him,
                 the child should be considered so within li`an (special
                 denial) unless the husband had accepted it before....

          Rule # If the husband waives the period to the woman on the
                 condition that she does not marry a certain man both
                 the waiving and the condition are valid. Therefore she 
                 has to fulfill the promise. However, if she marries the
                 named man out of disobedience in most likelihood the
                 marriage would be valid.

         Rule #  The non pregnant woman has to wait after the appointed
                 time (is over) or the waived (period), for two complete
                 menstruation periods. It is not enough to wait for one.
                 If the woman was in the age of those who menstruate but
                 she cannot, then her period is forty five days. In the
                 case of death (of husband), her period is four months
                 and ten days if she is a free woman....

         Rule #  It is not allowed for the husband to renew the contract 
                 of mut`ah for neither permanent marriage nor temporary
                 marriage before the appointed time is over.

           . 
           .
           .
         Rule #  There is no divorce and there is no li`an in mut`ah.
                 They do not inherit from each other except when they put
                 condition for both of them or one of them. In case of the
                 condition, the condition should be honored.
                 (Minhaj Al-Salihin, v.2, pp.296-299).

              These rules put some understanding to the issue and eliminate
        misconceptions about ---several men marrying same woman simultaneously-
        or any distorted ideas that roam arround the issue.
              If we compare the Sunni Fiqh, we can see that though they
        declare mut`ah as an invalid form of marriage, they do not declare
        it as zina. This shows their doubt on their belief of the
        invalidity of mut`ah marriage.

               Dear brothers and sisters, if you feel you still need more
        discussion about the issue, I recommend writing to the following
        address where a prominant Shi`a scholar can open a discussion with
        you and answer your many questiond you still have.
                "The Islamic Community,
                  P.O. Box 53398,
                 Chicago, IL 60653."