Chapter Eleven: The Truth: That Umar banned Mut’ah

 

The word Khalifa by definition means ‘to follow’ and the traditional thinking about the rightly guided khalifas is their rigid adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Book of God in all matters. To the typical Sunni adherent, none was so rigid in adherence that Umar ibn al Khattab and his reign is typically seen as an era that was the mirror image of the Shariah brought by Muhammad (s). The reality is very different. Contrary to such thinking Umar’s understands of the title Khalifa of the Prophet (s) and indeed its implications was very different to what is assumed of him. To Umar felt that as the Head of State he had the carte blanche authority to rule on matters in any matter he chose fit, to the extent that he was entitle to amend and overrule the Quran and Sunnah on matters wherein he felt his position would better. We wish to make it clear that we are in no way making a claim that cannot be corroborated, the fact of the matter is this was a reality, Umar’s mindset was that as the Khalifa deemed himself to be the law maker, with the right to alter the regulations of the Quran and Sunnah is he saw fit. Examples of his changes are as follows:

  • Surah Talaq of the Quran stipulates that there is no such thing as an impromptu triple divorce at one instance, rather the recital must take place over tree periods (Al-Qur’an Surah 65, verse 1), yet Khalifa Umar ruled that his subjects could divorce their wives by uttering the divorce recital in triplicate on one occasion (Sahih Muslim, Book 009, Number 3493).
  • Al-Qur’an Surah 65, verse 1 states that the final divorce must be made before two just witness, Umar did away with the need of witnesses altogether, after all he entitled a man to utter the divorce immediately, without the need for a time to reflect or summon witnesses.
  • Umar issued an edict that a maximum limit be set on Mehr (dower), and it took a woman to silence who pointed out that his ruling breached Surah Nisa verse 20 that sets no ruling (Jalalu’d-din Suyuti in his Tafsir-e-Durru’l-Mansur, vol. II, p.133; Ibn Kathir in his Commentary, Vol. I, p.468; Hakim Nishapuri in his Mustadrak, vol.II, p.177; and many more).
  • He ruled that Tayamum cannot be performed as an alternative to water, and was unconvinced by the testimony of the Sahabi Ammar ibn Yasir (Sahih Muslim Book 003, Number 0718) even though an entire verse on Tayamum is in Surah al Maida verse 5.

The willingness to alter the Deen as he saw fit was something that in many ways exemplified the attitude of Umar ibn al Khattab, so much so that his admirers have both accepted it and praised it Dr. Khursheed Ahmad from Delhi University for example wrote a book on the letters of Umar, and wrote:

“…The Ijtihaad of Hadhrat Umar was free and courageous. If he thought something to be correct or in the favour of Khilafaah, he acted upon it without any hesitation even if by doing so he had to go against the Sunnah of Rasool (saww) or Sunnah of Abu Bakr Siddique. And if the situation was not favourable, then even he would even neglect the commands and rules of Qur’an. For example the Qur’an stipulates that conquered lands be given to the Mujahideen (soldiers) who fought. But Hadhrat Umar made it a Waqf (Trust) for all the Muslims. And Hadhrat Umar took “Double Zakaat” from the Christians of Mesopotamia, while Qur’an says that “Zakaat” is only obligatory upon Muslims…”
“Hadhrat Umar kay Sarkari Khatoot” (The official letters by Hadhrat Umar), page 25, published by Idarah Islamiat, Lahore Pakistan)

In the same way that Umar gave himself the divine right to overrule the Shariah of Muhammad (s) on the above matters, he used the same ‘free and courageous’ thinking to outlaw both types of Mut’ah, even though they were blessings that had been showered upon the Ummah of Muhammad (s).

We have already read the fatwa of Ibn Abbas, that we shall now cite through the following chain of transmisson:

Abdulrazaq – Ibn Juraij – Atta said: ‘…Then Atta said: ‘I heard Ibn Abbas saying: ‘May Allah’s mercy be upon Umar, Mut’ah was permitted by Allah as a mercy for Muhammad’s nation, had he not prohibited it, no one would be in need of fornication except the pervert one’.

It has already been established that the Qur’an bore witness to the legitimacy of Mut’ah, and that it was originally halaal. All arguments about other verses abrogating the verse of Mut’ah have proven invalid. The only argument that remained was the belief that the Prophet (s) had abrogated it through his Sunnah, but this has to be ruled out as all of the hadeeths contradict one another on this issue. It is also well known that a large number of companions, if not the majority of them, continued to practice Mut’ah after the death of the Prophet (s). This leaves us with just one ground for the abrogation of Mut’ah the true ground: that it was “abrogated” by ‘Umar, who of course had no authority to do such a thing. This acknowledgement is made in Ahl’ul Sunnah’s esteemed work al Awail, wherein we read:

“The first to make Mut’ah haraam was Umar”

Kitab al-Awail, page 1 by Hilal al-Hasan al-Askari (Madina, Saudi Arab)

Indeed, the Sahaba deemed Umar to be a liar when it came to this issue. We read in Tafseer Kabeer page 41:

Ali said: “Had Umar not banned Mut’ah then the only person to fornicate would be a wretched person.”

Tafseer al-Kabeer, Volume 4 Page 41

We should remember that “Nida ul Islam magazine” in of one of the silliest articles about Mut’ah, writes about Razi:

Before we close this research, we refer to the words of Imam Alfakhr AlRazy in response to those who claim that ‘Umar added the prohibition of temporary marriage himself. So they declared him as an apostate and attributed apostasy to all who did not stop him: “all this is erroneous. All that is left to say is that temporary marriage was permitted during the time of the Messenger (saww.), and I prohibit it with what has been authenticated with me that the Messenger of Allah (saww.) prohibited it.

Yet Razi felt no problems narrating this hadeeth of Imam Ali (as). We ask the enemies of the Ahlulbayt (as): why do you disregard the words of Imam Ali (as) relied upon by Razi and take the words of Razi instead? In fact, these words of Imam Ali (as) are sufficient to destroy the claims of Razi and all other Umar’s advocates. We have already mentioned that Ibn Abbas discredited Umar’s fatwas on this subject. Another prominent companion Jabir bin Abdullah’s testimony refutes the assertion that the verse on Mut’ah was abrogated. We read in Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 205:

“Those who claim the verse was abrogated should be asked of the report in Sahih Muslim wherein Jabir stated ‘we contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of (tales or flour as a dower during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and during the time of Abu Bakr until ‘Umar forbade it in the case of ‘Amr b. Huraith“.

If Mut’ah was abrogated, then what compelled Jabir to say that is was practised during the reign of Abu Bakr? If Rasulullah (s) deemed Mut’ah to be abrogated then were the companions indulging in fornication under the cloak of Mut’ah during Abu Bakr’s reign? Was the Prophet (s) not sufficient to stop this terrible practice?

Imam Ibn Qayyim, the student of Ibn Tamiyah, recorded the view of a segment of Sunni scholars that the tradition saying that Mut’ah was prohibited and hence abrogated on the conquest of Mecca is not authentic rather it was Umar who stopped it of his own accord. We also read in Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 205 Dhikr Fatah Makka:

قيل : الناس في هذا طائفتان : طائفة تقول : إن عمر هو الذي حرمها ونهى عنا وقد أمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم باتباع ما سنه الخلفاء الراشدون ولم تر هذه الطائفة تصحيح حديث سبرة بن معبد في تحريم المتعة عام الفتح فإنه من رواية عبد الملك بن الربيع بن سبرة عن أبيه عن جده وقد تكلم فيه ابن معين ولم ير البخاري إخراج حديث في صحيحه مع شدة الحاجة إليه وكونه أصلا من أصول الإسلام ولو صح عنده لم يصبر عن إخراجه والاحتجاح به

“It has been said that there are two groups regarding it,: a group says that Umar was the one who prohibited it and Allah’s messenger had already ordered us to follow the path of the guided Caliphs, thus this group didn’t accept the authentication of Subra bin Mabad’s tradition regarding the prohibition of Mut’ah in the year of (Mecca’s) conquest because it is narrated by Abdulmalik bin al-Rabee bin Sabra from his father from his grand father, and he was criticized by Ibn Moin and Bukhari despite its need did not place this tradition in his Sahih (book) and it is a rule of Islamic rules, if it was authentic according to him (Bukhari) he would not have hesitated to record it”

It is clear that if Mut’ah’s abrogation was Sahih then Jabir would not have opposed Umar, and that if Rasulullah(s) outlawed it, the Companions would not have practiced it during the reign of Abu Bakr.

Umar’s own testimony that he banned both types of Mut’ah that were Halal in Islam

The greatest testimony to Mut’ah’s original permissibility, and to the crime of Umar can be gauged from his own testimony. In this regards we can rely on the following authoritative Sunni texts.

  1. Sahih Muslim, Book 007, Number 2801 & 2814
  2. Musnad Ahmed, Volume 1 page 52 Hadith 369
  3. Mustakhraj Abi Auwanah, Volume 7 page 159 Hadith 2713
  4. Mustakhraj Abi Auwanah, Volume 4 page 255 Hadith 2697
  5. Tarikh Madina, Volume 2 page 719
  6. Sunnan Saeed bin Mansur, Volume 1 pages 218-219
  7. Al-Mabsut by Sarkhasi, Volume 4 page 27
  8. Musnad al-Shamyeen, Volume 3 page 320 Tradition 2399
  9. Kanz al Ummal, Volume 8 page 93 Hadith 45715
  10. al-Muhazraat, Volume 2 page 214 part 12
  11. Tafseer al-Kabeer, Vol 4 pages 42 & 43
  12. Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 205
  13. Tafseer Qasmi, Volume 3 page 4

Imam of Ahle Sunnah Abu Auwanah Yaqoob bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Nisaburi al-Isfraeini (d. 316 H) popularly known as Abu Auwanah records the following in his book Mustakhraj Abi Auwanah, Volume 7 page 159 Hadith 2713:

۔۔۔ والأخرى متعة النساء فلا أقدر على رجل تزوج إلى أجل إلا غيبته في الحجارة زاد همام : فافصلوا حجكم من عمرتكم وقال فيه : فإنه أتم لحجكم وعمرتكم ۔۔۔

“Yaqoob bin Sufyan – Amr bin Asim – Hamaam – Qatadah – Abi Nadhra said: ‘I said to Jabir bin Abdullah that Ibn Abbas permits Mut’ah while Ibn al-Zubair prohibits it. He (Jabir) replied: ‘It is through me that this hadith has been circulated, I performed Mut’ah along with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and a verse was revealed regarding it but then when Umar bin al-Khatab become the caliph, he addressed the people and said: ‘The Quran is the same Quran, the apostle is the same apostle, and there existed two types of Mut’ah at the time of Allah’s apostle, I forbid both and will punish whoever performs them, one is the Mut’ah of Hajj, surely you have to separate your Hajj from your Umra, and the other is Mut’ah al-Nisa, if I catch any person who is married for an appointed duration (Mut’a), I will certainly stone him (to death).”

Yaqoob bin Sufyan: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Hafiz’ (Taqrib al-tahdib, v2, p337), Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p394). Amr bin Asim: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Seduq’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p738), Dahabi said: ‘Seduq’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v3 p269). Hamaam bin Yahya: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p270), Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v4 p309). Qatadah bin Da’ama: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Thabt’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p26), Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah Thabt’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v3 p385). Abi Nadhra al-Munder bin Malik: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p213), Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p295).

A similar account can also be read in Tarikh Madina via a variant chain of narration:

Muhammad bin Jaffar – Shu’aba – Qatadah – Abi Nadhra said: ‘Ibn Abbas (ra) used to permit Mut’ah whereas Ibn al-Zubair forbade it, thus I mentioned that to Jabir bin Abdullah and he replied: ‘Through me this hadith been circulated, we performed Mut’ah with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) but when Umar became the ruler he said: ‘Allah would allow His Messenger to do whatever He wished, verily the Quran’s revelation has been completed, thus perform Hajj and Umra as Allah ordered you in a complete form and perform wedlock with women in a complete form, if I catch a man who has performed temporary wedlock with a woman, surely I will stone him’’’.

Muhammad bin Jaffar: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2, p63). Shu’aba bin al-Hajaj: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1, p418). Qatadah bin Da’amah: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Thabt’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p26). Abi Nadhra al-Munder bin Malik: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p213).

The audacious statement of Umar has also been recorded in Mustakhraj Abi Auwanah, Volume 4 page 255 Hadith 2697 in a concise manner via a different chain of narration:

حدثنا يزيد بن سنان نا مكي بن إبراهيم، عن مالك، عن نافع، عن ابن عمر، قال: قال عمر رضي الله عنه: متعتان كانتا على عهد النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – أنهى عنهما: متعة الحج، ومتعة النساء

Yazid bin Sinan – Maki bin Ibrahim – Malik – Naf’e – Ibn Umar – Umar said: ‘Two types of Mut’ah existed during Prophet’s time, I prohibit both, Mut’ah of Hajj and Mut’ah al-Nisa’.

Yazid bin Sinan: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p325). Maki bin Ibrahim: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Thabt’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p211). Malik bin Anas: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Imam’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p151). Naf’e: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p239).

Imam of Ahle Sunnah Saeed bin Mansur (d. 227 H) records the following admission of Umar in his authority work Sunan Saeed bin Mansur, Volume 1 page 218 Tradition 852:

عن أبي قلابة ، قال عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه : « متعتان كانتا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، أنا أنهى عنهما وأعاقب عليهما : متعة النساء ، ومتعة الحج »

Saeed – Hushaim – Khalid – Abu Qulabah from Umar bin al-Khatab said: ‘Two types of Mut’ah were there during the time of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and I prohibit both and will punish whoever performs it, Mut’ah with women and Mut’ah of Hajj’

Imam Sarkhasi records:

وقد صح أن عمر رضي الله عنه نهى الناس عن المتعة فقال : متعتان كانتا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأنا أنهى الناس عنهما متعة النساء ومتعة الحج

“It is Sahih that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) prohibited the people from committing Mut’ah and said: ‘Two types of Mut’ah existed during the time of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and I prohibit people from them, Mut’ah al-Nisa and Mut’ah al-Hajj’”.

We read in Kanz al-Ummal:

“Two types of Mut’ah were present during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s), I prohibit them both, Mut’ah of Nisa and Mut’ah of Hajj”

In Tafseer Kabeer:

Umar said: “Two Mut’ah’s existed during Rasulullah’s lifetime and I now prohibit both of them.”

Tafseer al Kabeer, by Imam Fakhr ul-Razi, Page 42 & 43

We read in Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal:

Abi Nadhra said: ‘I said to Jabir bin Abdullah that Ibn Zubair prohibitis Mut’ah while Ibn Abbas allows it. He (Jabir) replied: ‘Through me this hadith has been circulated, we performed Mut’ah with Allah’s messenger (pbuh), and Abu Bakr, but when Umar become caliph he addressed the people and said: ‘The Quran is the same Quran, Allah’s apostle is the same apostle, and there were two types of Mut’ah during the time of Allah’s Messenger, one was the Mut’ah of Hajj whilst the other was Mut’ah regarding women’’.
Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Volume 1 page 52 Hadith 369

Shaykh Shu’aib al-Arnaout stated about the authenticity of this tradition:

“The chain is Sahih according to Muslim’s standards, the narrators are reliable and they are the narrators of the two Sheikhs (Bukhari & Muslim) except Abi Nadhra who is just a narrator of Muslim.”

Although the same account can also be found in Sahih Muslim but with a rather more eqviovocal wording, but when we read it in light of the admission of Umar (cited above), it is not difficult to understand meaning of the Sahih Muslim narration:

Abu Nadra reported: Ibn’Abbas commanded the performance of Mut’a putting lhram for ‘Umra during the months of Dhu’I-Hijja and after completing it. then putting on Ibrim for Hajj), but Ibn Zubair forbade to do it. I made a mention of it to Jabir b. Abdullih and he said: It is through me that this hadith has been circulated. We entered into the state of Ihram as Tamattu’ with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). When ‘Umar was Installed as Caliph, he said: Verily Allah made permissible for His Messenger (may peace be upon him) whatever He liked and as Re liked. And (every command) of the Holy Qur’an has been revealed for every occasion. So accomplish Hajj and Umra for Allah as Allah has commanded you; and confirm by (proper conditions) the marriage of those women (with whom you have performed Mut’a). And any person would come to me with a marriage of appointed duration (Mut’a), I would stone him (to death).

There is yet another version of this earth shattering account that, whilst absent of Umar’s statement relating to Nikah al-Mut’ah still evidences his audacity by declaring the Halal Mut’ah al-Hajj as Haram. We read in Musnad al-Shamyeen by al-Tabarani, Volume 3 page 320 Tradition 2399 as well as in Kanz ul-Umal, Volume 5 page 164 Tradition 12477:

۔۔۔ حدثني سعيد بن المسيب أن عمر بن الخطاب نهى عن المتعة في أشهر الحج وقال فعلتها مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وأنا أنهى عنها ۔۔۔

Ali bin Saeed al-Razi – Isa bin Ibrahim al-Ghafeqi – Abdullah bin Wahab – Yunus bin Yazid – Atta al-Khurasani – Saeed bin al-Musayab said: ‘Umar had prohibited Mut’ah during the Hajj season and said: ‘I used to perform it with Allah’s Messenger (s) but I prohibit it and that is because a person comes from a far distance tired and dusty in order to perform Umra during the Hajj season, verily his dustiness, tiredness and his Talbia is only in his Umra, then when he passes by the house (of Allah) and ends the rites he wears cloth and perfume and sleeps with his woman if she was with him, until the day of Tawria he starts to get into Hajj and marches to Mina to perform Hajj without being dusty, tired. Surely Hajj is better than Umra.’’

Ali bin Saeed: Dahabi said: ‘Brilliant Hafiz’ (Tazkirat al-hufaz, v2 p750). Isa bin Ibrahim al-Ghafiqi: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p108). Abdullah bin Wahab: Dahabi said: ‘Thabt’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v2 p521). Yunus bin Yazid: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah Hujja’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v4 p484). Atta bin Abdullah al-Khurasani: Dahabi said: ‘He is one of the great scholars’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v3 p73). Saeed bin Musayab: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah Hujja’ (Al-Kashif, v1 p445).

Similarly we read in Sahih Muslim, Book 007, Number 2814:

Abu Musa, (Allah be pleased with him) reported that he used to deliver religious verdict in favour of Hajj Tamattu’. A person said to him: Exercise restraint in delivering some of your religious verdicts, for you do not know what the Commander of Believers has introduced in the rites (of Hajj) after you (when you were away in Yemen). He (Abu Musa, ) met him (Hadrat Umar) subsequently and asked him (about it), whereupon ‘Umar said: I know that Allah’s Apostle (May peace be upon him) and also his Companions did that (observed Tamattu’), but I do not approve that the married persons should have intercourse with their wives under the shade of the trees, and then set out for Hajj with water trickling down from their beads.

Qadhi Yahya also acknowledged Mut’ah was prohibited by Umar NOT Rasulullah(s). This is proven from Ahl’ ul Sunnah’s authority work ‘al-Muhazraat’ Volume 2 page 214 part 12:

وقال يحيى بن أكثم لشيخ البصرة: بمن اقتديت في جواز المتعة؟قال: بعمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال: كيف وعمر كان أشد الناس؟قال: لأن الخبر الصحيح أنه صعد إلى المنبر فقال: إن الله ورسوله قد أحل لكما متعتين وإني محرمهما عليكم أو أعاقبكم عليهما، فقبلنا شهادته ولم نقبل تحريمه.

“Yahya Ibn Aktham asked a Shaikh from Basra: ‘Why do you permit Mut’ah?’ He answered: ‘Due to Umar Ibn al-Khattab’. Yahya asked: ‘How is that? Umar was the most strict one against it?’ He answered: ‘Yes, it is a Sahih narration that Umar ascended the pulpit and said: ‘Allah and His Prophet permitted you two types of Mut’ah, but I forbid you on both and will punish those who commit the same’, so we accepted the testimony of Umar (that Allah and His Prophet permitted it) but we did not accept his prohibition’.”

In short, we see that Umar did not claim that Mut’ah was abrogated by the Prophet (s). Dr. Salamah and others, therefore, are contradicting the person they believe to be the greatest of the companions. The simple fact is this: Allah (swt) allowed Mut’ah, and Umar forabde it. Does this not constitute open apostasy?

Taftazani & Qushaji’s attempt to defend Umar

Alaauddin Ali bin Muhammad Qaushaji al-Hanafi (d. 879 H) states in Sharh Tajreed Al-Aqaid, page 408:

“He prohibited both the Mut’ah, he climbed the pulpit and said: ‘O people, three things existed during the time of Allah’s Messenger, I forbid and prohibit them, and will punish those that practise them, they are Mut’ah of women, Mut’ah of Hajj and “Hay ala Khayr al-Amal”…. I respond and say that this is not a slander because disagreement of a scholar (Mujtahid) with the others doesn’t make it a slander”.

Imam Saaduddin Taftazani states in Sharh Maqasid, Volume 3 page 512:

“It has been narrated that Umar said: ‘Three things existed during the time of Allah’s Messenger, I forbid and make them Haram, these are Mut’ah al-Nisa, Mut’ah al-Hajj and “Hay ala Khayr al-Amal”…the answer is that this is issue of Ijtihad”.

Sharh Maqasid, Volume 3 page 512

Reply

Only the weakest arguments could be presented for defending such absurd behaviour. Saaduddin Taftazani and Qaushaji al-Hanafi sought to defend Umar, saying that he was a Mujtahid and was therefore entitled to Ijtihad. This argument is only taking the Kufr of Umar one step further, by offering a general permission to all Mujtahids to contravene the Qur’an and Sunnah. To claim that Ijtihad may contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah opposes the most fundamental doctrines of Islam, namely that Allah (swt) is the Lawgiver, and no one has any right to contradict him. To believe otherwise is to believe all bid’a to be permissible, which is obviously non-sense.

Maulana Maudoodi’s attempts to defend Umar

Sunni scholar Sayyid Abu’l A’la Maudoodi in his Rasail wa Masail Volume 2 page 22 wrote:

“The reality is this, of the practices that existed during the jahiliyya, Nikah Mut’ah was also one, a women would be given a gift, would then be married for a specific time. The approach of Rasulullah (s) was that he would not deem a practise to be abrogated, until Allah (swt) revealed a specific order to him, rather he would maintain silence, or would even permit his adherents to adhere to it, subject to circumstance, until a Surah was revealed in connection with Mut’ah. In the beginning he remained silent, but when on travel or Jihad people highlighted their sexual frustrations, Rasulullah (s) permitted it as an order had not yet been revealed to Rasulullah (s). When the order came he outlawed it, but this order did not reach the ears of all the people, which is why some people due to their ignorance continued to practise Mut’ah. Finally, Umar in his reign enforced the order with complete strength.”

Reply

If only Maudoodi the great commentator of the Qur’an could elaborate as to when this order took place? When was it revealed? Which verse was revealed to abolish this practise? Did such an order only reach the Ummah via the words of Rasulullah (s)? Did Allah (swt) not see the need to send a verse to put an end to this jahiliyya practise? Maudoodi’s claim that the order had not reached the ears of everyone and hence continued to be practised on account of ignorance, clearly points to the fact that the prohibition had not occurred in the Qur’an, if it had then it would have reached all the people.

The more we analyse the arguments of Maudoodi, the more weak his arguments become evident. Rasulullah (s) passed trough his life, Abu Bakr his entire reign as Khalifa, the people continued to practise Nikah Mut’ah, it was ultimately left to Umar to put his foot down who utilised his complete strength to bring this practise to an end. Was there no strength in an order that had been given by Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s) that would have lead to the Sahaba to bow to such a prohibition? What strength did Umar possess to enable him to bring Mut’ah to an end, strength that Allah (swt) and Rasulullah (s) had missing in their itinerary? These comments of Maudoodi are indeed amazing.

Maulana Waheed uz Zaman’s attempts to defend Umar

Maulana Waheeed uz Zaman in his famous ‘Lughaat ul Hadeeth’ Volume 4, page 9 under the chapter that looks at the words that begin with the letter “Meem” recorded the memorable words of Umar as follows, with the defence straight after:

‘Two Mut’ah’s, the Mut’ah of Hajj and Nikah Mut’ah were practised during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s), but I make them both haraam” – These words of Umar do not mean that he was making it haraam of his own accord, since what is halaal or haraam is limited to the realms of the Shari’ah not Umar, rather he was stating ‘I shall declare the prohibition so as to dispel any doubts from amongst the people’.

Reply

We would urge our reader to examine the Arabic text carefully, before embracing the defence of Maulana Waheed, wherein the words of Umar are as follows:

‘I make them both haraam’ – This makes the commentary of Maulana Waheed null and void. We the Shi’a do indeed believe that the domain of halaal / haraam is the excusive right of Allah (swt) and his Rasul (s), all are bound, including our Imams, Ali (as) through to al Mahdi (as), no one has the right to deem something haraam of their own accord.

Fakhrudeen Razi’s attempts to defend Umar

We shall now present the detailed defence of Umar that was presented by his chief advocate, Fakhrudeen Razi in his authority work Tafseer Kabeer, Volume 3 page 96:

The second Proof: It has been narrated that Umar (ra) said in his speech: ‘Two types of Mut’ah existed during the life time of Allah’s messenger (pbuh) and I am prohibiting them and will punish one for doing it’. He said this in the presence of a large gathering of Sahaba and at that time no Sahabi objected to his comment. There are possible reasons for this.
They were aware of the prohibition of Mut’ah , that’s why they remained silent.
Or they were aware that Mut’ah was permitted but they adopted hypocrisy by maintaining silence.
Or they didn’t know if it was lawful or forbidden, thus they remained silent and they needed to look into the matter.

The first one (possibility) is the better one, while the second (possibility) makes Umar and other Sahaba infidels (Kafir), because whoever knows that the prophet (pbuh) made Mut’ah permissible, and deems it impermissible without providing the proof of abrogation, is certainly a kafir, and whoever believed him even though he knew that he was mistaken and was a kafir, is also a kafir. This leads us to declare takfir against the whole nation, that contradicts (Allah’s) statement ‘{you are the best of the nations}’.

Reply

The idea that the Companions would have been committing kufr by not openly renouncing Umar at that moment is entirely invalid. Umar was known for his anger and violence towards his opponents: this was the man who had threatened to murder the daughter of the Holy Prophet (s) and all those Sahaba who were in her house. If the Companions present chose not to speak at that moment, then this would have been more than permissible. It is logical that people will take steps by assessing the environment and situation wherein they live. They were living during an era wherein the Head of State had the audacity to sanctify a Bidah and was threatening those that violated this Order with the death penalty, as such they had to take decisions on how best to react in the situation.

It was logical that when Umar was prepared to impose the most severe penalty available against those that practiced Mut’ah, the same penalty would be metted out against those that propogated the legitimacy of this practice through Hadith, for they were in effect through their words inciting, aiding and abetting others to partake in an act that he had outlawed, that made them guilty if not more guilty than those that practiced Mut’ah. A dictatorial regime that had suppressed the Hadith on the permissibility on Mut’ah to such an extent that those that knew that it was the unabrogated Sunnah of Muhammad (s) were reluctant to convey it to the people, fearing the repercussions that they would face. Umar had in effect successfully outlawed Mut’ah via a two pronged approach, namely punishing those that practsed it or propogated its legitimacy. The propagation of traditions that evidenced the legitimacy of Mut’ah via the eye witness testimony of men of repute would have posed a far greater threat to Umar, after aall if people were to know that Umar was seeking to ban a practice that the Prophet (s) allowed, not only would that damage his political credibility, it would risk public opposition to his directive. That is why faced with this harsh reality the Sahaba were in effect forced to conceal their own eye witness testimonies about the legitimacy of Mut’ah from the masses, to the extent that they feared any Hadith on the permissibility of Mut’ah being attributed to them. We can corroborate our stance via this tradition from Sahih Muslim Book 007, Number 2828:

Mutarrif reported: ‘Imran b. Husain sent for me during his illness of which he died, and said: I am narrating to you some ahadith which may benefit you after me. If I live you conceal (the fact that these have been transmitted by me), and if I die, then you narrate them if you like (and these are): I am blessed, and bear in mind that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) combined Hajj and Umra. Then no verse was revealed in regard to it in the Book of Allah (which abrogated it) and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not forbid (from doing it). And whatever a person (, Umar) said was out of his personal opinion.

We read in Musnad al-Rawyani, Volume 2 pages 259-260:

Reported Ubada bin al-Walid bin Ubada al-Samet who was one of the pious Ansar and from a pious family, that once Hassan bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abi Talib said: ‘My family insist that this Mut’ah is permissibe and Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) allowed it, but you offer a contradicting view, let us go to Salama bin al-Akwa to ask him about it, surely he is one of the pious companions of the Prophet (pbuh).’
(Ubada said): ‘We then approached him, and met him in Marwan’s palace when he had lost his eye sight’. Hassan said: ‘Wait until my friend and I ask you about some hadith’. Salama said: ‘Who are you?’ He (Hassan) replied: ‘I am son of Muhammad son of Ali son of Abi Talib’. He (Salama) replied: ‘The son of my brother, well, who is the fellow with you and what do you want to ask me about?’ Hassan replied: ‘Mut’ah al-Nisa’.
(Salama) said: ‘Yes, yes my nephew, you two should keep my statement secret as long I am alive, if I die, then you can disclose it, if they (the people) wish to stone me, they would then (only be able to) stone my grave. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) allowed it and we used to perform it until he passed away, Allah didn’t reveal anything to abrogate it, furthermore Allah’s Messenger didn’t prohibit us’.

These are two significant statements made by two recognized Sahaba. If anything they prove how successful Umar had been in altering public attitides towards Mut’ah, to mirror his own thinking. When Umar first banned Mut’ah, he proudly stated that he was doing so of his own accord and was essentially overruling the Sunnah of Muhammad (s). By suppressing talk about the legitimacy of Mut’ah, Umar had successfully altered public thinking about Mut’ah to such an extent that as time went by and the Sahaba died out and were followed by the Tabayeen and their children the public consensus was that Mut’ah was an abominable act outlawed by the Prophet (s). This can clearly be evidenced by the testimonies of the two esteemed Sahaba. Umar’s reign was from 13 Hijri until 23 Hijri. His legacy was such that his directive continued to have an influence over the people, and they began to in effect assume the the Prophet (s) banned Mut’ah as Caliph Umar outlawed it. That is why we see these two Sahaba living in fear of a public backlash, reluctant to disclose the truth about both types of Mut’ah decades after the death of Umar. Imran died in 52 Hijri while Salamah died in 74 Hijri, each attested to the legitimacy of the Mut’ah of Hajj and Mut’ah with women respectively, saying it was part of the Sunnah of Muhammad, but said this on the caveat that this reality be attributed to them after their deaths. These guarded comments are a testament to the success of Umar’s policy, one that quashed the practice of Mut’ah, the Sunnah of Muhammad (s), a policy that was so imbedded in the consciousness of the people that they eventually assumed that it was a haram act, to the extent that two Sahaba that knew the truth was the exact opposite, remained silent and made it clear that their eye witness testimonies be disclosed after their deaths.

The fact is Umar himself outlawed Mut’ah, and Sahaba such as Imran and Salamah remained silent because it was not appropriate to speak out openly. If these narration’s are true, then there is every indication that the situation at the time could have made many Companions fear for their lives. Furthermore, their silence could also be understood as a type of passive resistance: they did not speak out to his face, but we know from many hadeeths that many Companions (such as Ibn ‘Abbas) continued to uphold the practice Mut’ah in spite of Umar’s fatwa. Shah Abdul Aziz in Tahufa Ithna Ashari, part 7 Bab Imamate writes:

“Opposing ijma is permissible, silent opposition is also permissible.”

Sunni scholars have even acknowledged that Prophets can even recite kufr when a hostile environment requires it. According to Razi himself, Prophet Ibrahim (as) recited Kufr in a state of Taqiyyah. We read in Tafseer Kabeer, Volume 6 page 347 that when at night Ibrahim (as) saw the stars and said: ‘This is my lord’ (6:76):

“He peace be upon him was ordered to do Dawah for Allah, his status was of one who is forced to say kufr and it is known that when someone is forced it is permissible to say kufr, Allah almighty said ‘{not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith}’ if it is permissible to say kufr for saving one person, surely it is worthier to say kufr to save a group of rational people”.

Certainly, many Companions would have reason to be concerned about Umar. We read in Tafseer Kabeer Volume 3 page 96 (Commentary of Al Nisa verse 24):

“Umar said whenever someone does Mut’ah send him to me and I shall stone him to death”.

Umar was clearly a ruthless leader, firm on his leadership, he would not tolerate voices of opposition. When Abu Bakr declared Umar his successor, the Sahaba were so fearful of the consequences they ran to Abu Bakr and said ‘What response will you give to Allah for placing Umar over us?’

According to Ahl as-Sunnah Prophets can practise kufr under duress, and by the same token the Companions could have also adopted Taqiyyah before Umar when he threatened to kill them.

The concept that silence constitutes acceptance (the principle of taqreer) is only true in respect of the Infallibles. We read in the authoritative Sunni work Fatah al-Bari, Volume 13 pages 324-325:

وقد اتفقوا على أن تقرير النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم لما يفعل بحضرته أو يقال ويطلع عليه بغير إنكار دال على الجواز لأن العصمة تنفي عنه ما يحتمل في حق غيره مما يترتب على الإنكار فلا يقر على باطل

“It has been accepted that the silence of the Prophet (s) towards what is happening in his presence or whatever has been shown or said to him without condemnation, constitutes its permissibility, because his infallibility prevents him (s) from endorsing falsehood”

After this the author, Ibn Hajar Asqalani, states that if a claim contravenes the Quran and Sunna, then such a claim is false. One should follow the Quran and Sunnah only, and reject personal opinions. Now, the claim that Umar declared Mut’ah to be Haram contradicted the Quran and Sunnah without any doubt. We have proven that Mut’ah is Halaal from the two sources of Shari’ah, and it is the duty of Muslims to leave the words of Umar and bow their heads before the words of Allah (swt) and Rasulullah (s). We have seen that many companions voiced their opposition to Mut’ah being made Haram, so the claim that the companions were silent is contradicted by vast hadeeth literature:

The opposition of Ibn Abbas to Umar’s order

Founder of Sipah-e-Sahaba Haq Nawaz Jhangvi sought to apply his false Qiyas as follows:

PERHAPS SOME OF THE COMPANIONS LIKE JABIR, IBN ABBAS AND OTHERS WHO ACTD UPON MUTA WERE UNAWARE OF ITS PROHIBITION BY THE PROPHET UNTIL IT WAS PROCLAIMED BY UMAR.

The words ‘perhaps’ proves that this Nasibi is just using baseless guess work. The amusing thing is the alleged ignorance of Ibn Abbas with the regards to the prohibition of Mutah, holds no water if we are to accept this tradition that another Nasibi cited in his anti Mutah article.

….Nevertheless, this much has to be said that Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiyallahu ‘anhu) took Mut’ah to be permissible upon a certain time. Then, it was on the good counsel of Sayyidina Ali, radiyallahu ‘anhu (as in Sahih Muslim, volume 1, p 452) and under the chastening impact of the noble Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum-that he revoked his earlier position, as indicated in the narration from Imam Tirmidhi

Reply

Jhangvi would like us to believe that Ibn Abbas was unaware that the Prophet (s) made Mutah Haram, and therefore he continued issuing fatwa in its favour until the end of his life. The tradition cited by Mullah Shafi makes the ignorance card advanced by Jhangvi completely redundant. This alleged hadith demonstrates that Ibn Abbas had been informed of the prohibition by Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as) – that evaporates any suggestion that Ibn Abbas was ‘UNAWARE OF ITS PROHIBITION BY THE PROPHET’. This being the case why did he maintain his stance on the permissibility of Mutah, when his alleged ‘ignorance’ had been removed by Imam ‘Ali (as), and (according to Jhanvi) Khalifa Umar?

The comments of Jhangvi here serve as proof that Mut’ah had not been abrogated by the Qur’an. If it had then famous exegist of the Qur’an Ibn Abbas, would certainly have known of it, and would have had no need to rely on Umar’s tactical reminder. In relation to Ibn Abbas, the comments of Jhangvi can be easily refuted for we have a plethora of textual evidence that proves that Ibn Abbas opposed Umar’s prohibition on Mut’ah.

We for example learn in Sunni books that Ibn Abbas accused Umar of banning Mut’ah and accused the guilt of all future acts to be on his head. We read in Tafseer Dur al-Manthur, Volume 2 page 41 Ayat Mut’ah:

Ibn Abbas said: “Mut’ah was blessing of Allah upon the Ummah of Muhammad and had Umar not prohibited it the only person to fornicate would be a playboy’

Ibn Abbas’ words evidence his opposition to Umar’s order and serves as proof that Mut’ah is halaal until the day of Judgement.

We read in Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 190:

وقال عبد الرازق : حدثنا معمر عن أيوب قال : قال عروة لابن عباس : ألا تتقي الله ترخص في المتعة ؟ فقال ابن عباس : سل أمك يا عرية

Abdulrazaq said: Mu’amar narrated from Ayub that Urwa said to Ibn Abbas: ‘Don’t you fear Allah by permitting Mut’ah? He (Ibn Abbas) replied: ‘O Urwa, ask your mother’.

We read in Al-Muhazraat , Volume 3 page 14:

عير عبد الله بن الزبير عبد الله بن عباس بتحليله المتعة فقال له: سل أمك كيف سطعت المجامر بينها وبين أبيك؟فسألها فقالت: ما ولدتك إلا في المتعة.

“Abdullah Ibn Zubayr mocked Abdullah Ibn Abbas for believing that Mut’ah was halaal, Ibn Abbas said: ‘Go and ask your mother as to how she and your father first used this practise’. He asked his mother, and she replied: ‘Verily I conceived you through Mut’ah’

We read in Anaya Sharh Hidayah, Volume 3 page 49 Bab Nikah:

وَهَذَا عِنْدَنَا بَاطِلٌ ( وَقَالَ مَالِكٌ هُوَ جَائِزٌ ) وَهُوَ الظَّاهِرُ مِنْ قَوْلِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ( لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ مُبَاحًا ) بِالِاتِّفَاقِ ( فَيَبْقَى إلَى أَنْ يَظْهَرَ نَاسِخُهُ

“It is unlawful but Malik said it is lawful and that is what appears from Ibn Abbas’s statement, because there is agreement that it was lawful, so it will be the case until the abrogation appears”

The book can also be downloaded from the following Salafi link:
www.almeshkat.com (Vol 4 page 391)

We read in Au jaza al Masalik fi Sharh Muwatta Imam Malik, Volume 9 page 04 Bab Mut’ah:

“In the eyes of Ibn Abbas and his Sahaba Mut’ah is permissible”.

We read in Fatawa Qadhi Khan, Volume 1 page 51 Kitab Nikah:

“Nikah is not legally established by usage of the word ‘Mutah’ and it is false according to us and isn’t permissible, contrary to Ibn Abbas and Malik

Fatawa Qadhi Khan, Volume 1 page 151 (Nolakshor, India)

We read in Sharah Muwatta by Imam Zarqani, Volume 3 page 54:

Ibn Abdulbar said: ‘The companions of Ibn Abbas from Makka and Yemen believed that it was lawful’

In fact, Ibn Abbas invoked the wrath Allah on those opposed to Mut’ah. We read in Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 176:

وقال ابن عباس لمن كان يعارضه فيها بأبي بكر وعمر : يوشك أن تنزل عليكم حجارة من السماء أقول : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وتقولون : قال أبو بكر وعمر

When people would say to Ibn Abbas: ‘You deem Mut’ah to be halaal, whilst Abu Bakr and Umar prohibited it’, he would reply: ‘May stones hit you from the sky, I am telling you about the orders of Rasulullah(s) and your telling me about the orders of Abu Bakr and Umar’.

We read in Fatah ul Bari. Volume 9 page 73:

قال ابن بطال‏:‏ روى أهل مكة واليمن عن ابن عباس إباحة المتعة، وروي عنه الرجوع بأسانيد ضعيفة وإجازة المتعة عنه أصح، وهو مذهب الشيعة‏.

Ibn Batal said: ‘The People of Mecca and Yemen narrated from Ibn Abbas that Mut’ah is permissible. It is narrated by a weak chain that Ibn Abbas revoked its permissibility. The permission of Mut’ah by him is more correct and this is the doctrine of the Shia.’

The rank of Ibn Abbas amongst the followers of the companions cannot be dismissed, Ibn Kathir in al-Bidaya Wa al Nihaya, Volume 8 pages 299, 300 praised him as follows:

“Ibn Abbas is the most knowledgeable person amongst the people as to what God has revealed to Muhammad. Umar Ibn al-Khattab used to say that the interpreter of the Qur’an is Ibn Abbas. He was accustomed to telling him: ‘You have acquired knowledge which we never received. You are the most expert in the book of God”‘

Imam of the Deobandis, Maulana Mohammad Abul Hassan in his commentary of Sahih al Bukhari, Faizul Bari, Parah 21, Page 125, tows the traditional Sunni line that Umar reinforced the prohibition on Mut’ah made by Rasulullah (s). Interestingly in the same section he asserts that Ibn Abbas deemed Mut’ah to be halaal. How is it that a man that ‘Umar deemed to be the greatest expert of the Qur’an, upheld a practise banned by Rasulullah (s)? If Ibn Abbas was ignorant of this prohibition then clearly the alleged re-enforcement of this edict by Khalifa Umar should have convinced him, so why didn’t it?

Faizul Bari, by Maulana Mohammad Abul Hassan, Parah 21, Page 125

There are only two options:

  1. Option One: Ibn Abbas was a Munafiq, proven by the fact he deemed Mut’ah halaal, when Umar made it clear that Rasulullah (s) outlawed it.
  2. Option Two: Ibn Abbas deemed Mut’ah halaal, because was upholding the Sunnah Rasulullah (s) who revoked it, and he was refusing to be bound by the personal stance of Umar.

Clearly option one is unacceptable, this would destroy the character and rank of a leading Sahaba of the Prophet (s), worse it in effect renders him an apostate. Option Two clearly is the correct one, Ibn Abbas was upholding the Sunnah of Rasulullah (s) not the Sunnah of Umar ibn al Khattab.

Refuting the claim that Ibn Abbas changed his position on Mut’ah

In the deeply moving article Zawaaj al Mut’ah:

Ninety-nine percent of the companions followed this opinion, but there was one percent who believed Mut’ah can be performed in extreme case of necessity in the land of war. This one percent is divided into two groups. One says, it is allowed with the Caliph’s permission, and the other says there is no need for the permission . Those who do not believe in Caliph’s permission say that it was Umar who made it haram. Their proof is based upon an opinion by a companion namely Ibn Abbas. People misused this opinion of Ibn Abbas until he clarified himself and said, Wallahi I did not mean what they did! I meant similarly to what Allah meant when he allowed the meat of dead animals and pork to be eaten in extreme necessity. This is referring to the time when people abused the rule of necessity at time of Umar, following the understanding of the one percent.

Reply One – The Sahih Sita confirm that Ibn Abbas deemed Mut’ah halaal.

As proof we can cite:

  • Sahih Bukhari, Arabic-English, v7, Hadith #51
  • Sahih Muslim, English version, v2, chapter DXLI (titled: Temporary Marriage), Tradition #3261
  • Sahih Muslim Sharh Nawawi Volume 1 page 52
  • Sunan Kabeera Volume 7 p 215 Kitab Nikah
  • Tafseer Durre Manthur Volume 2 page 41

We read in Sahih Bukhari:

“Narrated Abu Jamra: I heard Ibn Abbas (giving a verdict) when he was asked about the Mut’ah with the women, and he permitted it (Nikah al-Mut’ah). On that a freed slave of his said to him, “That is only when it is very badly needed and (qualified permanent) women are scarce, or similar cases.” On that, Ibn Abbas said, “Yes.”

It is interesting to note that “Nida ul Islam magazine” cites no reference whatsoever and falsely attributes this saying to Ibn Abbas! Pork and dead animals CAN be eaten in times of necessity but such meat remains haraam, but in the case of Mut’ah we know that it was made permissible by Divine decree as is proved by verse 24 of Surat Nisa [confirmed by Ibn Abbas], similarly the tradition of Bukhari demonstrates that Ibn Abbas issued a fatwa that Mut’ah was permissible. Even if we were to accept the argument of necessity, this is open to interpretation and can arise in all manner of circumstances, e.g. an overseas student may need to do Mut’ah as this is the only means to control his sexual desire. If the Nasibi is using Qiyas to suggest that the Sahaba only deemed Mut’ah to be used in times of need, perhaps she could explain at the Victory of Makka as the annals of history attest that Muslims performed pilgrimage together with their wives. Hence, there was no extraordinary need for Mut’ah.

Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, Volume 5 page 228 records:

Ibn Abbas narrated “Rasulullah (s) gave us the order to practise Mut’ah, it existed, Urwah ibn Zubayr said, ‘Abu Bakr and Umar stopped this’, Ibn Abbas responded saying ‘I’m telling you what Rasulullah (s) deemed halaal and you’re telling me what Abu Bakr and ‘Umar did, I see that you shall be destroyed”.

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Volume 5, Page 228

If Ibn Abbas held a position that Mut’ah had been prohibited by Rasulullah (s), then why was Ibn Abbas stating that Rasulullah (s) ordered this practise, deeming it halaal?

We read in Sahih Muslim Hadith number 1406 k:

وَحَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ أَخْبَرَنِي عُرْوَةُ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَامَ بِمَكَّةَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ نَاسًا - أَعْمَى اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ كَمَا أَعْمَى أَبْصَارَهُمْ - يُفْتُونَ بِالْمُتْعَةِ - يُعَرِّضُ بِرَجُلٍ - فَنَادَاهُ فَقَالَ إِنَّكَ لَجِلْفٌ جَافٍ فَلَعَمْرِي لَقَدْ كَانَتِ الْمُتْعَةُ تُفْعَلُ عَلَى عَهْدِ إِمَامِ الْمُتَّقِينَ - يُرِيدُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم - فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ فَجَرِّبْ بِنَفْسِكَ فَوَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ فَعَلْتَهَا لأَرْجُمَنَّكَ بِأَحْجَارِكَ ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ فَأَخْبَرَنِي خَالِدُ بْنُ الْمُهَاجِرِ بْنِ سَيْفِ اللَّهِ أَنَّهُ بَيْنَا هُوَ جَالِسٌ عِنْدَ رَجُلٍ جَاءَهُ رَجُلٌ فَاسْتَفْتَاهُ فِي الْمُتْعَةِ فَأَمَرَهُ بِهَا فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُ أَبِي عَمْرَةَ الأَنْصَارِيُّ مَهْلاً ‏.‏ قَالَ مَا هِيَ وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ فُعِلَتْ فِي عَهْدِ إِمَامِ الْمُتَّقِينَ ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي عَمْرَةَ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ رُخْصَةً فِي أَوَّلِ الإِسْلاَمِ لِمَنِ اضْطُرَّ إِلَيْهَا كَالْمَيْتَةِ وَالدَّمِ وَلَحْمِ الْخِنْزِيرِ ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَ اللَّهُ الدِّينَ وَنَهَى عَنْهَا ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ وَأَخْبَرَنِي رَبِيعُ بْنُ سَبْرَةَ الْجُهَنِيُّ أَنَّ أَبَاهُ قَالَ قَدْ كُنْتُ اسْتَمْتَعْتُ فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم امْرَأَةً مِنْ بَنِي عَامِرٍ بِبُرْدَيْنِ أَحْمَرَيْنِ ثُمَّ نَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الْمُتْعَةِ ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ وَسَمِعْتُ رَبِيعَ بْنَ سَبْرَةَ يُحَدِّثُ ذَلِكَ عُمَرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ وَأَنَا جَالِسٌ ‏.‏

“Urwa Ibn Zubair reported that Abdullah Ibn Zubair stood up (and delivered an address) in Mecca saying: Allah has made blind the hearts of some people as he has deprived them of eyesight that they give religious verdict in favour of temporary marriage, while he was alluding to a person (Ibn Abbas). Ibn Abbas called him and said: You are a rude person and devoid of sense. By my life, Mut’ah was practised during the lifetime of the leader of pious (he meant Allah’s Messenger, may peace be upon him), and Ibn Zubair said to him: Just do it yourself, and by Allah, if you do that I will stone you with your stones”.

Several things are established from this tradition:

  • Ibn Zubayr was alluding to the fact that Ibn Abbas was blind. Ibn Abbas became blind towards the end of his life and yet he still maintained the position that Mut’ah was halaal even in his last days.
  • Ibn Zubayr deemed the practice repugnant whereas Ibn Abbas used  the term إمَامِ الْمُتَّقِينَ Imam of the pious for Rasulullah (s) to refute the "outrage stance" of Ibn Zubayr - that in itself evidences that the act of Mut'ah was associated with piety (Taqwa), hence Rasulullah (s) being referred to as the Imam of piety here, to mock the suggestion that Mut'ah is an act devoid of piety and decency
  • Ibn Abbas submitted evidence of Mutah by citing the Sunnah of the Prophet. Ibn Zubayr offered no corroborative evidence, proving a prohibition; all he did was cite a threat of force. This was a very public debate, wherein the intention was to publicly humiliate Ibn Abbas from the pulpit, in the presence of the people gathered there. If Ibn Abbas was promoting a haraam activity, why did not a single person gathered there seek to refute Ibn Abbas, by evidencing the alleged Hadeeth banning Mutah? There was no reason for those opposed to the stance of Ibn Abbas to remain silent, after all they were not under any form of threat to remain silent, on the contrary had they stood up with supporting evidence with which to silence Ibn Abbas, this would have assisted Ibn Zubayr, who had got himself trapped by the comments of Ibn Abbas. If Ibn Abbas was wrong and Mutah had been made haraam, can it be believed that the Sahaba and Tabieen that were gathered there did nothing to correct Ibn Abbas? Was there not any religious obligation to correct Ibn Abbas for this deviant belief? The failure of Ibn Zubayr and those gathered at the time to provide any nass with which to silence Ibn Abbas proves that at that time no evidence of the prohibition by ‘nass’, the people had no knowledge of such traditions, it was outlawed because Umar (and here Ibn Zubayr) found the practice distasteful – but personal opinion is of no value in the presence of what is lawful in the eyes of Allah (swt) as Ibn Abbas (ra) correctly pointed out.
  • The threat of Ibn Zubayr to inflict a penalty proves that his order came at a time when he had the clout to inflict such an act, namely when he attained brief power during the Khilafath of Yazeed. This serves as a major proof on the lawfulness of Mut’ah, since the brief reign of Ibn Zubayr was well after Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. The view of Ibn Abbas is clear evidence that he believed its banning to be of Umar’s own volition and not the word of Rasulullah(s), if we are wrong in our assertion then why the objection of Ibn Zubayr? There would be no reason for a dispute if Ibn Abbas believed, like Ibn Zubayr, that Mut’ah was haram.

As such, there can be no doubt that Ibn ‘Abbas maintained this opinion until his death. Abdullah ibn Abbas died in 68 Hijri and “became blind towards the end of his life.”

Al Bidayah Wal Nihayah (Urdu), Vol 8 page 1291, Events of 68 H

We appeal to justice, Ibn Abbas lived almost 57 years after the Prophet (s), and lost his eyesight in his final years, at a time when he refuted the comments of Ibn Zubayr, so even then he upheld the validity of Mut’ah, this destroys any notion that he had revoked his position practising Nikah Mut’ah.

Advocates of the Sahaba may believe that Ibn Abbas corrected his stance/clarified any misconceptions, but he maintained this stand openly defending hisview before Ibn Zubayr’s protestations and his mocking him to consult his mother on its legitimacy serves as ample proof that Ibn Abbas deemed the prohibition on Mut’ah to be wrong and placed the blame squarely at the door of Umar.

This tradition destroys another magnificent argument that had been advanced in ‘The unlawfulness of Mut’ah’ by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi:

However, there are some of those who claim that Sayyidina Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, radiyallahu ‘anhu, believed in the lawfulness of Mut’ah right up to his later years, although this is not so. Hadrath Imam Tirmidhi (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi), devoting a chapter to Mut’ah, has reported two Ahadith. The first one is as follows:.
Hadrath Ali ibn Abi Talib (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that the Holy Nabi, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, on the occasion of the battle of Khyber, prohibited Mut’ah with women and from (eating) the meat of domestic donkeys. This Hadith-e-Sharif appears in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim as well. The second Hadith reported by Hadrath Imam al-Tirmidhi is given below:
Hadrath Ibn Abbas (radiyallahu ‘anhu) says: Mut’ah was there only in the early period of al-Islam until the Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum-was revealed. Then, he said: All private parts other that these are unlawful (that is other than those of the legally wedded wife and the bondwoman one may come to have).Nevertheless, this much has to be said that Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiyallahu ‘anhu) took Mut’ah to be permissible upon a certain time. Then, it was on the good counsel of Sayyidina Ali, radiyallahu ‘anhu (as in Sahih Muslim, volume 1, p. 452) and under the chastening impact of the noble Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum-that he revoked his earlier position, as indicated in the narration from Imam Tirmidhi

Ibn Abbas (ra) lived many years after death of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as). Had Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as) really forbidden Mutah to Ibn Abbas, then is it believable that Ibn Abbas (ra) continued issuing Fatwa in favour of Mutah when the truth had been made manifest to him? If the alleged counsel of Imam ‘Ali (as) was indeed correct (that Mut’ah was made haraam at Khayber) how did Ibn Abbas still believe that Mut’ah was halaal during the reign of Ibn Zubayr? In this regards we read in Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3261:

‘Urwa b. Zabair reported that ‘Abdullah b. Zubair (Allah be pleased with him) stood up (and delivered an address) in Mecca saying: Allah has made blind the hearts of some people as He has deprived them of eyesight that they give religious verdict in favour of temporary marriage, while he was alluding to a person (Ibn ‘Abbas). Ibn Abbas called him and said: You are an uncouth person, devoid of sense. By my life, Mut’a was practised during the lifetime of the leader of the pious (he meant Allah’s Messenger, may peace be upon him), and Ibn Zubair said to him: just do it yourselves, and by Allah, if you do that I will stone you with your stones.

There are a plethora of Sunni traditions regarding the dispute between Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zubair. In light of this tradition will the defenders of the Sahaba tell us of their opinion of Ibn Abbas? Was he a hypocrite who knowing that Mut’ah was haraam still advocated an act that today’s Nasibi deem prostitution? Moreover to suggest that Ibn Abbas changed his view of Mut’ah due to the ‘chastening impact of the noble Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum is indeed amusing, since the tradition from Tirmidhi includes the alleged testimony of Ibn Abbas, that ‘Mut’ah was there only in the early period of al-Islam’. This is clearly false because this verse cited (Surah Mara’aij) was Makkan and the practise of Mut’ah continued well after the Hijrah, and according to Ahl as-Sunnah traditions was revoked at the time of the Victory of Makka in the 8th Hijri! Moreover (as we have already proven in the previous chapter) the verse that ‘changed’ the view of Ibn Abbas (as we have already discussed) was revealed before the verse on Mut’ah and Ibn Abbas would recite verse 24 of Nisa with the additional word ‘for a prescribed period’ to confirm that the verse was about Mut’ah!

Mufti Shafi had relied on a narration from Sunan Tirmidhi as evidence that Ibn Abbas altered his stance on Mutah:

The second Hadith reported by Hadrath Imam al-Tirmidhi is given below:
Hadrath Ibn Abbas (radiyallahu ‘anhu) says: Mut’ah was there only in the early period of al-Islam until the Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum-was revealed. Then, he said: All private parts other that these are unlawful (that is other than those of the legally wedded wife and the bondwoman one may come to have). Nevertheless, this much has to be said that Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiyallahu ‘anhu) took Mut’ah to be permissible upon a certain time. Then, it was on the good counsel of Sayyidina Ali, radiyallahu ‘anhu (as in Sahih Muslim, volume 1, p. 452) and under the chastening impact of the noble Ayat-Illaa ‘alaa azwaajihim awmaa malakat aymaanuhum-that he revoked his earlier position, as indicated in the narration from Imam Tirmidhi

The tradition can also be read in Sunan al-Behaqqi, Volume 7 pages 205-206 but it would have been better for Maulana Shafi and others who use this tradition in an attempt to prove Ibn Abbas (ra) believed in the impermissibility of Mutah to ascertain its authenticity. The chain includes a narrator Musa bin Ubaydah who has been declared weak by Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani in Taqreeb al-Tahdeeb, Volume 2 page 226, Imam Dhahabi in Al-Kashif, Volume 2 page 306 and by Imam Yahyah bin Mueen in Tarikh Ibn Mueen, page 199. Imam Jamaluddin al-Mizzi records in Tahdeeb al-Kamal, Volume 29 page 112 that Imam Nasai and Imam Tirmidhi himself deemed him weak. Imam al-Razi records in his book Al-Jarh wa al-Tadeel that his Hadiths are Munkar. Prominent scholars of Ahle Sunnah included him in their books having the list of weak narrators such as Bukhari in Dhu’afa Saghir, page 111, Abu Naeem al-Asbahani in Dhu’afa, page 135, Ibn Haban in Majrohin, Volume 2 page 234 and Al-Aqili in al-Dhu’afa, volume 4 page 160. Also we are informed in Tahdeeb al Tahdeeb, Volume 10 pages 356-360:

Ibn Hanbal said: ‘He narrated Munkir hadeeth, taking narrations from him is not acceptable according to me, he narrated numerous Munkir hadeeths”

Moreover advancing of this verse as evidence is also baseless as it suggests that the only relationships that remained lawful following descent of this verse were those with wives and slave women – we know from ample evidence that women in Mutah relationships are also counted as wives as this is also a form of Nikah – and hence would not fall outside the boundaries of this verse.

Also take a look at the grave defect in the text [matan] of the cited narration. According to this narration Ibn Abbas (ra) stated that Mutah was Halal until the aforesaid verse revealed. If these were indeed the words of Ibn Abbas (ra) then can any sane person answer the question as to why Ibn Abbas (ra) was fighting with Ibn Zubayr over the permissibility of Mutah half a century after the revelation of the cited verse?

Reply Two – Ibn Abbas rejected Umar’s prohibition on Mut’ah during his lifetime

We are quoting from:

  1. Fatah ul Bari, Volume 9, page 173
  2. Aujaza al Masalik Sharh Muwatta Imam Malik, Volume 9 page 404
  3. Mirqat Sharh Mishkat, Volume 3 page 381 Dhikr Mut’ah
  4. Nail al-Autar, Volume 6 page 51, Bab al Nikah
  5. Fatah ul Qadeer Sharh Hidaya, Volume 3 page 51
  6. Al Bidayah wal Nihayah, Volume 4 page 221
  7. Irwa al-Ghalil by Albaani, Volume 6 page 319

Ibn Katheer writes:

ومع هذا ما رجع ابن عباس عما كان يذهب إليه من إباحة

“Ibn Abbas never retreated from permitting donkey’s flesh and Mutah”

We read in Fatah ul Bari:

Ibn Batal said: ‘The People of Mecca and Yemen narrated from Ibn Abbas that Mut’ah is permissible. And it is narrated by a weak chain that Ibn Abbas revoked its permissibility. permission of Mut’ah by him is more correct and this is the doctrine of the Shia.

Salafi/Wahabi Imam Nasiruddin Al-Albaani records:

أن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه روي عنه في المتعة ثلاثة أقوال : الأول : الاباحة مطلقا . الثاني : الاباحة عند الضرورة . والآخر : التحريم مطلقا وهذا مما لم يثبت عنه صراحة بخلاف القولين الأولين فهما ثابتان عنه . والله أعلم

“Three statements have been narrated from Ibn Abbas (ra) regarding Mut’ah, the first one is about its absolute lawfulness, the second is about its lawfulness in emergency and the last is about an absolute prohibition and this is not proven unlike the first two statements which are proven to have be stated by him. And Allah knows best.”

We read in Mirqat Sharh Mishkaat:

ولا تردد في أن ابن عباس هو الرجل المعرض به وكان قد كف بصره فلذا قال ابن الزبير كما أعمى أبصارهم وهذا إنما كان في حال خلافة عبد الله بن الزبير وذلك بعد وفاة على كرم الله وجهه فقد ثبت أنه مستمر القول على جوازها ولم يرجع

“Three statements have been narrated from Ibn Abbas (ra) regarding Mut’ah, the first one is about its absolute lawfulness, the second is about its lawfulness in an emergency and the last is about an absolute prohibition and this is not proven, unlike the first two statements that have been proven to be attributed to him. And Allah knows best.”
Download the book from www.almeshkat.com

We read in Fatah ul Qadeer Sharah Hidayah:

“The position of Ibn Abbas on the permissibility of Mut’ah until his last day is proven”.

In Rasal wa Masail Volume 3 pages 53-54, Maulana Sayyid Abu’l A’lal Maudoodi was asked whether Ibn Abbas revoked his position on Mut’ah by one of his supporters and this was his answer:

“The comments of the people of knowledge in connection with this are before me, and it is true that differences exist in the chapter those traditions that I have noted do not prove that Ibn Abbas deemed his opinion to be wrong, rather it would suggest that he had only issued edicts in its support…

In Fatah ul Bari, Allamah Ibn Hajr noted these comments from Makkan narrators:

‘The people of Makka noted the Fatwa of Ibn Abbas, on the permissibility to practise Mut’ah, although there are also calls wherein he revoked this position, these chains are weak, whilst Sahih traditions evidence that he deemed it permissible’ later Ibn Hajr admits that there are differences over whether he revoked it.”

Reply Three: The students of Ibn Abbas had a better idea about his stance on Mut’ah

Whilst we have proved that Ibn Abbas remained firm on the permissibility of Nikah al-Mut’a until the end of his life if our opponents still argue that he changed his mind towards the end of his life, then we should point out that his students, who are counted as revered personalities in the Sunni school had a much better knowledge of the stance of Ibn Abbas, which is why Saeed bin Jubayr, Tawoos bin Kaysan and Ata bin Riayah deemed Mut’a to be Halal. We shall now expand on this further.

The Sahaba of Abdullah bin Abbas deemed Mut’ah to be Halal

As evidence we shall cite the following Sunni texts:

  1. Fatah ul Bari Sharh Bukhari, Volume 9 page 172 Bab Nikah
  2. Umdah Thul Qari Fi Sharh Bukhari, Volume 8 p. 10 Bab Ghazwa Khyber
  3. AuJaza al Masalik, Volume 9 page 404
  4. Nail al-Autar, Volume 6 page 533 Dhikr Mut’ah
  5. Sharh Zarqani Muwatta Imam Malik, Volume 3 page 54
  6. Tafseer Khazan, Volume 1 page 423
  7. Al-Estidkar by Ibn Abdul Barr, Volume 5 page 506
  8. Kanz al-Daqaiq, Volume 5 page 289

We read the following statement about Ibn Abbas in Tafseer Khazan:

فروي عنه أن الآية محكمة وكان يرخص في المتعة

“It has been narrated from him that the verse is Muhkam and he used to permit mutah”

For those who are unaware of word Muhkam, we should elaborate that Muhkam is the type of verse that has not been abrogated whatsoever. Imam of Ahle Sunnah Munawi records in Faiz al-Qadeer, Volume 4 page 508:

آية محكمة أي لم تنسخ

“Muhkam verse is that which has not been abrogated”

Allamah Azeem Abadi records in ‘Awn al-Mabood Sharah Sunan Abu Dawood’ Volume 8 page 66:

آية محكمة أي غير منسوخة

“Muhkam verse is the one which has not been abrogated”

We read in Fatah ul Bari:

Ibn Hazm stated: ‘Those who deemed Mut’ah to be Halaal after the Holy Prophet (s) are Ibn Masud, Mu’awiya , Abu Saeed, Ibn Abbas, Salama, Ma’bad the son of Umayyah bin Khalaf, Jabir, Amr bin Huraith..”

We read in in Fatah ul Bari as well as in Sharh of Muwtta Imam Malik by Allamah Zarqani:

قال ابن عبد البر‏:‏ أصحاب ابن عباس من أهل مكة واليمن على إباحتها

Ibn Abdulbar said: ‘The companions of Ibn Abbas from Makka and Yemen believed that it was lawful’

Similarly we read in Kanz al-Daqaiq:

وَاشْتَهَرَ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ تَحْلِيلُهَا وَتَبِعَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَكْثَرُ أَصْحَابِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ وَمَكَّةَ

“It is popular that Ibn Abbas permitted it and most of his companions from Yemen and Makka followed him”

His student Abdullah bin Uthman bin Khaytham said:

 

عبد الرزاق عن ابن جريج قال: أخبرني عبد الله بن عثمان بن خثيم قال: كانت بمكة امرأة عراقية تنسك جميلة، لها ابن يقال له أبو أمية، وكان سعد بن جبير يكثر الدخول عليها، قلت: يا أبا عبد الله ما أكثر ما تدخل على هذه المرأة، قال: إنا قد نكحناها ذلك النكاح - للمتعة - قال: وأخبرني أن سعيد قال له: هي أحل من شرب الماء - للمتعة.

"There was a pious, beautiful Iraqi woman in Mecca. She had a son called Abu Umayyah; and Saeed bin Jubayr used to enter upon her a lot.

I said: O Abu ‘Abd Allah! Why do you frequently enter upon this woman?

He said, “We have married her in that marriage”, referring to Mutah.

He (Ibn Jurayj) said: He (Abdullah) informed me that Saeed said to him: “it is more halal than the drinking of water ; referring to mutah"

(Musanaf Abdul Razzaq. Ref : Tafsir Saeed bin Jubayr - Collected by Dr. Ahmad AlEmrani Volume 6 Page 100 Hadith number 511)

 

Nail al-Autar states:

“Those individuals that deem Mut’ah halaal were Taus, Ata bin Abi Rabeh and Saeed bin Jubair”

Allamah Ibn Abdul Barr records:

Abu Umar said: ‘All the companions of ibn Abbas from the people Makka and Yemen, consider Mutah halal’

Qadhi Thanaullah Panee Patti in his Tafseer Mazhari, Volume 3 page 19 makes this comment:

Ibn Hajr Asqalani cites those Tabieen that gave Fatwas on Mut’ah being halaal, they were Ibn Jurrayj, Tawoos, ‘Ataa’, the students of Ibn Abbas, Sa’eed bin Jubair and the Fuqaha of Makka.”

Tafseer Mazhari, Volume 3, Page 19

Ibn Tamiyah quotes the comments of Ibn Hazm:

“Among the Successors of the Companions, Tawoos, Sa’eed bin Jubair, ‘Ataa’, and the rest of the Makkan jurists believed in its permissibility.”
Ibn Tamiyah al-Harrani, al-Muntaqaa min Akhbaar al-Mustafa, edited by Muhammad Hamid al-Faqqi, 2 volumes, Cairo: al-Maktabat al-Tijariyya, 1931 edition, volume 2, page 520

These students of Ibn ‘Abbas were all given a very high rank by the Sunni ‘ulama. We shall present some facts about these great individuals.

Tawoos bin Kaysaan, Died in 106 hijrah:
He was a highly reliable hadeeth narrator and Prophetic traditions from him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal.
- Tawoos narrates 85 traditions in Sahih Bukhari and 78 in Sahih Muslim.

Ibn Kathir states about him:

“He was an exalted Imam… he had met with almost 50 Sahabah and most of his traditions are narrated from Ibn Abbas. Many prominent Tabaeen have narrated traditions from him”
Al Bidayah wal Nihayah (Urdu), Vol 9 page 305 ‘Events of 106 H’.

Sa’eed bin Jubair, Died in 94 or 95 hijrah:
He was a highly reliable hadeeth narrator and Prophetic traditions from him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Imam Maalik bin Anas.
Sa’eed narrates 147 traditions in Sahih Bukhari and 78 in Sahih Muslim.

‘Ataa bin Abi Riyah, Died in 114 or 115 hijrah:
He was a highly reliable hadeeth narrator and Prophetic traditions from him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal.
‘Ataa narrates over 100 traditions in each of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

Ibn Kathir while writing about Ata states in his esteemed work Al Bidayah wal Niahayah (Urdu), Vol 9 page 339 ‘Events of 114 H’ published by Nafees Academy Karachi:

“He was extremely Thiqa and an exalted person among all Kabar Tab’een. He met with 200 Sahabah… Ata was a Thiqa scholar and a jurist… Abu sabgh al Baqir said: ‘I never found a more learned Faqih than Ata’.”

We invite those with open minds to consult the taraajim (biographical notices) in the rijaal books for each of these 3 towering personalities and the glowing tributes paid to them by the likes of al-Dhahabi, Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani, and in particular al-Mizzi’s Tahdheeb al-Kamal. Use the index to locate the individuals.

Now that we have made reference to the esteemed rank of these three personalities let us now analyse the magnificent words of Nida ul Islam magazine:

Temporary marriage – i.e., Mut’ah marriage – was permitted at the beginning of Islam, then it was abrogated and became haraam until the Day of Judgement.

Were Imams of Ahle Sunnah Sa’eed, Tawoos, and ‘Ataa advocating haraam sexual relations? Or was it a valid difference of understanding from the sources (Ijtihad) as legal scholars frequently have in many areas?

On these grounds, Mut’ah marriage is considered to be zina (adultery or fornication), even if both parties consent to it, and even if it lasts for a long time, and even if the man pays the woman a mahr. There is nothing that has been reported in Shari’ah that shows that it may be permitted, apart from the brief period when it was allowed during the year of the conquest of Makkah.

Were Sa’eed, Tawoos, and ‘Ataa advocating zina? Or was it a valid difference of understanding from the sources (Ijtihad) as legal scholars frequently have in many areas? According to the quoted statement you imply that even many Companions were, na’oodhubillah, involved in zina (see the plethora of traditions which show Companions were involved in Mut’ah after he demise of the Prophet (s) – some of these have been quoted earlier). The enmity against the Shi’a makes people blind to what they say and who else they implicate!

As temporary marriage was a custom amongst Arabs in the days of ignorance, it would not have been wise to forbid it except gradually, as is the manner of Islam in removing pre-Islamic customs which were contrary to the interests of people.

Were Sa’eed, Tawoos, and ‘Ataa from the days of the jahiliyya, or were they from the generation who saw, met the Companions and obtained their religious knowledge from them – decades after the Islamic Shari’a had taken its final form? It is clear they were from the latter and still proponents of Mut’ah. So was it a valid difference of understanding from the sources (Ijtihad) as legal scholars frequently have in many areas?

It is well established that temporary marriage does not agree with the interests of people because it causes loss to the offspring, uses women for fulfilment of the lusts of men, and belittles the value of a woman whom Allah has honoured. So temporary marriage was forbidden.

Now who would tell Sa’eed, Tawoos, and ‘Ataa who obviously thought that was NOT the case. And what about the noble Companion of the Prophet (s), Jabir al-Ansaari, who himself admitted to holding Mut’ah permissible till the end of caliphate of ‘Umar (see evidence supplied earlier in this article)? And you say we insult the Companions?

There is no doubt that contemplation in this brief message will find in it convincing proof that temporary marriage is prohibited for those who believe in Allah and are free from blind loyalty.

Did Sa’eed, Tawoos, and ‘Ataa believe in Allah and were they free from blind loyalty? Why did this ‘convincing proof’ not come to the notice of Ata’a, Tawoos and Sa’eed? Does Abu Ruqqaya possess greater knowledge than these three Tabaeen / Fuquha? Why did these reliable scholars of hadith – from whom Bukhari and Muslim narrate and believe that Mut’ah was valid decades after these Companions had passed away?

We appeal to those with open minds, if (according to Ahl as-Sunnah) all the Sahaba are stars of guidance for the Ummah, and difference amongst the ‘ulama is a blessing, and that every scholar issues a correct fatwa, then we appeal for justice before our Muslim brothers. If Ibn Abbas and his Sahaba and Tabieen can be deemed as Islamic scholars, then we see that they all ruled in favour of Mut’ah. Why is it impermissible to follow these stars of guidance, and obligatory to follow ‘Umar? This question becomes even more difficult to answer when we see how ‘Umar’s fatwa completely contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The opposition of Imran bin Husain to Umar’s order

Another prominent Sahabi Imran bin Husain also maintained the view that Mut’ah was permitted in Islam but it was Umar who subsequently made it Haram. We read the following tradition in Sahih Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 43:

عن عمران بن حصين ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قال أنزلت آية المتعة في كتاب الله ففعلناها مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولم ينزل قرآن يحرمه، ولم ينه عنها حتى مات قال رجل برأيه ما شاء‏.‏

Narrated ‘Imran bin Husain: The Verse of Hajj-at-Tamatu was revealed in Allah’s Book, so we performed it with Allah’s Apostle, and nothing was revealed in Qur’an to make it illegal, nor did the Prophet prohibit it till he died. But the man (who regarded it illegal) just expressed what his own mind suggested.

By words ‘The man’ Imran bin Hussain was referring to Umar as stated by Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani under the commentary:

هو عمر كما ثبت في صحيح مسلم

‘He is Umar as its proven in Sahih Muslim’
Fatah al-Bari, Volume 1 page 275

At another place Ibn Hajar recorded the words of Imam Kirmani regarding the same tradition who also confirmed that it was Umar whome Imran bin Hussain has indirectly referred to:

وأغرب الكرماني فقال ظاهر سياق كتاب البخاري أن المراد به عثمان …… والأولى أن يفسر بعمر فإنه أول من نهى عنها وكأن من بعده كان تابعا له في ذلك

Kirmani had an odd opinion by saying that it appears from Bukhari’s context that it meant Uthman …. While it is more deserving to say that it is Umar because he was the first one who prohibited it whilst those that came after him had just followed him’.
Fatah al-Bari, Volume 3 page 433

Some defenders of Umar often claim that Imran bin Husain was referring to Mut’ah al-Hajj and not Mut’ah al-Nisa and by words ‘The Verse of Hajj-at-Tamatu was revealed in Allah’s Book’ he was referring to 2:196 and not 4:24. First of all we would like to clarify that at no where in the original Arabic text has the word ‘Hajj’ been used and it is only the Saudi paid Wahabi translator who has incorporated this word, hence the correct English translation should be:

‘The Verse of Mut’ah was revealed in Allah’s Book’

Secondly, for such people, we would like to remind them that Umar banned both types of Mut’ah at one time, thus, although in the cited tradition Imran bin Hussain has only mentioned Mut’ah al-Hajj it doesn’t mean that he regarded Mut’ah al-Nisa as Haram or believed that Umar only outlawed Mut’ah al-Hajj. The defenders of Umar need to be more broad minded and should look at the matter in its entirety. If and ambiguity remains, we would like to cite the opinions of those Sunni scholars who attested that Imran bin Husain believed that both types of Mut’ah were allowed in Islam and it was Umar who had made both of them Haram. Qurtubi in his Tafseer of Quran, Volume 5 page 133 (under the commentary of 4:24) cited the comments of Abu Bakr al-Tartusi:

وقال أبو بكر الطرطوسي‏:‏ ولم يرخص في نكاح المتعة إلا عمران بن حصين وابن عباس وبعض الصحابة وطائفة من أهل البيت‏.‏

Abu Bakr al-Tartusi said: ‘Nobody allowed Nikah al-Mut’ah except Imran bin Husain, Ibn Abbas, and some Sahaba and a group of Ahlulbayt’.

Imam Abu Ishaq Thalabi in his Tafseer known as ‘Al-Kashaf al-Bayan’ Volume 3 page 385 (under the commentary of 4:24) stated a similar thing:

قال الثعلبي : قلت ولم يرخص في نكاح المتعة إلا عمران بن الحصين وعبد الله بن عباس وبعض أصحابه وطائفة من أهل البيت

Thalabi said: ‘Nobody allowed Nikah al-Mut’ah except Imran bin Husain, Ibn Abbas, and some Sahaba and a group of Ahlulbayt’.

We read in Tafseer Haqqani:

“Some scholars deem Mut’ah permissible, in the same way the Sahaba Ibn Abbas and Imran bin Husain deemed it permissible, they say that this woman is also a wife”.
Tafseer Haqqani, Vol 2 page 4 (published in 1956, Deoband UP. India)

We read in Tafseer Gharaib al-Quran, Volume 2 page 475:

واتفقوا على أنها كانت مباحة في أول الإسلام ، ثم السواد الأعظم من الأمة على أنها صارت منسوخة ، وذهب الباقون ومنهم الشيعة إلى أنها ثابتة كما كانت ، ويروى هذا عن ابن عباس وعمران بن الحصين

“They have agreed that it was permissible during the early era of Islam, then the vast majority of the nation agreed that it was abrogated, whilst the remainder including the Shia stated that it is still permissible, and (the permissibility tradition) is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Imran bin Husain”

Even if for arguments sake we concede to our stubborn opponents insistence that Imran bin Husain was only referring to Mut’ah al-Hajj, can they answer the challenge thrown down by the Sahabi Imran bin Husain himself against Umar in relation to Mut’ah al-Hajj? Can they produce a single Quranic verse that abrogates Mut’ah al-Hajj? How did Umar have the audacity to abrogate the verse 2:196 of the Holy Quran?

The bottom line is Imran bin Husain was one of those companions who believed that it was Umar bin al-Khattab who had the audacity to declare both types of Mut’as to be Haraam!

Asma Bint Abu Bakr’s opposition to Umar

There can be no doubt that the Qur’an bears witness that Mut’ah was originally Halaal and it was Umar who forbade it. Supporting this are the actions of the Companions themselves, Nasibi of course know this, but as is their habit prefer to deny this fact so as to keep their subjects living in ignorance. Here is Ansar.Org’s response to this vicious Rafidi claim that appeared on the ‘frequently asked questions’ section:

Question:
Salamon Alaykom, I have heard that Zubayr Al-Sabilbi married Asma Bint Abu Bakr by Mut’ah Marriage and from this union were born, Abdalliih Ibin Zubayr and Urwah Ibin ZubayrIs this correct?So does this mean that Temporary marriage was being practiced even in the time of Aboobakr?Please note that this is the daughter of Aboobakr that is engaged, so it does not make sense to say maybe Aboobakr was not aware of this marriage.Will appreciate a sufficient replyAnswer:

Wa alikum assalam wa rahmatullah wa baraktuh

First of all brother , Abdullah & Urwah are the sons of Alzubair ibn Al-Awwam not Zubayr Al-Sabilbi.

And there were not temporary marriage between Asma Bint Abu Bakr and anyone.

And for your information brother , Abdullah ibn Alzubair was very strict in the topic of Mutaa, he believe that it is haram and was very strict with the people who said it is halaal in his time.

So how comes he was born from A Mutaa ( Temporary marrige )?!

As I said brother before , Shia used to lie sometimes to prove that they are correct!

One wonders ‘why’ these Nasibi make such confident assertions, when ample material exist confirming that Asma did indeed contract Mut’ah with Zubayr and her two sons Urwa and Abdullah were indeed the products of this union. This Nasibi should know that the ‘lie to prove that we are correct’ for Asma’s Mut’ah is discussed in the following Sunni sources:

  1. Talkhees al Habeer fi Takhreej ahadeeth al Rafa al Kabeer, Volume 3 page 159 Topic 1506 (printed Cairo)
  2. Musnad Abu Dawood al Tayaalsi, Volume 7 Page 227 (printed in Hyderabad)
  3. Sunan Kabeera by Imam Nasai Volume 3 page 326 Tradition 5540
  4. Muajam al-Kabir by Imam Tabarani, Vol 24 page 103 Tradition 277
  5. Menhat al M’abood, Volume 1 page 309 by Ahmad Abdulrahman al-Bana
  6. Nail al-Autar by Imam Showkani, Volume 6 page 194
  7. Aqd al Fareed, Volume 3 page 157
  8. Tauhfa tul Ashraaf by Imam Jamaluddin Mizi, Vol 13 page 152 Tradition 15734
  9. Sharh Muwatta by Imam Zarqani, Volume 3 page 153
  10. Tafseer al-Mazhari, Surah an-Nisa, Page 74
  11. Sharh Ibn al Hadeed, Volume 4 page 75
  12. Al-Muhazraat, Volume 3 page 14
  13. Murujh al Dhahab, Volume 3 page 90 Dhikr Mu’awiya bin Yazeed
  14. Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 190

Imam Ibn Hajr Asqalani in ‘Talkhees al Habeer fi Takhreej al Hadeeth al Rafa al Kabeer’ Volume 3 page 159 (printed Cairo) narrates as follows:

“After the death of Holy Prophet (s), a group of Salaf deemed it Halal. Amongst the Sahaba they were Asma bint Abi Bakr, Jabir bin Abdullah, Ibn Masood, Ibn Abbas, Mu’awiya, Amr bin Huraith, Abu Saeed, Salama and Mu’abad bin Umaya bin Khalaf. He said that Jabir reported from the companions that (it was valid) during the reign of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and some part of Umar’s reign. He said that it is reported from Umar that he forbade it only if there were not two just witnesses. Some of Tab’een deemed (it halal) such as Tawous, Atta, Saeed bin Jubair and the majority of the jurists of Makka.”

Moreover we read:

“What has been reported from Asma, al-Nesa’i narrates it from Muslim Quri: ‘We went before Asma bint Abu Bakr and we asked her about Mut’ah al-Nisa, she replied: ‘I performed this Mut’ah during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s)”
http://feqh.al-islam.com/Display.asp?Mode=0&MaksamID=101&DocID=51&ParagraphID=1206&Diacratic=1
Download book from www.almeshkat.net (Volume 3 No. 1506)

Imam Shokani in his book ‘Neel al-Autar’ has also relied on the list of Sahabah and Tabayeen provided by Imam Ibn Hazam who deemed Mutah to be permissible which includes Asma bint Abu Bakar (as quoted by Ibn Hajar Asqalani). Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Baqi bin Yusuf al-Zarqani in his commentary of Muwatta of Imam Malik, also provided the names of Sahabah who believed in the legitimacy of Mutah:

ثبت الجواز عن جمع من الصحابة كجابر وابن مسعود وأبي سعيد ومعاوية وأسماء بنت أبي بكر وابن عباس وعمرو بن الحويرث وسلمة، وعن جماعة من التابعين

“Its permissibility is proved from a group of companions such as Jabir, Ibn Masoud, Abi Saeed, Mu’awiya, Asma bint Abi Bakr, Ibn Abbas, Amro bin Huraith, Salamah and also from a group of Tabyeen.”
Download Sharah Zarqani from almeshkat.com (Volume 3 page 153)

In the version of Musnad Abu Dawood available on the internet, the tradition can be read in Volume 5 page 48 Tradition 1731:

حدثنا يونس قال : حدثنا أبو داود قال : حدثنا شعبة ، عن مسلم القري ، قال : دخلنا على أسماء بنت أبي بكر ، فسألناها عن متعة النساء ، فقالت : « فعلناها على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

“We came to Asma Bint Abu Bakr and asked her about Mut’ah with women. She said: ‘We performed this during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s)’”.
Musnad Abu Dawood al-Tayaalsi, Volume 5 page 48 Tradition 1731

All the narrators in this chain are authentic. Yunus bin Habib: Imam Dahabi said: ‘Hujjah’ (Siar alam alnubala, v12 p596), Imam Abu Hatim Razi said: ‘Thiqa’ (Al-Jarh wa al-Tadeel, v9 p237). Abu Dawood al-Teyaalsi: Dahabi said: ‘One of the celebrites of Hufaz’ (Tazkirat al-Hufaz, v1 p351), Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p384).Shu’aba bin al-Hajaj: Dahabi said: ‘Thabt Hujjah’ (Al-Kashif, v1 p485), Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p418). Muslim bin Makhraq al-Abdi al-Quri: Dahabi said: ‘authenticated’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p260), Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani said: ‘Thiqa’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p180).

We read in Tafseer Mazhari:

Amongst the Sahaba exist a group that believed in the legitimacy of Mut’ah. Nasai and Tahawi have stated that Asma (ra) Bint Sidiq Akbar (ra) said: “We practised it during the life of Rasulullah(s).”

Tafseer al-Mazhari, Surah an-Nisa, Page 74

If anyone is a pioneer/groundbreaker in a field we have to admire them, no matter who they are. Some Muslims at that time would have no doubt had concerns that their women would become rendered useless through this practise. Fortunately a woman from the upstanding household of Abu Bakr ventured out and offered herself to the Muslim males. Ansar.Org had posed this amazing rhetorical question:

And for your information brother, Abdullah ibn Alzubair was very strict in the topic of Mutaa, he believe that it is haram and was very strict with the people who said it is halaal in his time. So how comes he was born from A Mutaa ( Temporary marrige )?!

What great logic! Does the Nasibi author wants to suggest that Ibn Zubayr prior to his conception appeared in his mother’s dream and asked that she steer clear of Nikah al Mutah as he would deem it impermissible in the future?

Mu’awiya and Amr ibn al Aas were the products of a union between their mothers and several men. All because they were born in such a manner does not automatically mean they liked this type of conception, or that they believed in its legitimacy! The ‘honest’ scholar is correct. Ibn Zubayr was indeed opposed to Mut’ah, and he voiced his opposition to it when debating with Ibn Abbas. What this man of truth has forgotten to tell his adherent is the fact that the same Ibn Abbas managed to silence Ibn Zubayr by informing him that he was the product of Mut’ah, as can be evidenced in your esteemed Sunni works. Imam of Ahl as-Sunnah al-Raghib al-Isfahani reported in Muhazraat, Volume 2 page 96:

عير عبد الله بن الزبير عبد الله بن عباس بتحليله المتعة فقال له: سل أمك كيف سطعت المجامر بينها وبين أبيك؟فسألها فقالت: ما ولدتك إلا في المتعة.

“Abdullah Ibn Zubayr mocked Abdullah Ibn Abbad for believing that Mut’ah was halaal, Ibn Abbas said: ‘Go and ask your mother as to how she and your father first used this practise’. He asked his mother, and she replied: ‘Verily I bore you through Mut’ah’

We read in Zaad al Maad, Volume 2 page 190:

وقال عبد الرازق : حدثنا معمر عن أيوب قال : قال عروة لابن عباس : ألا تتقي الله ترخص في المتعة ؟ فقال ابن عباس : سل أمك يا عرية

Abdulrazaq said: M’u'amar narrated from Ayub that Urwa said to Ibn Abbas: ‘Don’t you fear Allah by permitting Mut’ah? He (Ibn Abbas) replied: ‘O Urwa, ask your mother’.

In Iqd al-Fareed we read:

(Ibn Abbas said:) ‘Mut’ah was first practised by al-Zubair’

Despite such clear evidence some modern day adherents of Mu’awiya have decided to completely rewrite history by denying that Mut’ah was ever allowed in Islam! Asma openly opposed her uncle Umar on the issue of Mut’ah. Had it been abrogated she would have mentioned it, but her failure to comment proves she still deemed it to be halaal.

Imran Bin Sawadah’s opposition to Umar

Imam Ibn Jareer Tabari has reocrded the following incident in his Tarikh:

Imran Ibn Sawadah reported: “I went to Umar’s house and told him that I want to give him some advice. His reply was, “The person giving good advice is welcomed anytime.” I said, “Your community finds fault with you on four accounts.” Umar put the top of his whip in his beard and the lower part on his thigh. Then he said, “Tell me more.” I continued, “It has been mentioned that you declared the lesser pilgrimage forbidden during the months of pilgrimage…” He answered, “It is permitted. If they were to perform the lesser pilgrimage during the months of the pilgrimage, they would regard it as being a lieu of the full pilgrimage, and (Mecca) would be celebrated by no one, although it is part of God’s greatness. You are right.” I continued, “It is also said that you have forbidden temporary marriage, although it was a license given by God. We enjoy a temporary marriage for a handful (of dates), and we can separate after three nights.” He replied, “The Messenger of God permitted it at the time of necessary. Then people regained their life of comfort. I do not know any Muslim who has practised this or gone back to it. Now, anyone who wishes to, can marry for a handful (of dates) and separate after three nights. You are right.” I continued, “You emancipate a slave girl if she gives birth, without her master’s (consenting to) the emancipation… (and the fourth complain is) There have been some complaints of your raising your voice against your subjects and your addressing them harshly.”

History of al-Tabari, English version, Volume 14, pp 139 & 140

This narration clearly separates truth from falsehood. Umar states that people can engage in Temporary Marriage again. Interestingly see how the one who was talking to Umar, says that you forbade it but we still ENJOY this type of marriage! He uses the word “enjoy” and not “enjoyed” meaning that what is important to us is Allah’s command and not Umar’s, and thus we still do it. He also mentioned that Temporary Marriage is licensed by Allah and people are unhappy about this innovation of Umar.

It is interesting to note that Umar never attributed the prohibition of Mut’ah to the Prophet (s). There were others who did that after his death, mainly to justify what Umar did which was also being enforced in the reign of Uthman. Umar clearly mentioned that: “Mut’ah was permitted at the time of the Prophet and I prohibit it!” If it was really the Prophet (s) who cancelled Mut’ah, Umar would have said: The two Mut’ah were Halal and then became Haram at the time of the Prophet, and I am informing you about the second law set by the Prophet which cancelled the first.

The Sahabi Jabir bin Abdullah deemed Mut’ah to be halaal

Before we mention the belief of a Sahabi Jabir bin Abdullah towards the permissibility of Nikah al-Mutah, we shall point out that the followers of Umar tried their best to fabricate a tradition regarding the impermissiblity of Mutah attributing to Jabir bin Abdullah. We read in Majma al-Zawaid:

“Jabir reported: ‘We made an exit along with the women with whom we had contracted temporary marriage, Holy Prophet (s) stated: ‘They are Haram until the day of Qayamah’. Those women then departed from us. From that day the place became popular with the name of ‘Thanetal Wida’ while before that, the place was known as ‘Thanetal Rakab’.
Majma al-Zawaid, Volume 4 Tradition 7386

The forgery of this tradition can be proven from the fact that Imam Abi Bakar al-Haythami records about this tradition that “Tabarani has narrated it in Awsat and one of the narrators of this tradition is Sadqa bin Abdullah” about whom Ahmed bin Hanbal stated in his book Al-Elal, Volume 1 page 551: ‘He is nothing, his hadith is weak and his narrations are munkar, his hadith worth nothing’. Imam Muslim stated about him: ‘He narrated Munkir’. Imam Ibn Hajar Asqlaani in Taqreeb al-Tahdeeb Volume 1 page 436, Imam Dhahabi in Al-Kashif, Volume 1 page 502 and Imam Nasai in Al-Dhu’afa, page 196 have declared him weak, while Imam Bukhari stated in his book Al-Dhu’afa al-Saghir, page 64 that he is ‘very weak’.

As for the subject [matan] of the cited tradition, Sahabi Jabir bin Abdullah has been alleged to quote Prophet (s) ‘They are Haram till the day of Qayamah’ while the Sahih traditions inform us that Jabir bin Abdullah not only deemed Mutah to be Halal but he himself contracted temporary marriage even after the death of Holy Prophet (s). Perhaps the followers of Umar did not consider this point while fabricating the above tradition and attributing to Jabir bin Abdullah. We are relying from the following Sunni sources.

  1. Sahih Muslim, Bab ul Nikah, book 008, number 3249
  2. Kanz al Ummal, Volume 8 page 293 Bab
  3. Nail al-Autar, Volume 6 page 153 Bab
  4. Sharh Muwatta by Zarqani, Volume 3 page 154
  5. Aujza al Masalik fi Sharh Muwatta Imam Malik, Volume 3 page 154
  6. Fatah ul Bari Volume, 7 page 172 Kitab Nikah
  7. Sunan al Kabeera, Volume 7 page 206 Kitab al-Hajj

We read in Sahih Muslim:

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported: We contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of (tales or flour as a dower during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and durnig the time of Abu Bakr until ‘Umar forbade it in the case of ‘Amr b. Huraith.

We read a Sahih tradition in Musnad Ahmed:

Abi Nadhra said: ‘I said to Jabir bin Abdullah that Ibn Zubair prohibitis Mut’ah while Ibn Abbas allows it. He (Jabir) replied: ‘Through me this hadith has been circulated, we performed Mut’ah with Allah’s messenger (pbuh), and Abu Bakr, but when Umar become caliph he addressed the people and said: ‘Quran is the same Quran, Allah’s apostle is the same apostle, and there were two types of Mut’ah during the time of Allah’s Messenger, one of it was the Mut’ah of Hajj whereas the other was Mut’ah of women’’’.
Musnad Ahmed bin Hanbal, Volume 1 page 52 Hadith 369
Musnad Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Volume 1, Page 437

Allamah Waheed uz Zaman Khan in ‘Lughaat ul Hadeeth’ Volume 4 page 10, Chapter ‘Meem” recorded:

Jabir ibn Abdullah narrates that during the life of Rasulullah (s) and reign of Abu Bakr Siddique and the early reign of Umar, we continually practised Mut’ah, until someone did something subject to his own opinion [It is being referred to Hadhrat Umar, means he prohibited it].

Lughaat ul Hadeeth, alphabet: Meem, page 10 (published in Karachi)

We read in ‘Sunan al Kabeera’ by Imam Behaqqi, Volume 7 page 206:

Jabir was asked: Ibn Zubayr tells people to refrain from Mut’ah, whilst Ibn Abbas says it is permissible. Jabir replied: ‘We practised Mut’ah during the lifetime of Rasulullah (s) and Abu Bakr. When Umar became khalifa he delivered a sermon: ‘Rasulullah (s) and the Quran have not changed, during the life of Rasulullah (s) there were two types of Mut’ah, I ban them and shall punish one who breaks this, one is Mut’ah with women, and I shall stone any man who marry temporary with a woman, the other is Mut’ah of Hajj, separate your Umra and your Hajj because it is the perfection for Hajj and Umra”’.
Online Sunah al Kubra by al Behaqi, Kitab al Haj, Hadith 8958

Here, Jabir admits Mut’ah was practised during Abu Bakr’s reign. If Rasulullah(s) banned Mut’ah then why were Sahaba still indulging in this haram act during Abu Bakr’s reign.? Jabir’s testimony is clear proof that Mut’ah was not abrogated by Rasulullah(s), and that ‘Umar’s act was a clear innovation in Islam. These narrations on the permissibility of Mut’ah by Jabir the Sahabi has shakes the root of the Sunni religion, we also read in Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3248, Bab ul Nikah:

Ibn Uraij reported: ‘Ati’ reported that Jabir b. Abdullah came to perform ‘Umra, and we came to his abode, and the people asked him about different things, and then they made a mention of temporary marriage, whereupon he said: Yes, we had been benefiting ourselves by this temporary marriage during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) and during the time of ‘Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.

We read in Tahdeeb al Kamal, Volume 20 page 84:

“Abu Hafs al-Baheli reported that Umar bin Qais asked Atta: ‘When were you born?’ He answered: ‘Two years after Uthman’s caliphate.’”

This proves that long after Umar’s death, Jabir continued to maintain his position on the permissibility of Mut’ah and didn’t deem Mutah to be prohibited. On the contrary he made it clear that this was practised during the lifetime of Rasulullah(s), Abu Bakr and Umar. So if Mut’ah is Zina, were the Sahaba indulging in Zina during these golden ages?

Sahabi Abu Saeed Khudri deemed Mutah Halal and even practiced it after the death of the Holy Prophet (s)

Imam of Ahle Sunnah, Badruddin al-Aini records the following testimony of famed Sahabi Abu Saeed Khudri:

عن أبي سعيد الخدري وجابر بن عبد الله قالا: تمتعنا إلى نصف من خلافة عمر رضي الله عنه حتى نهى عمر الناس عنها في شأن عمرو بن حريث

Abu Saeed Khudri amd Jabir bin Abdullah narrated: ‘We contracted temporary marriage up until the (first) half of the Umar’s (ra) caliphate until he forbade it in the case of Amr Bin Huraith’.
Umada tul Qari Sharah Sahih Bukhari, Volume 17 page 246

We read in Al-Mughni, Volume 7 page 571:

وحكي عن ابن عباس أنها جائزة وعليه أكثر أصحابه : عطاء و طاووس و به قال ابن جريج وحكى ذلك عن أبي سعيد الخدري وجابر وإليه ذهب الشيعة

“It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that it is permissible and that is the opinion of most of his companions via Atta and Tawoos and so is the opinion of Ibn Juraij, it has also been narrated that same was the opinion of Abi Saeed al-Khudri and Jabir, and the same opinion is of the Shia.”

Umar’s debate with a Sahabi on Mut’ah

We read in Kanz al-Ummal, Volume 7 page 94 Dhikr Mut’ah:

Um Abdullah bint Abi Khuthaima stated that a man came from Syria and said: ‘Celibacy has become difficult for me, arrange a woman for me with whom I can perform mutah’. She replied by directing him to a woman, with whom he eneted into an agreement, and brought forward just witnesses. He stayed with the woman for as long as Allah (swt) wanted him to stay and then left.
Umar received information and summoned me and asked: ‘Is what happened true? I replied: ‘Yes’. He (Umar) said: ‘If he returns let me know’. Upon his return, I informed Umar. He (Umar) summoned him, when he (the man) went to him, Umar asked him: ‘Why you did that?’
The man replied: ‘I performed it during the lifetime of Rasulullah(s), and he never prohibited it until the time of his death. Then I practised it during the time of Abu Bakr and he never prohibited it until the time of his death, I also practised Mut’ah during your reign and you didn’t narrate any evidence of its prohibition.’
Umar replied: ‘By whom my soul in his hand! If I had forbade this before today, I would have stoned you, declare it (to the public) so that they can distinguish nikah from adultery’

Kanz ul Ummal, Volume 7 Hadith 45726

So here we have another example of a companion admitting that there was no such prohibition of Nikah al Mutah right during the era of Holy Prophet (s) and the early days of Umar’s reign.

Mu’awiya also practised Mut’ah al-Nisa

We shall cite the following authentic Sunni sources as proof:

  1. Fatah ul Bari, Volume 9 page 174
  2. Talkhees al Habeer, Volume 3 page 159
  3. Sharh Zarqani (commentary of Muwatta) Volume 3 page 53
  4. Aujza al Masalik, Sharh Muwatta, Volume 9 page 403
  5. Nail al-Autar Volume 6 page 153
  6. Musanaf Abdul Razaq, Volume 7 page 499

Imam Ibn Hajr Asqalani in ‘Talkhees al Habeer fi Takhreej al Hadeeth al Rafa al Kabeer’ Volume 3 page 159 (printed Cairo) quotes Ibn Hazam as follows:

“After the death of Holy Prophet (s), a group of Salaf deemed it Halal. Amongst the Sahaba they were Asma bint Abi Bakr, Jabir bin Abdullah, Ibn Masood, Ibn Abbas, Mu’awiya, Amr bin Huraith, Abu Saeed, Salama and Mu’abad bin Umaya bin Khalaf. He said that Jabir reported from the companions that (it was valid) during the reign of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and some part of Umar’s reign. He said that it is reported from Umar that he forbade it only if there were not two just witnesses. Some of Tab’een deemed (it halal) such as Tawous, Atta, Saeed bin Jubair and the majority of the jurists of Makka.”

The above individuals, all highly esteemed in the Sunni faith, deemed Mut’ah to be halaal after the death of Rasulullah(s).

If it was haram and is Zina, then why did the site in law of Rasulullah (s) practise it? And then we have the beloved Imam of Enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt (as), fifth Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Mu’awiya, believed it, practised it and paid this woman regular stipends? We read in Fatah ul Bari Volume 9 pages 174:

Abdulrazaq recorded from Safwan bin Yala bin Umaya that he said: ‘Yala told me that Muawiya perfrormed mutah with a woman in Taaif’. The chain is Sahih, but in Abi al-Zubair’s narration from Jabir as Abdulrazaq recorded was from past and text is: “When Muawiya arrived in Taaif, he performed mutah with a slave woman whose name was Mu’ana and she belonged to Bani al-Hadhrami” Then Jabir said: ‘Mu’ana lived till Mu’awiya’s riegn, he used to send her stipends every year’.
Fatah ul Bari Volume 9 pages 17

This has been similarly recorded in Musanaf Abdul Razaq, Volume 7 page 499.

Before parting, we deem it apt to cite the following account of the one of the most close Nasibi companion of Muawiya namely Samra bin Jundab:

“The father of Sulayman, perhaps he is Samra bin Jundab, he narrated from Manda from Mubsher bin Ismail from Huraiz bin Uthman from Sulayman bin Samir from his father that he said: ‘We used to perform Mut’ah during the time of Allah’s Messenger.”
Al-Isaba, Volume 3 page 185 Biography No. 3494

Comment:

If Mut’ah is adultery in the eyes of Nawasib like that of ‘Sipah e Sahaba’ (kr-hcy.com) then will they issue an edict against Mu’awiya for committing adultery? And why are they not ashamed of the adultery committed by their caliph and beloved sahabi? Nawasib such as Ansar.org are very proud to call Mu’awiya a ‘Hadi’ (guide) according to a (supposed) hadeeth, if the ‘Hadi’ of Nawasib is an adulterer then what can we expect from his followers!

Salama bin al-Akwa’s opposition to Umar

Sunni Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Harun al-Rawyani (d. 307 H) has recorded an account in his authority work Musnad al-Rawyani regarding the Sahabi Salama bin al-Umri bin al-Akwa. But before we go any further, let us just enlighten our readers about the importance of this book in Sunni sect:

Ibn Hajar said: ‘Musnad al-Rawyani is not less than the six books, nay it is worthier to be added to the five books instead of Sunnan Ibn Majah because it is much more perfect’
Faiz al-Qadir by al-Munawi, Volume 2 page 41

Imam al-Rawyani records the following in Musnad al-Rawyani, Volume 2 pages 259-260 Tradition 1170:

۔۔۔ أمر بها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فعملنا بها حتى قبضه الله ، ما أنزل الله فيها من تحريم ، ولا كان من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلينا فيها من نهي

Reported Ubada bin al-Walid bin Ubada al-Samet who was one of the pious Ansar and from a pious family, that once Hassan bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abi Talib said: ‘My family insist that this Mut’ah is permissibe and Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) allowed it, but you offer a contradicting view, let us go to Salama bin al-Akwa to ask him about it, surely he is one of the pious companions of the Prophet (pbuh).’
(Ubada said): ‘We then approached him, and met him in Marwan’s palace when he had lost his eye sight’. Hassan said: ‘Wait until my friend and I ask you about some hadith’. Salama said: ‘Who are you?’ He (Hassan) replied: ‘I am son of Muhammad son of Ali son of Abi Talib’. He (Salama) replied: ‘The son of my brother, well, who is the fellow with you and what do you want to ask me about?’ Hassan replied: ‘Mut’ah al-Nisa’.
(Salama) said: ‘Yes, yes my nephew, you two should keep my statement secret as long I am alive, if I die, then you can disclose it, if they (the people) wish to stone me, they would then (only be able to) stone my grave. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) allowed it and we used to perform it until he passed away, Allah didn’t reveal anything to abrogate it, furthermore Allah’s Messenger didn’t prohibit us’.

Ubada bin al-Walid: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v1 p534). Muhammad bin Ishaq: Dahabi said: ‘Seduq’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p156). Harun bin Abi Isa: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p331). Abdullah bin Harun: Dahabi said: ‘Seduq’ (Al-Kashif, v1 p604). Amr bin Ali: Dahabi said: ‘Master’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p84).

Sahabi Zaid bin Thabit also believed in the legitimacy of Mut’ah

Abu Jaffar Muhammad bin Habib Baghdadi (d. 245 H) records in his authority work Al-Muhbar, Volume 1 page 289:

من كان يرى المتعة من اصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه (خالد 1) بن عبد الله الانصاري.
و (زيد) بن ثابت الانصاري.
و (سلمة) بن الاكوع الاسلمي.
و (عمران) بن الحصين الخزاعى.
و (عبد الله) بن العباس بن عبد المطلب رضى الله عنه.

“Among those of the companions of Prophet (as) who belieived in Mut’ah were Khalid bin Abdullah al-Ansari, Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, Salamah bin al-Akwa al-Salami, Imran bin al-Husain al-Khuzai and Abdullah bin Abbas bin Abdulmutalib may Allah be pleased with him”.
Al-Muhbar, Volume 1 page 289

The first has been mistakenly written as Khalid which actualy is Jabir as pointed out in the footnotes of the book.

Saeed bin Jubayr contacted Mut’ah with a woman in Makkah

We are citing the following Sunni Sources.

  1. Fatah ul Bari, Volume 9 page 174
  2. Musanaf Abdur Razaq, Volume 7 page 496
  3. Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Volume 1 page 74
  4. Tafseer Fatah ul Qadeer, Volume 1 Page 74
  5. Tafseer al Abi Hayan al Andalusi, Volume 3 page 18
  6. Nail al-Autar, page 57 Dhikr Mut’ah

We read in Fatah ul Bari:

Ibn Hazam said: ‘Those that deemed Mut’ah halaal after Rasulullah (s) and remained firm in this position, included Ibn Masud, Mu’awiya, Abu Saeed, Salma wa Majid, Umayya’s son, Saeed bin Jubair and Umar bin Harith, Jabir cited the practise of Mut’ah by the Sahaba during the reign of Abu Bakr and Umar, amongst the Tabieen the jurists of Makkah and Taaus and Saeed bin Jubair and Ata deemed Mut’ah halaal. Those Tabieen that Ibn Hazim quoted on the lawfulness of Mut’ah, carried a Sahih chain, according to Abdul Razzaq”

We read in Tafseer Ibn Katheer:

“Ibn Abbas, Ibn Abi Kaab, Saeed bin Jabayr and Sadi would read the verse of Mut’ah with the words ‘for a prescribed period’ and the word ‘ajal’ are proof that this is referred to Mut’ah.”

We read in Musanaf Abdur al Razzaq:

Abdulrazaq – Ibn Juraij – Abdullah bin Uthman bin Khathim said: ‘In Mecca there was a pretty Iraqi woman who was performing pilgrimage and she had a son named Abu Umaya. Saeed bin Jubair used to visit her frequently, thus I said: ‘O Aba Abdullah, why do you visit this woman so frequently?’ He replied: ‘I have got married to her via that marriage – Mut’ah -. Saeed further added: It is –Mut’ah – as lawful as drinking water’’.
Online Musnaf Abdur Razzaq, Kitab al Talaq, Bab al Mutah, Hadith 14020

Whilst there shoud be no need to enlighten our readers about the Sunni Imam Saeed bin Jubayr, let us cite the comments recorded by Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani about him.

“…He narrated hadiths from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Al-Zubair, Ibn Umar, Ibn Maqal, Uday Ibn Hatem, Abi Masood Al-Ansay, Abi Saeed Al-Khudari, Abu Hurayra, Abu Musa Al-Asha’ari, Al-Dahak Ibn Qais Al-Fehri, Anas, Amro Ibn Maymoon, Abi Abdulrahman Al-Sulami and lady Aysha….. Ibn Abi Mughera said that when people of Kufa visit Ibn Abbas and ask him for Fatwa, he used tell them: “Isn’t Saeed Ibn Jubayr among you?”…. Amro Ibn Maymoon said that his father said that Saeed bin Jubair died and there was no one on earth who was not in need of attaining knowledge from him’… Abu Al-Qasem Al-Tabari said: “He is a reliable Imam and hujah on Muslims”…..Ibn Haban Said: “He was a jurist, worshiper, righteous and pious”.”
Tahdeeb al Tahdeeb, by Ibn Hajr Asaqlani Volume 4 No. 14

Do Nawasib know more about the validity of Mutah than their Imam? And if it was really forbidden do Nawasib want to suggest that their praised Imam was an adulterer (naudobillah)? Alhamdulilah Shia do not ascribe to such views about Saeed bin Jubayr.

Ibn Abi Malika believed in the legitimacy of Nikah al-Mut’ah

Ibn Abi Malika (d. 117 H) was a famous Tabayee. Imam Dhahabi has stated that he was “Imam, Hujjah, Hafiz” and “was a scholar, Mufti, hadith narrator and skillful” (Siar alam al-Nubala, Volume 5 page 89). Whilst discussing Nikah al-Mut’ah, Mawardi records the views of Ibn Abi Malika in his book al-Hawi al-Kabir, Volume 9 page 832:

وحكي عن ابن عباس ، وابن أبي مليكة ، وابن جريج ، والإمامية رأيهم فيه جوازا

“It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Abi Malika, Ibn Juraij and the Imamia that it is permissible”.

Rabia Ibn Umayya advanced his progeny through Nikah al-Mut’ah during Umar’s reign

Rabia Ibnn Umayya was a Sahabi who during the reign of Umar escaped to Turkey and there he converted to Christianity. We read in Muwatta of Malik, Book 28, Number 28.18.42:

و حدثني ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏مالك ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏ابن شهاب ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏عروة بن الزبير ‏ أن ‏ ‏خولة بنت حكيم ‏ ‏دخلت على ‏ ‏عمر بن الخطاب ‏ ‏فقالت إن ‏ ‏ربيعة بن أمية ‏ ‏استمتع بامرأة فحملت منه فخرج ‏ ‏عمر بن الخطاب ‏ ‏فزعا يجر رداءه ‏ ‏فقال ‏ ‏هذه ‏ ‏ المتعة ‏ ‏ولو كنت تقدمت فيها لرجمت

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Khawla ibn Hakim came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, ”Rabia ibn Umayya performed a temporary marriage with a woman who he made pregnant.” Umar ibn al-Khattab went out in dismay dragging his cloak, saying, “This temporary marriage, had I come across it, I would have ordered stoning and done away with it! “

A Sahabi ‘Salamah bin Umayya’ contracted Mut’ah with Umm Irak

We shall rely on the following Sunni sources:

  1. Fatah ul Bari, Volume 9 page 174 Bab Mut’ah
  2. Ajaza al Masalik, Volume 9 page 03
  3. Naill al-Autar, Volume 6 page 53 Bab Mut’ah
  4. Musanaf Abdul Razaq, Volume 7 page 97
  5. Al-Mahala by Ibn Hazam, Volume 9 page 20
  6. Jamharat Ansab al-Arab by Ibn Hazam, Vol 2 page 160

We read in Fatah ul Bari:

فروى عبد الرزاق بسند صحيح عن عمرو بن دينار عن طاوس عن ابن عباس قال ‏”‏ لم يرع عمر إلا أم أراكة قد خرجت حبلى، فسألها عمر فقالت‏:‏ استمتع بي سلمة بن أمية

“Abdur Razzaq narrated with a Sahih chain from Amr bin Dinar from Taaus from Ibn Abbas that Umar summoned Umm Irak, who was pregnant, she openly stated that she had performed Mut’a with Salamah bin Umayya”.

We read in Al-Isaba, Volume 3 page 143:

قال عمر بن شبة واستمتع سلمة بن أمية من سلمى مولاة حكيم بن أمية بن الأوقص الأسلمي فولدت له فجحد ولدها قلت وذكر ذلك بن الكلبي وزاد فبلغ ذلك عمر فنهى عن المتعة

Umar bin Shabah said: ‘Salamah bin Umaya performed Mut’ah with Salmah the slave girl of Hakim bin Umaya bin Al-Awqas al-Salami, thus she gave birth to a child from him, but he denied the child’. Al-Kalbi narrated the incident and added more: ‘When Umar heard about that he prohibited Mut’ah’

Ibn Hazam records in his book Jamharat Ansab al-Arab:

فولد سلمة بن أمية: معبد بن سلمة: أمه أم راكة، نكحها سلمة نكاح متعة في عهد عمر أو في عهد أبي بكر، فولد له منها معبد.

“Salamah’s son was Ma’bad. Ma’bad’s mother was Umm Irak, Salamah had performed Nikah al-Mut’ah with her while Ma’bad was born during Abu Bakar’s or Umar’s time”

Ibn Hajar Asqlaani records in Taqrib al-Tahdib, Volume 1 page 246:

‘Salamah bin Umaya al-Tamimi al-Kufi, brother of Y’ala bin Umaya, a Sahabi, narrated one hadeeth.’

This is yet another example of a Sahaba continuing to practice Mut’ah.

Umar’s son Abdullah deemed Mut’ah halaal and condemned the order of his father

We read the following authentic tradition in Sunni works wherein Abdullah Ibn Umar openly pointed out the fact that his father had the audacitiy to change the Islamic rulings thus going against the Holy Prophet (s) with respect to Mutah al-Hajj:

Abd bin Hamid – Yaqoob bin Ibrahim bin Saad – his father – Saleh bin Kaysan – Ibn Shehab – Salem bin Abdullah said: ‘I heard a man from Shaam questioning Abdullah bin Umar about Mut’ah of Umra until Hajj, thus Abdullah bin Umar replied: ‘It is permissible’. The Shaami man said: ‘But your father has forbidden it’. Abdullah bin Umar replied: ‘When my father forbids something practiced by Allah’s Messenger, shall I follow my father’s order or that of Allah’s Messenger’s?’ The Shaami man replied: ‘Surely the order of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh)’. He (Abdullah bin Umar) replied: ‘Allah’s messenger has practiced it’’. 
Sunan Tirmidi, Hadith 832

Abd bin Hamid: Dahabi said: ‘Hujja’ (Syar alam alnubala, v12 p235). Yaqoob bin Ibrahim bin Saad: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v4 p448). Ibrahim bin Saad: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v1 p33). Saleh bin Kaysan: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v2 p299). Ibn Shehab al-Zuhari: Dahabi said: ‘Hujja’ Mizan al-Etidal, v4 p40). Salem bin Abdullah: Dahabi said: ‘Hujja’ (Tazkirat al-Hufaz, v1 p88).Imam Tirmidhi stated about the tradition: ‘Hasan Sahih’.

Beloved Imam of Salafies Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah also recorded this in his esteemed work Zaad al-Maad:

وقال عبد الله بن عمر لمن سأله عنها وقال له : إن أباك نهى عنها : أأمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم أحق أن يتبع أو أمر أبي ؟

Someone asked Abdullah bin Umar (about Mut’ah) saying: ‘Your father prohibited it.’
(Ibn Umar replied): ‘Is the order of the Messenger of Allah more deserving to be followed, or the order of my father?’

Zaad al-Maad, Volume 2 page 176

 

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud also opposed Umar prohibition on Mut’ah and deemed it Halal

We read in Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3243:

Abdullah (b. Mas’ud) reported: We were on an expedition with Allah’s   Messenger (may peace be upon him) and we had no women with us. We said:   Should we not have ourselves castrated? He (the Holy Prophet) forbade   us to do so He then granted us permission that we should contract temporary   marriage for a stipulated period giving her a garment, and ‘Abdullah   then recited this verse: ‘Those who believe do not make unlawful the   good things which Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress.   Allah does not like trangressers” (al-Qur’an, v. 87).

In its commentary recorded by Imam Nawawi in al-Minhaj, Volume 9 page 183, we read:

فيه إشارة إلى أنه كان يعتقد إباحتها كقول إبن عباس وإنه لم يبلغه نسخها

And this is a sign that he believed in its legitimacy just like what was said by Ibn Abbas and he did not preach its abrogation.

 

Maula Ali also opposed Umar prohibition on Mut’ah

Muḥammad al-Ṭahir Ibn Ashur (d. 1972) was a Sunni Maliki from Tunisia and was the Sheikh of Zaytona, a position that is somwhat similar to Sheikh of Al-Azhar and that makes him the highest Maliki scholar of his era. In his authority work  Tafsir al-Taḥrir wa-al-Tanwir, Volume 5 page 10, we read:

وعن علي بن أبي طالب ، وعمران بن حصين ، وابن عباس ، وجماعة من التابعين والصحابة أنهم قالوا بجوازه

“And quoting Ali bin Abi Talib, Imran bin Husain, Ibn Abbas and a some of the Tabayeen and Sahaba said that it is allowed”
Tafsīr al-Taḥrir wa-al-Tanwir, Volume 5 page 10

In Tafsir Dur al-Manthur and other books we read the words of Maula Ali (as) that we cited previously as well:

Narrated Abdulrazaq and Abu Dawoud in (book) Nasikh and narrated ibn Jareer from al-Hakam that he was asked whether the verse on Mut’ah has been abrogated, he said: “No, Ali (ra) said that if it were not for Umar forbidding it, no one would commit (the sin) of fornication except the wretched (Shaqi; an utmost wrongdoer).”
1. Tafseer Durre Manthur, Volume 2 page 486
2. Tafseer Gharaib al Quran, Volume 3 page 6 pt 5
3. Tafseer Tabari, Volume 4 page 10
4. Tafseer Kabeer, Volume 3 page 95
5. Tafseer al-Bahr al-Muheet by Abu Hayan al-Andulusi, Volume 3 page 226
6. Kanz ul Umaal, Hadith

7. Musanaf Abdul Razaq, Volume 7 page 500 Hadith 14029
8. Al-Muharar al-Wajiz by Ibn Atya al-Andulusi, Volume 2 page 36

Suyuti is a renowned Sunni Scholar and his virtues are expounded in detail in the book of Rijjal. In his Tafseer he states that he compiled this Tafseer with good chains he found. Suyuti’s recording of Maula Ali’s testimony is proof that Umar banned Mut’ah not Rasulullah. Maula Ali deemed this to be clear deviation and deemed Umar to have perpetuated a major sin, and was in effect responsible for people fornicating.

Let us now analyse the words carefully:

If it were not for Umar forbidding it’ – The word ‘If’ shows that this statement is a conditional statement. That means whatever is said; the results are based on the condition(s) specified.
‘were not for Umar forbidding it’ -is a condition.
‘no one would commit (the sin of) fornication’– This is a statement.
‘except a wretched person’ – This statement now carries an exception to the rule, of those who ignore and disobey Allah (swt) no matter what.

The POINT here was, it is apparently clear and commonly known by every knowing and wise person that sexual needs are natural. No one has denied it and no one can deny it. To put it simply, people who were unable to find a life long commitment (Perm. Marriage) and yet it could not curb their sexual needs, had a blessing from Allah [swt] to perform Nikah Mutah (there may be other reasons also) and avoid fornication. Having that blessing no one would have committed fornication except people who flagrantly disobey Allah [swt] anyway.

In the above statement, the condition specifies that it was only because of Umar that people will commit fornication since Umar had made ‘a Lawful-Islamic-Act a-blessing from Allah [swt] unlawful. It is like you make unlawful to work, people will EAT whether they are working or not, meaning either they will work to earn their bread or they will steal. You can not put natural requirements in a box and not provide a lawful way to fulfil those requirements. That is not how nature works, and this applies to every single NATURAL URGE of Human Being.

You can not make sleeping HARAM and make Human nature to require sleep; similarly you can not make Breathing HARAM and make human Nature to require to breath, so on and so forth.

In ‘Lughaat ul Hadeeth’ Volume 4 page 9 Chapter “Meem”, Maulana Waheed uz Zaman further expands on the words of Maula ‘Ali (as):

Ali (r) said ‘Had Umar not banned Mut’ah then the only person to fornicate would have been a disgraceful person, since Mut’ah is easy, and one can attain the objective, there would have then been no need to indulge in haraam acts’.

Lughaat ul Hadeeth, alphabet ‘Meem’ page 9 (Published in Karachi)

Some Nasibi have raised the objection: ‘why didn’t Imam ‘Ali (as) mention Mut’ah in Nahj ul Balagha?’ It is indeed amusing to read the absurd claim of Dr Salamah:

“Oddly enough, ‘Ali left behind a voluminous book, Nahjul-Balaghah, wherein he presented various aspects of Islam and the Muslim state. However, not a single word in favour of Mut’ah is mentioned in it. Had ‘Umar been wrong, nothing would have prevented ‘All from condemning it in his writings.

The author clearly has no idea what he is talking about. Imam ‘Ali (as) did not “leave behind” Nahj al-Balagha. The book was compiled centuries later by Sayyid Ar-Razi. We have seen that the book does not deal with fiqh issues; nor is it a “voluminous” work. Compared to other hadeeth collections, it is one of the shortest. Salamah does not even deal with the many narration’s, found in Sunni books, where Imam ‘Ali (as) condemns ‘Umar’s ban on Mut’ah. Indeed, this hadeeth is an authentic narration. Moreover, how can the author put wordsi n Umar’s mouth while he himself has been quoted to have admitted the fact that Mutah was Halal during the time of Prophet (s)?

The increasingly favourite Nasibi author of www.ahlelbayt.com as usual did some copy paste work and pasted the same paragraph without using his own brain and hence he also came under the humiliation that Dr. Salamah had to gone through by raising the stupid objection cited above.
Screenshot from Ibn al-Hashimi’s article – top
Screenshot from Ibn al-Hashimi’s article – text

Further Arguments of Dr. Salamah

Dr Salamah states:

As previously mentioned, Furthermore, since ‘Umar was later succeeded by ‘Uthman and then ‘Ali, had ‘Umar’s statements been contrary to the ruling of the Prophet (PBUH), at least one of them would have re-established the sanctity of Mut’ah. Again, there are no records of such abrogation.

Once again, the later coming Nasibi author on the internet namely Ibn al-Hashimi copy pasted the same pathetic arguments of Dr. Salamah without using his own brain.
Screenshot from Ibn al-Hashimi’s article – top
Screenshot from Ibn al-Hashimi’s article – text

It is common sense that the false fatwa of Umar had been buried with the Khalifa, and with Umar’s death people were free to practise Mut’ah as they had done in the past. If Uthman toed the same line as Umar, then this does not mean that Umar was right – since Umar had bound himself to adhering to Umar’s decisions when offered the Khilafath – a condition that Uthman accepted, which Imam ‘Ali (as) did not. As we have already proven Imam ‘Ali (as) had openly expressed his disgust at Umar’s prohibition and his words serve as clear proof that this was a legitimate act. There are scores of Shi’a traditions wherein our Imams (starting from Imam ‘Ali (as) endorsed the practise of Mut’ah, so the people during the era of Imam ‘Ali (as) were in no doubt that this was halaal.

The most famous Nikah al-Mut’ah was performed by Sahabi Amr bin al- Huraith

Uptil now we have read about the opinions of those Sahaba who declared or personally practiced Nikah al-Mut’ah but now let us also cite the Nikah al-Mut’ah performed by a prominent Sahabi namely Amr bin al-Huraith, an act that came to the knowledge of Umar bin al-Khattab, that led to him abandoning Islamic laws in favour of his personal opnion. We read in Musnaf Abdulrazaq, Volume 7 page 500 Tradition 14029:

Abdulrazaq – Ibn Juraij – Abu Zubair said: ‘Amr bin Huraith arrived from Kufa and performed Mut’ah with a slave girl, then Umar called her when she was pregnant and asked her about that, to which she replied: ‘Amr bin Huraith has performed Mut’ah with me’. Then he (Umar) asked him (Amr) and he replied with clear answer. He (Umar) replied: ‘Shall it be changed?’. And that was when he (Umar) prohibited it.’

Abdulrazaq al-Sanani: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v2 p609). Ibn Juraij: Dhabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v2 p659). Abu al-Zubair Muhammad bin Muslim: Dahabi said: ‘Thiqah’ (Al-Kashif, v2 p216).

Let us once again quote the following reference from Sahih Muslim, Book 8, Number 3249:

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported: We contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of (tales or flour as a dower during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and durnig the time of Abu Bakr until ‘Umar forbade it in the case of ‘Amr b. Huraith.

We read in Tarikh Madina by Ibn Shabah, Volume 2 page 716:

Jabir bin Abdullah said: ‘Amr bin Huraith performed Mut’ah with a woman from Madina, thus she got pregnant, then Umar summoned her and wanted to hit her, thus she said: ‘O Commander of the Faithful, Amr bin Huraith has performed Mut’ah with me’. He (Umar) replied: ‘Who witnessed your wedlock?’ She replied: ‘My mother and sister’. Umar said: ‘Without any guardian or witnesses!!’ Then Umar called for Amr bin Huraith, and when he arrived he asked him about the matter, and he (Amr) replied: ‘She said the truth’. Then Umar said to the people: ‘This is a void wedlock as you can see’. Therefore Umar decided to prohibit it’.

Abdullah bin Abdulsamad bin Abi Khadash: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Seduq’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p509). Isa bin Yunus: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p776). Abu al-Zubair Muhammad bin Muslim: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Seduq’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v2 p132). Jabir bin Abdullah: A Sahabi.

Tarikh Madina by Ibn Shabah, Volume 2 page 719:

“It has been said that Amr bin Huraith performed Mut’ah with a woman from the tribe of Saad bin Bakr and she gave birth to a child but he denied the child”

We read in Kanz al-Umal, Volume 16 page 731 Tradition 45712:

Saeed bin al-Musayab said: ‘Ibn Huraith and a son of such-and-such person performed Mut’ah, both of them had child through Mut’ah during Abu Bakr’s and Umar’s time’.

Testimony of the Sahaba & Tabayeen that Umar was the first person to deem Mut’ah to be Haram

Let us once again remind our readers of the opinion of the prominent Sahabi Imran bin Husain according to whom Mut’ah was allowed in Islam yet it was Umar who had prohibited it. We read ub Sahih Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 43:

Narrated ‘Imran bin Husain: The Verse of Hajj-at-Tamatu was revealed in Allah’s Book, so we performed it with Allah’s Apostle, and nothing was revealed in Qur’an to make it illegal, nor did the Prophet prohibit it till he died. But the man (who regarded it illegal) just expressed what his own mind suggested.

Let us also present the testimony of the Sahabi Jabir. Imam Saeed bin Mansur records in his Sunan, Volume 1 page 218 Tradition 850:

حدثنا سعيد ، نا هشيم ، قال : نا عبد الملك ، عن عطاء ، عن جابر بن عبد الله ، قال : « كانوا يتمتعون في النساء حتى نهى عمر

Saeed from Hushaim from Abdulmalik from Atta from Jabir bin Abdullah who said: ‘They used to perform Mut’ah with women until Umar made it prohibited’.

Saeed bin Mansur: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah, author, he never withdrew from what he wrote in his book because he was so sure about it’. (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p235). Hushaim bin Bashir: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p642). Abdulmalik bin Abi Sulayman: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p394). Atta bin Abi Rabah: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p427). Taqrib al-Tahdib by Ibn Hajar (single volume edition) published by International Ideas Home INC, Saudi Arabia .

Similarly we read in Musnad Ahmed:

Jabir bin Abdullah said: ‘Two types of Mut’ah were in existence during the time of the Prophet (s) and Umar prohibited us from them, thus we forbade ourselves’.
Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Volume 3 page 325 Tradition 14519

Shu’aib al-Arnaout said: ‘The chain is Sahih according to Muslim’s standards’.

We will now submit the testimony of the famed Tabayee namely Saeed bin al-Musayib from Sunan Saeed bin Mansoor, Volume 1 page 219 Tradition 854:

حدثنا سعيد قال : نا هشيم ، أنا داود بن أبي هند ، عن سعيد بن المسيب ، أن عمر « نهى عن متعة النساء ومتعة الحج

Saeed bin al-Musayab said: ‘Umar prohibited Mut’ah of women and Mut’ah of Hajj’

Saeed bin Mansur: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah, author, he never withdrew from what he wrote in his book because he was so sure about it’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p235). Hushaim bin Bashir: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p642). Dawud bin Abi Hend: Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Mutqan’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p187). Saeed bin al-Musayab: Ibn Hajar said: ‘One of the firmed rooted scholars, the supreme clerics agreed that even his disconnected narrations (Mursal) are of the most authentic Mursal ones’. (Taqrib al-Tahdib, p235). Abu Talib said: ‘I asked Ahmad bin Hanbal about Saeed bin al-Musayab, so he replied: ‘who is alike Saeed, he is Thiqah and pious.’ I asked: Saeed’s narration from Umar is it accepted?’ He replied: ‘According to me it is accepted, he met Umar and heard from him.’ (Tahdib al-Kamal, v11 p73).

While citing the innovations of Umar, the seventh innovation that Allamah Jalaluddin Suyuti records is:

[7]. He promulgated the prohibition of Mutah and didn’t make it permissible for anyone”

Tareekh Khulfa (Urdu), page 216 (Madina Publishing Co. Karachi)

We read in Sharh of Sahih Muslim by Imam Nawawi:

“Umar was the first person to prohibit Mut’ah”.

We read in Sirah al-Halabiyah:

“Some Ulema have narrated that the first person to forbid Mutah was Umar Farooq (this means he prohibited it during his caliphate)”

Sirah Halabiyah (Urdu), Vol 5 page 159 (Published by Daarul Isha`at Karachi)

 

Many ‘ulama of Ahl as-Sunnah deemed Mut’ah to be Halaal

We shall cite the following Sunni sources

  1. Tafseer Gharaib al-Quran, part 5, page 4, Surah al Nisa
  2. Tafseer Kabeer, Volume 3 page 95, Surah Nisa verse 24
  3. Tafseer Haqqani, Volume 2 page 4
  4. Nuzul al Ibrar fi fiqh Mukhtasar Nabi al Muktar, page 3

We read in Tafseer Kabeer:

“Amongst the Ummah are many great scholars who deem Mut’ah to have been abrogated, whilst others say that Mut’ah still remains.”

Imam of the Deobandies Allamah Abu Muhamad Abdul Haq Haqqani states in Tafseer Haqqani:

“Some scholars deem Mut’ah permissible, in the same way the Sahaba Ibn Abbas and Imran bin Husain deemed it permissible, they say that this woman is also a wife”.

Tafseer Haqqani, Vol 2 page 4 (published in 1956, Deoband UP. India)

Maulana Waheed uz Zaman states:

One of the topic of Mut’ah, differences have arisen amongst the Sahaba, and Ahl’ul Hadith (people of Hadith), and they deemed Mut’ah to be permissible, since Mut’ah under the Shari’ah was practised and this is proven, and as evidence of permissibility they cite verse 24 of Surah Nisa as proof. The practise of Mut’ah is definite and there is ijma (consensus) on this and you can’t refute definite proof by using logic.

We read in Gharaib al Quran:

“They (scholars) have agreed that it was permissible during the early era of Islam, then the vast majority of the nation agreed that it become abrogated, whilst the remainder including the Shia stated that it is still permissible, and (the permissibility tradition) is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Imran bin Husain”

 

The Imam of Ahl as-Sunnah Ibn Jurrayj contracted Mut’ah with 90 women

The following sources deal with this issue:

  1. Fatah ul Bari, Volume 9 page 73
  2. Al-Mughni by Ibn Qadamah, Volume 7 page 71
  3. Mizan al-Itidal, Volume 2 page 59
  4. Tahdeeb al-Tahdeeb, Volume 6 page 359
  5. Siyar alam al Nubla, Vol 6 page 325, 331 & 333

Imam Dhahabi in Siyar alam al Nubla, Volume 6 page 325, 331 and 333 states:

ابن جريج ع عبد الملك بن عبد العزيز بن جريج الإمام العلامة الحافظ شيخ الحرم أبو خالد وأبو الوليد القرشي الأموي المكي صاحب التصانيف

“Abdul Malik bin Abdulaziz bin Juraij was Imam, Allamah, Hafiz, Sheikh al-Haram (Haram Mekka), Abu Khalid and Abul Walid Al-Qarshi Al-Amawi, Al-Makki; the author of books”. (page 325)

جريرا الضبي يقول: كان ابن جريج يرى المتعة، تزوج بستين امرأة.وقيل: إنه عهد إلى أولاده في أسمائهن لئلا يغلط أحد منهم ويتزوج واحدة مما نكح أبوه بالمتعة.

Jarir al-Dabi said: ‘Ibn Juraij believed in Mut’ah, he married with 60 women’. It is been said that he gave his children the names of his wives to avoid marrying any woman his father had previously married. (page 331)

سمعت الشافعي يقول استمتع ابن جريج بتسعين امرأة حتى إنه كان يحتقن في الليل بأوقية شيرج طلبا للجماع

“al-Shafiyee said that Ibn Juraij did Mut’ah with 90 women, he used every night one ounce of sesame oil in order to have sexual intercourse”. (page 333)

We read in Tahdeeb:

وقال الشافعي استمتع بن جريج بسبعين امرأة

Shafiyee said: ‘Ibn Juraij performed Mut’ah with seventy women’.

If Mut’ah was abrogated by Rasulullah (s) and thus became Zina, then did this great Sunni Imam, who was incidentally from amongst the Tabieen, commit fornication with seventy women? How can a Sunni scholar that fornicates with seventy women be graded as a very reliable authority? If it was obligatory to accept ‘Umar’s ruling, than was this Faqih committing a sin? Or is the truth much more obvious: that this Faqih recognised ‘Umar’s ruling was bid’a, and disregarded it.

Imam Malik issued a Fatwa that Mut’ah is halaal

We shall cite the following Sunni sources:

  1. Fatawa Qadhi Khan, Volume 1 page 151
  2. Al Hidayah, Volume 1 page 186
  3. Kanz al-Daqaiq, Volume 5 page 289
  4. Anaya Sharh al-Hidayah, Volume 4 page 390
  5. al-Mabsoot, Volume 5 page 152

We read in Al-Hidayah:

وقال مالك : هو جائز لأنه كان مباحا فيبقى إلى أن يظهر ناسخة

Malik said: ‘It is lawful because it was Mubah so it will remain (lawful) till the abrogation appears”

Although the name of the book Al-Hidayah requires no introduction on its authenticity in the eyes of Ahle-Sunnah for the benefit of our readers and most importantly, to nullify any attempt by Nawasib to cast doubts on the authenticity of the reference cited, let us mention that this book is compared with Quran among Ahle Sunnah, as we read:

“The book Al-Hidayah is a guide to guidance and it removes the blindness from those who preserve it. Oh you, the rational ones, you must preserve it and be with it, because who ever reached to it in fact he reached to the maximum goals. That is what Allamah al-Hadad said in his margin on the book al-Hidayah. Other one said: ‘al-Hidayah is like Quran, it has abrogated the previous books which were written about laws.’”

Hidayah, page 4

In one of the esteemed commentary on Al-Hidayah namely Anaya Sharh al-Hidayah, we read:

۔ (ونكاح المتعة باطل) وهو أن يقول لامرأة أتمتع بك كذا مدة بكذا من المال وقال مالك رحمه الله: هو جائز لأنه كان مباحا فيبقى إلى أن يظهر ناسخه

Nikah al-Mut’ah is void, its method is to say ‘I enjoy you in reward of such and such for period such and such period’. Malik said: ‘It is lawful because it was Mubah so it will remain (lawful) until the abrogation appears’

As for the excuse that Imam Malik in his book Muwatta recorded a Hadith regarding the prohibition of Mut’ah, we read the following reply in Anaya Sharh al-Hidayah:

وليس كل من يروي حديثا يكون واجب العمل لجواز أن يكون عنده ما يعارضه أو يرجح عليه

“It is not Wajib on the one who is recording the Hadith to also consider it Wajib to pratice the Hadith because he might have another contradictory Hadith which he prefers”.

Imam Hassan bin Mansoor Qadhi Khan records in ‘Fatawa Qadhi Khan’:

“Nikah is not legally established by usage of the word ‘Mutah’ and it is false according to us and isn’t permissible, contrary to Ibn Abbas and Malik

Fatawa Qadhi Khan, Volume 1 page 151 (Nolakshor, India)

Hanafi Imam Sarkhasi records in al-Mabsoot:

وتفسير المتعة أن يقول لامرأته : أتمتع بك كذا من المدة بكذا من البدل ، وهذا باطل عندنا جائز عند مالك بن أنس وهو الظاهر من قول ابن عباس رضي الله عنه

“The meaning of Mut’ah is to say to his woman: ‘I enjoy you for such-and-such time period in reward of such-and-such of dower.’ And this is void according to us whereas it is permissible according to Malik bin Anas, and apparently the same opinion is shared by Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him”.

Imam of Ahl as-Sunnah Ahmad Ibn Hanbal deemed Mut’ah to be Halal

According to Imma Ahmed bin Hanbal, Mut’ah is Makrooh and can be done when it is extremely necessary but it is not Haram. Imam Ibn Qadamah records in Al-Mughni, Volume 7 page 571:

وقال أبو بكر فيها رواية أخرى : أنها مكروهة غير حرام ، لأن ابن منصور سأل أحمد عنها ؟ فقال : يجتنبها أحب إلي ، قال : فظاهر هذا الكراهة دون التحريم

Abu Bakr said that there is another narration which deems it [Mut’ah] Makrooh and not Haram because Ibn Mansur asked Ahmad about it? and he (Ahmad) replied: ‘According to me it is better to avoid it’. He (Abu Bakr) said: ‘Apparently this text refers to that which is disliked[Makrooh] and not prohibited [Tahreem].

Ibn Katheer in his Tafseer, Surah an-Nisa, Page 3 under the verse 4:24 said:

وقد رُويَ عن ابن عباس وطائفة من الصحابة القولُ بإباحتها للضرورة، وهو رواية عن الإمام أحمد بن حنبل، رحمهم الله تعالى.

“It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and a group of the companions that it is permissible when it is absolutely necessary, and so has been narrated from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal may Allah’s mercy be upon them”

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Surah an-Nisa, Page 3

Imam Hanbal like Malik is a Sunni Scholar of fiqh, like Ibn Abbas and other Sahaba. If Mut’ah is a shameless act of Zina then did the Allah and Rasulullah(s) allow such acts on certain occasions?. Clearly the Sahaba did not see Mut’ah in this way, the clearly understood words of Rasulullah(s), so for Sunnis experts to deem Mut’ah haram today is a major injustice on their part.

 

Maliki scholar Muḥammad al-Ṭahir Ibn Ashur deemed Mut’ah to be Halal

Muḥammad al-Ṭahir Ibn Ashur (d. 1972) was a Sunni Maliki from Tunisia and was the Sheikh of Zaytona, a position that is somwhat similar to Sheikh of Al-Azhar and that makes him the highest Maliki scholar of his era. In his authority work  Tafsir al-Taḥrir wa-al-Tanwir, Volume 1 page 298 we read:

وقد ثبت أن الناس استمتعوا في زمن أبي بكر وعمر ثم نهى عنها عمر في آخر خلافته

 ”It has been proven that the people practised Mut’ah during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar, then Umar prohibited it in the last part of his reign”.

On the same page we read:

والذي يستخلص من مختلف الأخبار أن المتعة أذن فيها رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم مرتين ونهى عنها مرتين والذي يفهم من ذلك أن ليس ذلك بنسخ مكرر ولكنه إناطة إباحتها بحال الاضطرار فاشتبه على الرواة تحقيق عذر الرخصة بأنه نسخ

 The conclusion of all different traditions is that the Allah’s Apostle allowed Mut’ah twice and prohibited it twice, and what we understand of these is that is not for abrogating it repeatedly but it is to clarify that Mut’ah is permissible only for emergencies but the narrators got confused and thought that was meant abrogation (Naskh).

Similarly the author stated:

والذي استخلصناه في حكم نكاح المتعة أنه جائز عند الضرورة

“The result which I end up is that Mut’ah is lawful in emergencies”.

Former Leader of Jamaat-e-Islam, Sayyid Abul’ala Maudoodi deemed Mut’ah to be permissible

Maudoodi in his periodical Turjuman al Qur’an in his commentary of Surah Mu’minun, [1955 edition]

“Whether Mut’ah is haram or halaal is a dispute that creates dissension between Shi’as and Sunnis, and has resulted in heated discussion, it is not difficult to ascertain the truth. A man comes across such situations when Nikah becomes impossible and he is forced to make a distinction between Zina and Mut’ah. In such scenarios practising Mut’ah is a better option to Zina”

Maulana Waheed uz Zaman deemed Mut’ah to be permissible

We have already cited the tradition from Sahih al Bukhari (English translation) Volume 7, Book 62, Number 13, wherein Ibn Masud stated that Rasulullah (s) allowed the Sahaba to contract Mut’ah. The Salafi scholar Maulana uz Zaman translated the words of Ibn Masud, in his Sharh of Sahih al Bukhari, Tayseer al Bari Volume 6 page 111 (printed in Karachi) as follows:

He gave us the permission to use cloth and contract Nikah, i.e. Mut’ah with women.

The reference is absolutely clear that the Prophet gave the order to contract Mut’ah, and curiously in his commentary of this tradition Zaman says as follows:

“From this hadith it can be seen that the usage of Mut’ah arises in ‘needed’ circumstances such as travel but not in situations where no need arises”.

Tayseer al Bari Sharah Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6 page 111

Let us for example accept that comment that Nikah Mut’ah is restricted to travel, this Sunni scholar has still acknowledged the validity of Mut’ah, and that is exactly what we the Shi’a are saying, that it can be exercised at a time when ‘need’ arises. Need is an entirely subjective thing, based on one’s own self control, if a man can remain pure without having sex that is fine, but is he fears falling into haraam activities due to sexual frustration, such as fornication, then the Shari’ah has also provided a legal means with which he can control his sexual urge.

 

Egyptian Sunni scholar Ahmed al Baqoori deemed Mut’ah to be Halal

Modern day Egyptian Sunni scholar Ahmad al-Baqoori who died in 1985, was the minister for the ministry of endowments in Egyptand before that he was the principal of Al-AzharUniversityand also of the Islamic Studies Institute. In his book Ma’a al-Quran, page179, he stated:

 وبهذا النظر تخيرنا القول بإباحة هذا النوع من الزواج، وارتأينا ما يراه فقهاء أهل البيت من مشروعيته الدائمة غير المنسوخة فإنهم في هذا رضي الله عنهم كانوا من سعة الأفق، وبعد النظر، بحيث لا يملك المسلم المنصف إلا أن يسلك طريقهم، ويأخذ برأيهم إيثارا للحق،

According to that we decided to permit this type of marriage and our opinion is parallel to that of the jurists of the Ahlulbayt regarding its permanent legality and that it is not abrogated, they (the Ahlulbayt) may Allah be pleased with them in this matter had a great deal of information and farsightedness in a manner that an impartial Muslim would follow them and adopt their opinion for the sake of correctness.    

 Sunni scholar Ismail bin Abdullah al-Ru’aini deemed Mut’ah to be Halal

Imam of Ahle Sunnah Ibn Hazam in his book al-Fasl fi al-Melal, Volume 1 page 252 made reference to a Sunni scholar of his era, namely Abdullah al-Ru’aini and then wrote about him:

وصح عندنا عنه أنه كان يقول بنكاح المتعة وهذا لا يقدح إيمانه ولا في عدالته

“It has been proven to us that he believed in Nikah al-Mut’ah, but this neither harmed his faith nor his fairness”

 

Umar’s own testimony that Mutah is permissible and he himself performed it

Uptil now we have read of Umar’s prohibition of Mutah, at no point did he deem Mutah Haram (according to the edicts of the Prophet). In Sahih Muslim we read the words of the companion Jabir bin Abdullah who referred to the practising of Mutah during the time of the Prophet (s), then during the era of Abu Bakar and also during Umar’s reign until he forbade it in the case of Amr bin Harith. Interestingly in Tareekh al-Madina by Ibn Shabah, we read the following version of that incident wherein Umar admitted that Mutah was Halal:

حدثنا أيوب الرقي قال : حدثنا عثمان بن عبدالرحمن الحراني عن زمعة بن صالح عن عمرو بن دينار عن جابر بن عبدالله قال : استمتعت من النساء على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وزمن أبوبكر ثم زمن عمر حتى كان من شأن عمرو بن حريث الذي كان ، فقال عمر رضي الله عنه : إنا كنا نستمتع ونفي ، وإني أراكم تستمتعون ولا تفون ، فانكحوا ولا تستمتعوا

Jabir said: “We performed Mut’ah during the life times of the messenger of Allah, Abubakr and then Umars’, till what was done by Amr bin Huraith, then Umar said: ‘We used to perform Mut’ah and fulfil it, but I see you performing Mut’ah but not fulfilling it, so perform Nikah, don’t perform Mut’ah”
Tareekh al-Madina by Ibn Shabah, Volume 2 page 717

Umar admitted that Mutah was Halal and the but he prohibited it on account of his observing some people (Sahabah) taking Mutah too casually and not fullfilling the legal responsibilites of a husband. Umar therefore deemed it better to perform permanent Nikah to place psychological pressure on men to fulfil their responsibilities; crucially what is clear from the tradion is that at no point did Umar rule that Mutah was haram.

An excuse that the ‘revered’ and ‘knowledgeable’ Sahabah were ignorant of the prohibition of Mut’ah

The testimonies of great Sahaba, Tabayeen and Sunni scholars regarding the permissibility of Nikah al-Mutah has acted as a thorn in the throat of Nasibism, which they can neither swallow nor spit. That was the reason that their clergy concocted an excuse to save their sinking ship, they came up wit the notion that all those Sahaba who deemed Mutah Halal and kept practicing it, were actually ignorant of its (supposed) prohibition. The excuse was so problematic that the thorn simply wedged further down their throats, as it created a series of logical replies, jaw breaking questions and objections. Let us ponder over the comments made by the founder of Sipah-e-Sahaba Haq Nawaz Jhangvi who sought to apply his false Qiyas as follows:

PERHAPS SOME OF THE COMPANIONS LIKE JABIR, IBN ABBAS AND OTHERS WHO ACTD UPON MUTA WERE UNAWARE OF ITS PROHIBITION BY THE PROPHET UNTIL IT WAS PROCLAIMED BY UMAR.

To all those, who adhere to this view, we would like to ask them:

  1. What proof do you have that those Sahaba that deemed Mutah Halal were unware of its supposed prohibition? Or iis this just the result of wild guess aka Qiyas?
  2. The orthodox Sunni view is that Ibn Abbas (ra) was ranked amongst the most learned and knowledgeable Sahaba, who possessed an indepth knowledge of Islamic injunctions, if your notion is that he was ignorant of Halal and Haram and was advocating adultery, what credibility should be given to his statements on different issues?
  3. The same rationale applies to the remainder Sahaba who deemed Muta Halal, what credibility remains of their view points and statements on various issues? Couldn’t such statements too be the result of ‘ignorance of actual law’?
  4. Ansar.org desperately sought to prove that Muawiyah was a ‘Hadi’ according to the (supposed) words of Prophet (s) and tradition inform us that he did Muta long after the death of Holy Prophet (s), so does that mean ithat in your sect a Hadi can commit adultery? Muawiyah had many opponents, why didn’t any of his opponents criticize him for committing adultery (Muta, an act which according to present Day sunnis is Haram)?
  5. Those were the Sahaba, what about the Tabayeen whom Sunnies deem the second best generation in terms of believers. Was that second generation too ignorant of the actual law pertaining to Mut’ah and they were unable to correct their stance? Then what credibility remains regarding their countless statements pertaining to jusriprudence found in Sunni books?
  6. Last but certainly not least, those Sunnies who say that Prophet (s) had prohibited Muta and Umar merely reaffirmed its prohibition, for them we would like to remind that we have the statements of Umar wherein he testified that two types of Mut’ah existed during the time of Holy Prophet (s) and it was he who was ‘then’ banning them..

Traditions attributed to Umar by his defenders

Tradition One

Umar’s action of interfering in Allah’s religion and declaring Halal acts as Haram posed serious problems to his lovers which made them fabricate an array of traditions on the prohibition of Mut’ah they threw that into the mix so as to further confuse their naïve followers. One such tradition is the following, that can be read in Sunan Ibn Majah, Volume 1 page 631 Tradition 1963:

Ibn Umar said: ‘When Umar bin al-Khatab became the ruler he addressed the people and said: ‘Verily Allah’s Messenger allowed us to perform Mut’ah on three occasions, then he prohibited it, by Allah if I know that there is a married person performing Mut’ah then surely I will stone him, unless if he could bring me four witnesses who could testify that Allah’s Messenger made it lawful after being prohibited.’’

Reply

For those who would like to rely on the above cited tradition to prove that according to Umar, Mut’ah was prohibited by Prophet (s), we would like to state that:

  1. this particular version of Umar’s sermon is contrary to those versions discussed earlier wherein he admitted that both types of Mut’ah existed during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (s) and he did not attribute the prohibition of Mut’ah to him (s).
  2. In the another version of his sermon, Umar admitted that it was he who banned Mut’ah.
  3. The other version of his sermon has been substantiated by the companions like Jabir bin Abdullah who also testified that it was Umar who banned both types of Mut’ah.
  4. Even if the above cited version of his sermon is to be taken into consideration, this places a serious question mark over the knowledge of Umar with respect to Islam since by seeking four witnesses who would testify that Mut’ah was not prohibited, he himself admitted that he may be incorrect in his opinion regarding prohibition of Mutah.
  5. Last but certainly not least, when we read that so many companions believed that both types of Mut’ah were permissible in Islam and were never abrogated or made Haram, then could the lovers of Umar kindly tell us one good reason as to why they didn’t bother to correct Umar when he himself was seeking witnesses?

 

Tradition Two

Behaqqi records in his Sunan, Volume 7 page 206 Tradition 13949 a tradition that is similarly recorded with a slightly different chain by Al-Bazar in his Musnad, Volume 1 page 256 Tradition 135:

Abdullah bin Umar said: ‘Umar bin al-Khatab climbed on the pulpit and praised Allah and then said: ‘What is wrong with some men who perform Mut’ah when Allah’s Messenger has prohibited it, surely if I catch anyone performing it I will stone him’.’

Reply

We shall point out to the Nawasib that both the chains of contain two common people one of whom is Mansur bin Dinar about whom Imam Nisai said: ‘Not reliable’. Bukhari said: ‘His narration has been criticized’. Ibn Moin said: ‘Weak’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v4 p184). The other person who is commoin in both the chains is Abdulaziz bin Aban Abu Khalid al-Amawy about whom Dahabi said: ‘Matruk’. Ibn Moin said: ‘Liar’. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: ‘His narration should not be recorded’ (Mizan al-Etidal, v2 p622). Ibn Hajar said: ‘Matruk’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, v1 p602).

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates on our new publications. Shia pen uses the "google groups" system for its newsletters.