First: Nikāḥ al-Mut῾ah refers to a marriage with a predetermined time period, at the end of which the woman is released, either by gift or simply by the expiration of the time period. Its pillars differ from a legitimate Islamic marriage. The essential pillars of Mut῾ah are: the woman, the contract, the time period, and the dowry.

Second: Nikāḥ al-Mut῾ah differs from a valid Islamic marriage in many ways, including:

• It includes a fixed time limit for the marriage.
• It does not entail inheritance between the spouses.
• It ends automatically once the set time period expires, without the need for divorce.
• The woman receives a portion of the dowry based on the time she was available to the man.
• A man can engage in multiple Mut῾ah marriages exceeding the limit of four wives.
• A man can repeatedly engage in Mut῾ah with the same woman countless times.

Third: Many ᾽aḥādīth indicate that Mut῾ah was prohibited during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It was initially permitted for a brief period, then abrogated and made unlawful. Among the narrations are:

1. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn ῾Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his brother ῾Abdullah narrated from their father that ῾Ali (may Allāh be pleased with him) said to Ibn ῾Abbās: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade Mut῾ah and the meat of domestic donkeys at the campaign of Khaybar.”
2. Narrated from ᾽Iyās ibn Salamah from his father who said: “The Messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted Mut῾ah for three days during the campaign of ᾽Awṭās, then prohibited it.” This was in the 8th year of Hijrah, during the conquest of Makkah.
3. Narrated from Al-Rabī῾ ibn Sabrah al-Juhanī from his father who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted us to engage in Mut῾ah, so I and another man went to a woman from Banū ῾Aāmir. She appeared to be a young, beautiful virgin. We offered ourselves to her, and she asked what we would give. I said my cloak, and my companion said his cloak — which was better than mine, though I was younger. She looked at both, and then said, ‘You and your cloak are enough for me.’ I stayed with her for three days. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Whoever has any of these women with whom he has engaged in Mut῾ah should let her go.’”
4. Narrated from Al-Rabī῾ ibn Sabrah who was related from his father who said that he accompanied the messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said: “O people! I had previously allowed you to engage in Mut῾ah with women, but Allāh has now forbidden it until the Day of Judgment. So, whoever has any of them should release her, and do not take back anything you have given them.”
5. Narrated from ῾Abd al-Malik ibn al-Rabī῾ ibn Sabrah from his father from his grandfather who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed us to engage in Mut῾ah during the year of the conquest when we entered Makkah, then before we left, he forbade it.”
6. Narrated from Al-Rabī῾ ibn Sabrah from his father who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited Mut῾ah and said: ‘It is unlawful from this day until the Day of Judgment. Whoever gave anything (to the woman) should not take it back.’”
7. Narrated from Abū Naḍrah who said: “I was with Jābir ibn ῾Abdillāh when someone came and said: Ibn ῾Abbās and Ibn al-Zubayr have disagreed about the two types of Mut῾ah: the Mut῾ah of Ḥajj and the Mut῾ah with women. Jābir said: ‘We used to practice both during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but ῾Umar forbade us, so we did not return to them.’”
8. Narrated From ῾Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Nu῾aym al-᾽A῾rajī who said: “A man asked Ibn ῾Umar about Mut‘ah with women while I was present. He became angry and said: ‘By Allāh, we were not adulterers or fornicators during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).’”

Fourth: As for the claim that it remained permitted until the time of ῾Umar, based on the ḥadīth of Jābir (in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim): “We used to engage in Mut῾ah for a handful of dates or flour during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abū Bakr, until ῾Umar forbade it concerning the issue of ῾Amr ibn Hurayth.” — this does not contradict the abrogation and prohibition. Not all Companions were aware of the prohibition, so some continued to practice it out of being unaware of the abrogation. One example is ῾Amr ibn Hurayth, who entered into a Mut῾ah contract with a woman and she became pregnant.

In Muṣannaf ῾Abd al-Razzāq, narrated from ῾Aṭā᾽ from Jābir who said: “We practiced Mut῾ah during the time of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, and ῾Umar — until in the final days of ῾Umar’s caliphate, ῾Amr ibn Hurayth did Mut῾ah with a woman (whose name Jābir mentioned but I forgot it), and she became pregnant. When ῾Umar found out, he summoned her and asked about it. She said yes. He asked, ‘Who witnessed it?’ ῾Aṭā᾽ said: I do not know if she said, ‘My mother or my guardian.’ He replied: ‘You should have had other witnesses,’ fearing deceit.”

Also in Muwaṭṭa᾽ Mālik and Sunan al-Bayhaqī (wording from Mālik): “Khawlah bint Ḥakīm entered upon ῾Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and said: ‘Rabī῾ah ibn ᾽Umayyah engaged in Mut῾ah with a woman and she became pregnant.’ ῾Umar rushed out dragging his garment, ascended the pulpit, and said: ‘This is Mut῾ah. Had I previously made an announcement (about its prohibition), I would have stoned him.’”

This confirms that any occurrence of Mut῾ah among some Companions after the Prophet’s death was due to being unaware of the abrogation.

Additionally, some invalid marriage contracts were also referred to as Mut῾ah. For example, in Muṣannaf ῾Abd al-Razzāq: “῾Urwah said that Rabī῾ah ibn ᾽Umayyah ibn Khalaf married a woman from Madinah with the testimony of two women, one of whom was Khawlah bint Ḥakīm, a pious woman. Suddenly, the woman became pregnant. Khawlah informed ῾Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who stormed up the pulpit dragging the edge of his garment in anger, and said: ‘It has reached me that Rabī῾ah married a woman from Madinah with the testimony of two women. Had I spoken about this earlier, I would have stoned him.’” He regarded this as an invalid marriage due to the existence of female witnesses.

Fifth: There is a clear difference between Mut῾ah marriage and Misyār marriage. Misyār marriage includes all the required conditions of a valid marriage: offer and acceptance, witnesses, and even the presence of a guardian. It also entails lineage and inheritance. However, in Misyār, the wife voluntarily waives some of her rights, such as maintenance or housing. In contrast, Mut῾ah is not a real marriage at all — it is a means of exploiting women and their honor. It is worse even than concubinage.

Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr