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Draft:Mu'atat Marriage

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Muʿāṭāt Marriage (Arabic: النكاح المعاطاتي) refers to a marriage concluded without the recitation of the customary formula (sigha). Based on a fatwa attributed to Muhammad Muhsin Fayd Kashani, the mutual consent of the parties suffices for the actualization of nikah, provided that a word indicating the establishment of the matrimonial bond is also expressed.

Should Mu'atat marriage be deemed valid, the contract would entail all the conditions and requirements of a standard marriage contract, with the sole exception of the obligation to recite the specific formula of offer and acceptance (ijab and qubul). According to Muhammad Jawad Fazel Lankarani, the view asserting the invalidity of Mu'atat marriage holds greater weight among Shi'a jurists. The significance of the discussion on Mu'atat marriage lies in the potential legitimization of unions formed without a formal contract and without observing the specific role of verbal formulas in creating the marital bond.

Scholars maintain that even if the validity of Mu'atat marriage were accepted, White marriage would remain illegitimate due to the absence of essential conditions. In Mu'atat marriage, requisites such as the dower (mahr), permission of the father, and other legal requirements of the contract—including the payment of nafaqa by the husband and submission by the wife—are still mandatory; conversely, white marriage is typically conducted without observing these conditions and without the formal commitment of the parties.

Problem Statement and Significance

Mu'atat marriage is defined as the mutual expression of the will to establish matrimony by a man and a woman without the recitation of the specific formula and words.[1] The significance of this concept lies in its potential to legitimize certain unions that some Muslims enter into without a formal contract or an officiant, thereby disregarding the role of specific wording.[2] However, researchers note that the specific term Mu'atat does not appear in Quranic verses or hadiths; rather, jurists employ this term to describe transactions performed without a formula.[3] It is generally believed that the concept of Mu'atat was first applied in discussions regarding sale (bay'), with Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari being the first jurist to examine it through reasoned argumentation.[4] According to Muhammad Jawad Fazel, a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, Mu'atat signifies a transaction conducted without a specific contract; consequently, if Arabic wording is stipulated for a transaction but the contract is executed using Persian words, it is still classified as Mu'atat.[5]

Jurists hold divergent opinions regarding the legal status of Mu'atat marriage:

Theory of the Validity of Mu'atat Marriage

According to a fatwa attributed to Muhammad Muhsin Fayd Kashani, a Shi'a jurist of the 11th/17th century, the consent of both parties is sufficient to establish marriage, provided that a word indicating the creation of the matrimonial bond is uttered; mere mental consent without verbal expression is widely considered invalid.[6] Arguments supporting this theory reference traditions, Qur'an 5:1 (which mandates the fulfillment of covenants), and Qur'an 4:3 (which establishes the permissibility of marriage).[7]

Theory of the Invalidity of Mu'atat Marriage

According to Muhammad Jawad Fazel, the view asserting the invalidity of Mu'atat marriage holds greater weight within Imami jurisprudence.[8] Key arguments include:

Difference Between Mu'atat Marriage and White Marriage

Researchers argue that if Mu'atat marriage is deemed invalid, White marriage lacks any religious justification and constitutes an instance of Fornication.[14] Some posit that white marriage may, in certain instances, be equated with Mu'atat marriage, specifically where parties intend to cohabit as a couple—often announcing their union via celebration or rings—without observing the specific formula.[15] Conversely, a group of scholars maintains that White marriage is illegitimate from an Islamic perspective, even if Mu'atat marriage were hypothetically permissible. Their reasoning includes:

  1. In white marriage, there is no act indicating the formal expression of matrimony.
  2. While Mu'atat marriage still necessitates conditions such as the mahr, permission of the guardian, and other essential requisites, white marriage typically disregards these conditions.
  3. In the event of separation in a Mu'atat marriage, a religious divorce is necessary; however, in white marriage, no such commitment exists.
  4. In Mu'atat marriage, obligations such as Tamkin and nafaqa are binding, whereas these commitments are absent in white marriage.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ḥusaynī Adyānī, "Nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī", p. 106.
  2. ↑ Afrāsīyābī, "Taʾammulī dar ḥukm-i nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī yā izdūvāj-i safīd dar fiqh".
  3. ↑ Ḥusaynī Adyānī, "Nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī", p. 104.
  4. ↑ Ḥusaynī Adyānī, "Nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī", p. 105.
  5. ↑ Fāḍil Lankurānī, Muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ, 1395 Sh, p. 19.
  6. ↑ Fāḍil Lankurānī, Muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ, 1395 Sh, p. 21.
  7. ↑ Sutūda and Mīrdādāshī, "Inshāʾ-i fiʿlī-yi nikāḥ; justārī dar ʿadam-i mashrūʿīyyat", p. 131.
  8. ↑ Fāḍil Lankurānī, Muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ, 1395 Sh, p. 59.
  9. ↑ al-Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 30, p. 153.
  10. ↑ al-Khūʾī, Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī, 1418 AH, vol. 33, pp. 129-130.
  11. ↑ Jaʿfarzāda Kūchakī and Ṣiddīqī, "Barrasī-yi tafāwut-hā wa ham-sūyī-hā-yi izdūvāj-i safīd bā nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmīyya", p. 12.
  12. ↑ al-Nāʾīnī, Munyat al-ṭālib fī ḥāshiyat al-Makāsib, 1373 AH, vol. 1, pp. 80-81.
  13. ↑ Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, "ʿAdam-i jaryān-i muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ", p. 6.
  14. ↑ Jaʿfarzāda Kūchakī and Ṣiddīqī, "Barrasī-yi tafāwut-hā wa ham-sūyī-hā-yi izdūvāj-i safīd bā nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmīyya", pp. 8-9.
  15. ↑ Afrāsīyābī, "Taʾammulī dar ḥukm-i nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī yā izdūvāj-i safīd dar fiqh".
  16. ↑ Jaʿfarzāda Kūchakī and Ṣiddīqī, "Barrasī-yi tafāwut-hā wa ham-sūyī-hā-yi izdūvāj-i safīd bā nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmīyya", pp. 8-9.

References

  • Afrāsīyābī, Farhang. "Taʾammulī dar ḥukm-i nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī yā izdūvāj-i safīd dar fiqh". In Majalla-yi Fiqh, Ḥuqūq wa ʿUlūm-i Jazā, no. 6, vol. 2, 1396 Sh.
  • Jaʿfarzāda Kūchakī, ʿAlī Riḍā and Fāṭima Ṣiddīqī. "Barrasī-yi tafāwut-hā wa ham-sūyī-hā-yi izdūvāj-i safīd bā nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmīyya". 2nd International Conference on Religious Research, Islamic Sciences, Jurisprudence and Law in Iran and the Islamic World, 1398 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Adyānī, Sayyid Abū l-Ḥasan. "Nikāḥ-i muʿāṭātī". Dū-faṣlnāma-yi Maqālāt wa Barrasī-hā, no. 74, 1382 Sh.
  • Ḥusaynī Ḥāʾirī, Sayyid Kāẓim. "ʿAdam-i jaryān-i muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ". Faṣlnāma-yi Fiqh-i Ahl-i Bayt (a), year 17, no. 66 & 67, 1390 Sh.
  • al-Khūʾī, Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim. Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī. Qom: Muʾassasat Iḥyāʾ al-Āthār al-Imām al-Khūʾī, 1st ed., 1418 AH.
  • Sutūda and Mīrdādāshī. "Inshāʾ-i fiʿlī-yi nikāḥ; justārī dar ʿadam-i mashrūʿīyyat". In Majalla-yi Ḥuqūq-i Islāmī, no. 32, 1391 Sh.
  • Fāḍil Lankurānī, Muḥammad Jawād. Muʿāṭāt dar nikāḥ. Qom: Markaz-i Fiqhī-yi Aʾimma-yi Aṭhār (a), 1396 Sh.
  • al-Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb. al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 4th ed., 1407 AH.
  • al-Nāʾīnī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Munyat al-ṭālib fī ḥāshiyat al-Makāsib. Tehran: al-Maktabat al-Muḥammadīyya, 1373 AH.
  • al-Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Edited by ʿAbbās Qūchānī and ʿAlī Ākhūndī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 7th ed., 1404 AH.
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