Zawaj al Misyar (Temporary Marriage)

Salaam Alaikum/Peace be upon you,

Given it is February and it was Valentine's Day two days ago, I found it interesting or shall I say timely that something about marriage was mentioned or brought up in Imam Asi's Khutbah yesterday.

\"And then we have in this past week something that has appeared in Saudi Arabia in the public domain and that's called Zawaj al Misyar. That's a type of marriage in which a man enters into a type of contract with a woman and they have a relationship for...it could be a day, it could be a week, it could be a month, it could be a year, whatever, and this type of marriage is supported by the Saudi regime and its' scholarly mouth pieces. This type of marriage is in violation of an Ayah in Quran that says, (Recitation of Ayah 21 from Sura An Nisa in Arabic). Wives have taken from you (the husbands) a most solemn and the most reinforced pledge! That's not most solemn and most reinforced when it is confined to a certain time period, whether it comes from Saudi Arabia or anywhere else - the Ayah is there!\"

Imam Muhammad al-Asi (Friday Khutbah, 2/15/19 \"Defeat Is Not Allah\")

That's what I always thought. That marriage means forever! Marriage means a commitment between man and woman with the exchanging of vows and the entering into a contract that requires an intention on both sides, that of the husband and that of the wife of being committed to each other for life or for as long as the two live. This is why the decision of a man and a woman to marry is a very serious one, a very important one, and one that should involve careful consideration. Most couples who enter their marriage on the day of their Nikah or wedding day don't take their wedding vows seriously when they say them; nor do they articulate them consciously or with a thinking mind and a pulsating heart. Not only do I say this, the literature says this. Authors who have written books and other writings about marriage have said the same.

That's why I could never believe when people were saying that it is, that \"Mutah\" or temporary marriage as practiced primarily by people who refer to themselves as Shia Muslims or Muslims who follow the Shia School of Thought is permissible or that Allah allows it. No He does not! His words, His Ayah proves that No, He does not.

My best,

Najwa