Hadith of Mut'ah and Sura Muminun

The Hadith of Mut'ah and Sura Muminun is famous recorded oral tradition among Muslims (Arabic: "Hadith") is about the legality of temporary marriage (Arabic: "Nikah Mut'ah") and a certain verse in the Qur'an.

Narration

Timing:This verse is present in two chapters: Al-Maarij (verse 29-31) and Al-Muminun (verse 6). By consensus of Shi'a Fact|date=February 2007 and Sunni scholars, both verses were revealed in Mecca, before the Migration to Medina [From The Meaning of the Qur'an: Al-Maarij: [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/maududi/mau23.html] , Al-Muminun: [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/maududi/mau70.html] [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/maududi/mau69.html] ] .

Views

This hadith is primarily of notable since it is very prominently referred to when discussing Hadiths regarding the legality of Nikah Mut'ah. The version reported by Ibn Abbas is included in Sunan al-Tirmidhi [Tirmidhi Hadith, Number 942; ALIM CD-ROM Version] .

The hadith is basically arguing that the quoted verse restricts sexual intercourse to wives and captives, and thus became Nikah Mut'ah unlawfull, implying that a woman in a Nikah Mut'ah is not a wife.

hi'a view

Shi'a view this hadith to be a forgery, arguing that there is a consensus that Nikah Mut'ah was practised long after the revelation of these verses. Shi'a also argue that Muhammad would not verdict anything that would go against the Qur'an, hence he would not sanction Nikah Mut'ah if it has been previously forbidden by a Qur'anic verse. Thus, Shi'a conclude that the mentioned verses can not possibly imply that Nikah Mut'ah is forbidden, specially considering that the verse sanctioning it was revealed in 7 AH.

unni view

Sunnis agree that Mut'ah was practiced till at least 7 AH, meaning that both verses came before the practise was forbidden by Allah.

He also stated [Tayseer al Bari Sharh Bukhari] :

presentScholar|Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi|20th writes in his discussion of the verse of Surah Mu'minun [Tafheem ul Qur'an [http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/mutah/tafheem_ulquran_v8_p12.jpgVolume 8 page 12 footnote 4] ] :cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|Some commentators have proved the prohibition of Mut'ah (temporary marriage) from this verse. They argue that the woman with whom one has entered into wedlock temporarily, can neither be regarded as a wife nor a slave girl. A slave girl obviously she is not, and she is also not a wife, because the legal injunctions normally applicable to a wife are not applicable to her. She neither inherits the man, nor the man her; she is neither governed by the law pertaining to 'iddah (waiting period after divorce or death of husband), divorce, sustenance nor by that pertaining to the vow by man that he will not have conjugal relations with her. She is also from the prescribed limit of four wives. Thus when she is neither a 'wife' not a 'slave girl' in any sense, she will naturally be included among those 'beyond this', whose seeker has been declared a 'transgressor' by the Qur'an.

This is a strong argument but due to a weakness in it, is difficult to say that this verse is decisive with regard to the prohibition of Mut'ah. The fact is that the Holy Prophet enjoined the final and absolute prohibition if Mut'ah in the year of the Conquest of Makkah, but before it Mut'ah was allowed according to several authentic traditions. If Mut'ah had been prohibited in this case, which was admittedly revealed at Makkah several years before the migration, how can it be imagined that the Holy Prophet kept the prohibition in abeyance till the conquest of Makkah?

Note that his definition of Nikah Mut'ah does not match the Shi'a twelver definition. Some Sunnis scholars view that Nikah Mut'ah was forbidden at repeated occasions, being legal between those periods (More on this below).

In a comment not directly related to this verse, presentScholar|Al-Qurtubi|13th writes [Tafsir al-Qurtubi Volume 5 p. 32, Surah an-Nisa] :

References

ee also

*List of Muslim reports