Draft:Verse of Mut'a
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | al-Nisa (Qur'an 4) |
| Verse | 24 |
| Juz' | 5 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Jurisprudential |
| About | Permissibility of Temporary Marriage in Islam |
Qur'an 4:24, known as the Verse of Mutʿa, is 24th verse of Sura al-Nisa which refers to the permissibility of Temporary Marriage (Mut'a).[1] According to exegetes, the term "istamtaʿtum" (Arabic: اسْتَمْتَعْتُم, "you have sought enjoyment")[2] in this verse refers to a marriage contract that has a limited duration.[3] Therefore, since the principle of the permissibility of temporary marriage has been established, the verse only states the obligation of determining and paying the Mahr (dowry).[4] According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, this verse was revealed in Medina. In those days, temporary marriage, which was called "Mut'a", was known among Muslims and was a common practice.[5]
| “ | وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۖ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُمْ مَا وَرَاءَ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ ۚ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
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” |
| “ | and married women, excepting your slave-women. This is Allah’s ordinance for you. As to others than these, it is lawful for you to seek [temporary union with them] with your wealth, in wedlock, not in license. For the enjoyment you have had from them thereby, give them their dowries, by way of settlement, and there is no sin upon you in what you may agree upon after the settlement. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-wise.
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” |
| — Qur'an 4:24 | ||
Some Sunni exegetes, relying on narrations from the Companions of the Prophet, consider this verse to be abrogated (mansukh). Referring to certain hadiths, they have stated that Mut'a was declared permissible twice during the time of the Prophet (s) and was prohibited twice.[6] They have also said that Mut'a was Halal until before the Battle of Khaybar and was prohibited during this battle; then, at the Conquest of Mecca, its permissibility was declared again by the Messenger of God (s), and after three days, it was declared forbidden for the last time until the Day of Judgment.[7] Based on this, the abrogation of the verse occurred through the Prophet of God, and Umar b. al-Khattab only declared it generally forbidden because some Muslims were unaware of it.[8]
Ibn 'Ashur, in the exegesis al-Tahrir wa l-tanwir, while examining the hadiths and noting the difference of opinion among the Companions regarding the permissibility of temporary marriage, concludes that the prohibition of Mut'a in various cases and the statement of its permissibility in other cases does not indicate the abrogation of this verse; rather, its permissibility is limited to necessity.[9] In contrast, Shi'a exegetes, relying on the consensus of narrators and exegetes from the Shi'a and Sunnis regarding the legislation of Mut'a and its permissibility during the time of the Prophet (s), did not accept the claim of abrogation. They state that the abrogation of a verse can only be proven by another verse or a Mutawatir narration, while the narrations upon which the claim of abrogation relies contain contradictions (idrab) in their content and are Solitary Reports (Ahad) which do not have the capacity to abrogate a verse.[10] Sayyid Hashim al-Bahrani in Tafsir al-Burhan quotes narrations from the Shi'a Imams which consider this verse to be an expression of the permissibility of temporary marriage.[11]
Muhammad Jawad Balaghi also, by examining Sunni and Shi'a narrative sources, seeks to prove that the prohibition of Temporary Marriage did not occur during the time of the Prophet (s), and the ban by Umar b. al-Khattab is not capable of abrogating the permissibility of Mut'a.[12]
In Sahih Muslim, a narration is also cited from Jabir b. Abd Allah al-Ansari stating that Mut'a was permissible during the time of the Prophet of God and during the era of Abu Bakr and until the middle of the reign of Umar, and Umar forbade it.[13]
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 335.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 4, p. 272.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 3, p. 53.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 335.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 4, p. 272.
- ↑ Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 1, p. 498.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, 1415 AH, vol. 3, p. 7.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, 1415 AH, vol. 3, p. 7.
- ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, Al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr, 1420 AH, vol. 4, p. 89.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 297.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, Al-Burhān, 1415 AH, vol. 2, p. 58.
- ↑ Balāghī, Ālāʾ al-raḥmān, vol. 2, pp. 75–80.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 296.
References
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa l-sabʿ al-mathānī. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.
- Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha, 1415 AH.
- Balāghī, Muḥammad Jawād. Ālāʾ al-raḥmān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Nashr-i Wijdānī, n.d.
- Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad Ṭāhir. Al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
- Ṭabarsī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
- Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq al-tanzīl wa ʿuyūn al-aqāwīl fī wujūh al-taʾwīl. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1407 AH.