Temporary marriage in shii iran, nika mutah is a pre islamic tradition of. Muslim men are permitted to choose wives from among fellow believers or from among other people of the book. A description of the legal situation of muta mutah in shiism and the origin of this divergence between sunni and shii law on temporary marriage muta, temporary marriage in islamic law al islam. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the. Marriages between muslim women and nonmuslim men are not recognisedalong with hereditary rights.
However, islamic clerics in iran never stopped promoting the practice. A formal, binding contract verbal or on paper is considered integral to a religiously valid islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride. It is allowed to conclude a temporary marriage with a virgin if she is an adult, since she has the right to wed herself without the permission of her guardian, but other considerations should be taken into account like bad reputation the girl might acquire. The shiite institution of muta or sighe temporary marriage is quite well known, being the subject of an 1989 englishlanguage book by shahla haeri, law of desire. You will hear it from iran to syria, from saudi arabia to pakistan, and in my own country, lebanon. From the shiite point of view, temporary marriage was practiced before the advent of islam and was accepted. The couple agrees on the time period of the marriage, which in iran.
Marriage is a sacred relationship designed by god, and involves love and care towards ones spouse 30. The sunni orthodoxy, however, quickly abolished the muta. Iran wont outlaw marriage of under girls, as islamic. The question haunts us in the arab and muslim world. It is something akin to a vegas marriage for good muslims.
The temporary marriage is literally translated as pleasure marriage nikah mutaa and is for a limited amount of time. A guard conducts the rape the night before execution. The practice of temporary marriage has long been common in shiite muslim communities, especially in iran. In the islamic republic of iran, sex outside of marriage is a crime, punishable by up to 100 lashes or, in the case of adultery, death by stoning. It shows, skillfully, how a temporary or contractual marriage provides a practical, realistic solution to the needs of men and women in muslim society. The idea is that rather than having an affair, a man who wants to be sexually involved with. What are temporary marriages and how are they different from permanent ones. This presentation introduces the audience to the fascinating world of complex marriage and sex relations behind the veil. It is called nikah mutah, a fixedtime arrangement between a man and a woman that dissolves once the duration expires. Temporary marriage in iran to combat the problem of premarital sex in iran, leaders are reinstituting the practice of muta, or temporary marriage, in accordance with the teachings of muhammad. How to recapture the muslim worlds lost hope the atlantic. Mutta marriage or temporary marriage contract in shia islam. The next day, a marriage certificate is issued by a mullah, who sends it to the girls family, along with a box of chocolates as a wedding gift. An increasing number of muslims in britain are reviving the islamic practice of temporary marriage, according to a recent bbc television documentary focusing on the taboo subject.
The rejected motion had aimed to lift the legal marriage age to 16, and to enable marriage between and 16 only with the approval of a legal guardian. Nikah mutah, or temporary marriage, was popular in the ancient islamic world. I was a temporary bride life and style the guardian. Please see part ii for the full arabic text of the tradition. Law of desire is an excellent, scholarly account of the practice of temporary marriage among shiite muslims. Misyar temporary marriage in sunni islam daniel pipes. Bbc news middle east iran talks up temporary marriages. My homeland of great britain has heavily sanctioned iran and iran in turn has responded by making it very difficult for uk passport holders to.
Because of iran s fraught relationship with the west, getting into the country isnt exactly easy. Surprisingly, many forwardthinking people, including some islamist feminists and other womens rights advocates, believed that sigheh allowed men and women to maintain intimate relationships without fear of violating strict islamic social and moral values. Temporary marriages are allowable for men to seek prostitutes who are not slaves points for consideration. An islamic discourse on female sexuality by shahla haeri kjn a cold november day in 1990 the iranian president, hashimi rafsanjani, stunned his huge audience by a speech he delivered as his friday sermon. A marriage in islam must be between oppositesex partners who are not too closely related to each other. In a country where most marriages are for life and all divorces are a scandal, the idea of the contract or temporary marriage is beginning to catch on. You can read about the movement in iran in this article from fox news. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle.
It is quite common in iran for older men to marry children, as long as they pay the appropriate brideprice to the girls family. Temporary marriage is there a loophole for prostitution in islam. It will examine status of women and their role in pre islamic and islamic iran, focusing on the last thirty years when the veil became for many a symbol of liberation from the shahs corrupted world. Temporary marriage and the economy of pleasure tehran. I suggest you to read the book temporary marriage in islamic law written by sachiko murata. Iran culture anonymous in the west, temporary marriage is, basically, a contractual deal between a man and a woman who decide to be married for an agreed period of time varying from one hour to 99 years. The specifics of temporary marriage remain unclear and enigmatic till date due to which the practise still remains stigmatised among many of the muslims. Marriage customs vary across the world and across religions. In the book of mustadrakalwasa il shia authentic hadith book vol. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Joys of muslim women by nonie darwish in the muslim faith a muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child, consummating the marriage. Footnotes 1 vanity fair, september, 1935, and reproduced in abstract in the readers digest, december, 1935. Permanent marriage muta marriage or temporary marriage a shia of the male sex may contract a muta marriage with a woman professing the muslim, christian or jewish religion, or even with a woman who is a fireworshiper.
The 82page report, issued by iran s parliamentary research branch, is alarmed at the findings and recommends that the government push for the use of temporary marriages that may last no longer then the tryst itself. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Betwa sharma talks to one young american shiite whos on his 25th i do. It was the third caliph, umar, who regarded temporary marriage as condoning fornication and declared it banned. But many fewer are aware of its rough equivalent in the sunni world, namely the misyar, or travelers marriage. Muta marriage is valid type of marriage in shia jurisprudence.
Iran s interior minister, mostafa pourmohammadi, has started promoting temporary marriage as a solution to the countrys social problems. A man can also have any number of temporary marriages or sigheh, as they are known. The practice of temporary marriage is said to have existed during the lifetime of muhammad, who is believed to have recommended it. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. In tehran, you can choose a marriage that lasts for three. Roya kashefi of the association of iranian researchers works closely with womens rights activists in iran.
Temporary pleasure marriages offer unwed muslims a way around the islamic rule against premarital sex. In the case of temporary marriages in iran, the concept of marriage is being used as a means for males to get around religious rules of not having sex outside of marriage, something in the case. Muta marriage also known as nikah almutah is a marriage for a temporary but fixed period with a muslim female by a male muslim, after specifying dowar. Temporary wives generally face social ostracism, and their children may face difficulties in accessing public services such as education because if the marriage is unregistered, it may be hard for the mother to prove paternity. The early muslim sources are not consistent on this issue. From the shia point of view, temporary marriage was already practised before the advent of islam, and then also during the prophets lifetime. As it clashes with a cultural tradition favouring women being virgins until marriage, sigheh has been unpopular among iranians. Temporary marriage that is permitted in some socalled muslim societies is no more than a thinlyveiled term for prostitution which is strongly condemned by god in the quran. Javad afshar kohan and vaida thompson, recent trends of marriage in iran, the open family studies journal, 10. Temporary marriage in iran donaldson 1936 the muslim.
Currently, girls in iran may be legally married at although those as young as nine may be married with the permission of their fathers or a court. Temporary marriage, or sigheh, is one of the oddest and biggest. Perhaps for the first time in the history of islam, in clear, deliberate, and. The adherents of sunni islam have been vocal in criticizing the shia practice of temporary marriage called muttah. Temporary marriage is one of oddest loopholes in islamic system in iran, where people of all classes and degrees of religiosity pride selves on finding loopholes. Travel to iran hitchhiking, tinder and a 30day marriage. Istamtaa means contracting temporary marriage sahih muslim, english version, v2, chapter dxli titled.
Shia islam allows a man and woman to marry for a fixed period of time, ranging from an hour to a century. This custom is practiced among the shiites of iran. In iran, temporary marriage, which was originally called sigheh a renewable contract of marriage for a defined duration or muta, arabic term for a temporary marriage. Read temporary marriage in iran, the muslim world on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Iranian minister backs temporary marriage to relieve lust. Sunni and shiite muslims have long had differencesand temporary marriage is among them. According to boston university professor shala haeri, in her book law of desire. This form of marriage is a valid part of the shia doctrine and is being followed predominantly in iran and several parts of iraq after the fall of saddam hussain. But why are young british muslims adopting the practice now.