Temporary marriage is a system in some muslim cultures where a man and a woman enter into a contract of marriage for a specified period of time one day, 2 years, etc as a way of legitimizing mistresses and prostitutes or even. Contrary to popular myth, it is usually not men but women, particularly divorcees and widows, who seek muta marriage. Mutah marriage in iranian soceity socialfamilypersonal. The book focuses on dispelling three elements of the u. In this day and age, doing mutah is nothing but legalised prostitution.
This is what islam says about nikah mutah temporary marriage. The marriage of mutah from the book questions on jurisprudence masail fiqhiyya by abd alhusayn sharaf aldin almusawi. Reasons for this encouragement was this that prostitutions was. So it seems mutah or sigeh is an appropriate remedy. Mutah is arabic word which means enjoyment or pleasure. However, prostitutes and pimp use mutah to legitimise their merchandise. A timebound marriage is done by saying the word, nikah which is normally used for regular marriage. You will have to have some money for it and then find someone who is willing to do this with you. Popular destinations for girls sent for mutah are the arab countries in the persian gulf.
Mutah marriage means that a man marries a woman either muslim or from the people of the book and specifies how long the marriage will last, for example five days, or. Muslim, in the chapter on the mutah marriage, in the book of marriage, in the first volume of his sahih has reported from jabir b. Bismillahassalam o alaikumfollowing is what i heard and read about iranian society. Mutah is not compulsory or obligatory but the holy quran considers it lawful. Marriage to a billionaire series by jennifer probst. Not exactly sure what is meant by part of culture, since this is a religious practice, and not a national one. A documentary about how mutah have become prostitution in iran. The following are shia hadith from the most important of the four shia books of hadith, alkafi.
In short, mutah is equivalent to a boyfriendgirlfriend type relationship, test as many fish as you like, then when you find the right one, do the real nikah. Mutah, or nikah mutah, is a temporary marriage in shia islam that ends after a fixed period of time. This is a scholarly description of what mutah is and briefly covers the arguments for and against its validity. We thus notice that many temporary marriage contracts are in fact illegitimate, and it is certainly an institution which can be easily abused, like. Sigheh marriages in modern iran chapter 1 temporary marriage. According to tradition, the prophet approved of such shortterm alliances under certain circumstances, such as during wartime or while on pilgrimage.
I use the word sigheh rather than ezdevaje movaqat in this book in order. As shahla haeri revealed in her 1989 book, law of desire published in the uk by i b tauris, many muta contracts in iran are transformed into permanent, loving relationships. In that way, marriage on the street corners of tehran is a shining success. The religious beliefs and practices of shiahs differentiate and segregate them from the entire muslim ummah. First, it challenges the myth that iran is an irrational state incapable of thinking about its foreign policy interests, arguing instead that the islamic republic is incredibly. Islamic dating guide muslim marriage islammutahmutah. In iran, temporary marriage, which was originally called sigheh a renewable. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. But temporary marriage, or sigheh, as it is known in persian, does occur in iran, so i suppose the answer is yes. In muhammads time, a muslim could pay a woman for temporary marriage, which would last a few hours, days, weeks, or months depending on the agreement. The difference between the two is that mutah is done by using the words of mutah.
Jennifer klinec went to iran to learn about persian food and ended up. The mutah pimps take advantage of any opportunity in which women and children are vulnerable. As an iranian, is mutah contract marriage really a part. Nikah mutah means temporary marriage which means a man marries a woman for a specific amount of time. Though they are yet to become legal, chastity or morality houses are religiously sanctioned establishments that enable couples to engage in intimate relationships by performing sigheh temporary. Jannah, the idea of a mutah marriage just defies the whole marriage process itself. To get married in utah, you need to apply for a marriage license and have the marriage solemnized. Ahmad abdullah salamah foreword the religious beliefs and practices of shiahs differentiate and segregate them from the entire muslim ummah. During my stay in iran in 2005, i carried out a fieldwork on shii temporary marriage. A novel based on the true stories of temporary marriage shahram, nadia on. Cambridge core middle east studies temporary marriage in iran by claudia yaghoobi.
In what countries is nikah mutah temporary marriage legal. The caller of the prophet of god p came to us and said. For example, following the recent earthquake in bam, orphaned girls have been contracted out in tehran where iranian and foreign traders meet. The shiahs have specific beliefs about the attributes of allah, the attributes of allahs messengers, the position and mission of prophet muhammad pbuh, and the reliability of the quran. When the time is up, a woman must wait two menstrual periods before marrying again. In an unusual tradition, in iran you can specify the length of your marriage, from a few minutes to 99 years. He sold them for horses and weapons muslim book 019, number 4345. The iranian clerics argued that the only way to solve the problem of prostitution is to bring it under state. Exposing temporary marriage nikah mutah or mutah marriage part 1 of 2 duration. Scrutiny of mutah by shias people get angry when mutah is described as religious prostitution.
Such marriages are still legal amongst the shiahs, and exist in persia to. The adherents of sunni islam have been vocal in criticizing the shia practice of temporary marriage called muttah. Concubinage or marriage of pleasure in the bible this is chapter 9 from the book islam in the bible by professor ali haydar thomas mcelwain. It can also be used if youre divorced so you can have a relationship before deciding if you want to remarry. 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. Temporary marriage is one of oddest loopholes in islamic system in iran. Such a name is of course the epitome of orwellian terminology, and the irony of the name should not be lost to anyone.
The shiahs have specific beliefs about the attributes of allah, the attributes of allahs messengers, the position and mission of prophet. Muhammad and nikah almutah temporary marriage as a form of prostitution the prophet of islam allowed his followers to practice a form of prostitution called nikah almutah. I was a temporary bride life and style the guardian. A timebound marriage termed in islamic jurisprudence as alnikah almuwaqqat is a marriage entered into for a fixed time. In arabic, this practice of temporary marriage is called muta pleasure. Muhammad and nikah almutah temporary marriage as a form. This is not real islam and mutah is not a islamic concept. Mutah marriage means that a man marries a woman either muslim or from the people of the book and specifies how long the marriage will last, for example five days, or two months, or half a year, or many years. Before revolution, there were about 60 thousand prostitutes alone in tehran.
The four pillars of muta muta, temporary marriage in. Temporary marriage in shii iran contemporary issues in the middle east 9780815624837. If you were a really rich man and also pretty famous, youd probably get a lot of women. At first, i was taken aback by the word marriage from a man id only known so briefly. Mutah exposed, iran opens brothels, shia are allowed to do. Temporary marriage and the economy of pleasure tehran bureau. By shokouh mirzadegi there have been news reports about the mushrooming of chastity houses, particularly in holy cities, and their increasing popularity with male foreign tourists visiting iran. Or temporary marriage this is a chapter taken from, to be with the truthful by muhammad altijani alsamawi. Unbelievable information about muta in iraq duration. This marriage of muta is referred to both in the hadith literature and, in much more detail, in the books on jurisprudence fiqh. The young couples relationship was officially sanctioned by irans islamic. But in the book law of desire, shahla haeri, a boston university.
X research source a mutah marriage is used so you can speak to a potential spouse or hang out before a permanent marriage. Marriage in islam is of utmost importance as it is upon the lawful union of a man and a woman that society grows strong and that moral is preserved. You can apply for a marriage license at any county clerks office. But many fewer are aware of its rough equivalent in the sunni world, namely the misyar, or travelers marriage. The iranian government recently passed legislation which created legal whorehouses, brothels which would be officially liscensed under law as chastity houses. A bloganalysis of firsthand experiences within islam, a temporary marriage generally implies a shortterm marriage betw een a man and a. The tehran official center for temporary marriage is the name of a new site launched to propagate the concept of sighe, a temporary marriage arrangement sanctioned in shiism. Visit the utah city and county page on the states website for links to local government pages, and look for a link that says something like county clerk. It refers to the shia belief in temporary marriage in which a man pays a woman and it becomes permissible for the man to have sexual relations with her for a fixed period of time. It is a way for single men and women, divorced iranians and precocious teens to date. Mutah is an old islamic practice for the men who used to travel long distances and needed someone to please with. 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.
A marriage of muta is a marriage which the contract stipulates will last for a fixed period of time. Temporary marriages might sound like a modern solution, but in iran. It is also mentioned that there exists prostitution houses in tehran operating under the guise of mutah, despite the fact a twomonth waiting period has to be observed after the expiry of the union. In tehran, you can choose a marriage that lasts for three. Recently government started promoting muttah marriage. Over the recent years, tens of other similar sites have sprung, all with the goal of facilitating temporary marriages, and with legal permits. This marriage is a normal islamic marriage with the exception that the husband and wife give up several rights by their own free will, such as living together, equal division of nights between wives in cases of polygyny, the wifes rights to housing, and maintenance money nafaqa, and the husbands right of homekeeping, and access etc. Marriage on the street corners of tehran by nadia n. The present work is based on an ma dissertation completed in 1974 under the direction of professor abu lqasim gurji of the faculty of theology at tehran university most of the persian text was published under the title izdiwaji muwaqqat. Since no verse of mutah is found to be abrogated, shias believe that it is lawful and they.
Its was documented in a recent book on history of homosexuality in iran. Hughes in his dictionary of islam writes that mutah or usufruct enjoyment is a marriage contracted for a limited period, for a certain sum of money. The only difference is that one is periodic and the other is permanent. It is compulsory for a man to pay mahr dowry after their temporary marriage is over. Getting into a mutah relationship is actually not that easy. The only anthropological book on the topic is law of.
According to the head of the tehran province judiciary, mutah traffickers target girls between and 17, although there are reports of some girls as young as 8 and 10, to send to arab countries. Temporary marriage mutah in islamic law by sachiko murata. The marriage can last just a few hours or several years. Temporary marriage in iran by claudia yaghoobi january 2020.
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