An-Nisa, 24

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Part of a series on the
Nikah Mut'ah
– a discipline of Islamic marital jurisprudence
Topics
Hadith regarding its legality
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This is a sub-article to An-Nisa.

An-Nisa (Arabic: النّساء‎) is the fourth chapter of the Qur'an, and this article is about its twenty-fourth verse, the controversial verse that has been called "the verse of Mut'ah" [1], due to its reference to Nikah Mut‘ah, a temporary marriage form legalized during the era of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The verse can be broken into three parts:

The Qur'an, chapter 4 (An-Nisa), verse 24:
“
  1. And (also forbidden are) all married women except those whom your right hands possess (this is) Allah's ordinance to you,
  2. and lawful for you are (all women) besides those, provided that you seek (them) with your property, taking (them) in marriage not committing fornication.
  3. Then as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed; and there is no blame on you about what you mutually agree after what is appointed; surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.

— translated by M. H. Shakir

Transliteration: Waalmuhsanatu mina alnnisa-i illa ma malakat aymanukum kitaba Allahi AAalaykum waohilla lakum ma waraa thalikum an tabtaghoo bi-amwalikum muhsineena ghayra musafiheena fama istamtaAAtum bihi minhunna faatoohunna ojoorahunna fareedatan wala junaha AAalaykum feema taradaytum bihi min baAAdi alfareedati inna Allaha kana AAaleeman hakeeman

Arabic: وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاء إِلاَّمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَاء ذَلِكُمْ أَن تَبْتَغُواْ بِأَمْوَالِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُم بِهِ مِن بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمً

 ”

The first part of the verse is a continuation from the previous verse. The middle part states that the non-mentioned woman are lawful, provided that the criteria for marriage is fulfilled. The last part of the verse addresses Nikah Mut‘ah, and therefore is the entire verse known as "the verse of Mut'ah" [1]

[edit] Exegis

[edit] First part

Regarding the first part, Ibn Kathir, a 14th century Sunni Islamic scholar writes in his Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim [2]:

“ Allah said: "(Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess.) The Ayah means, you are prohibited from marrying women who are already married, (except those whom your right hands possess) except those whom you acquire through war, for you are allowed such women after making sure they are not pregnant. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id al-­Khudri said, "We captured some women from the area of Awtas who were already married, and we disliked having sexual relations with them because they already had husbands. So, we asked the Prophet about this matter, and this Ayah was revealed: "(Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess). Consequently, we had sexual relations with these women."

This is the wording collected by At-Tirmidhi An-Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir and Muslim in his Sahih.

 ”

The tradition in Sahih Muslim dates the verse to the Battle of Hunayn in 8 AH (629–630) [3]

[edit] Second part

This part is often referred to in the Muslim controversies related to Nikah Mut'ah by Salafi Sunnis to mean that Nikah Mut'ah is forbidden, since this verse demands chatiry, implying that Nikah Mut'ah is immoral [4].

[edit] Third part

It is reported that several Sahaba including Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, Ubay ibn Ka'b, `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas and Jabir ibn Abd-Allah would read the verse as "Then as to those whom you profit by for a prescribed period (Ajol Masomee), give them their dowries as appointed", something that is included in numerous exegises [5]

Ibn Kathir, a 14th century Sunni Islamic scholar writes regarding the last part [6]:

“ Mujahid stated that, (So with those among them whom you have enjoyed, give them their required due,) was revealed about the Mut`ah marriage. A Mut`ah marriage is a marriage that ends upon a predetermined date. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that the Leader of the Faithful `Ali bin Abi Talib said, "The Messenger of Allah prohibited Mut`ah marriage and eating the meat of domesticated donkeys on the day of Khayber (battle). In addition, in his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Ar-Rabi` bin Sabrah bin Ma`bad Al-Juhani said that his father said that he accompanied the Messenger of Allah during the victory of Makkah, and that the Prophet said, (O people! I allowed you the Mut`ah marriage with women before. Now, Allah has prohibited it until the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, anyone who has any women in Mut`ah, let him let them go, and do not take anything from what you have given them.) Allah's statement, (but if you agree mutually (to give more) after the requirement (has been determined), there is no sin on you.) is similar to His other statement". ”

The first two lines of the above exegise is agree on by Shi'as, the rest is a Sunni only view. See Muslim controversies related to Nikah Mut'ah for the Shi'a-Sunni stance, or Hadiths regarding the legality of Nikah Mut'ah their view on the individual historical sources.

[edit] Shi'a view

A narration attributed to Ali bin Yaqtheen reports:

“ Imam Musa Kadhim (as) was asked about Nikah Mut‘ah, he replied 'Why do you, when you with the blessing of Allah (swt) have a wife at your side? He [Ali] replied 'No I just want to know'. Imam Kadhim (as) replied 'The permissibility is present within the Book of Allah (swt)' [7] ”

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Answering-Ansar.org :: Mut'ah, a comprehensive guide
  2. ^ site, offline as of 2006-09-29 Google Cache
  3. ^ Sahih Muslim 8:3432
  4. ^ Answering-Ansar.org :: Mut'ah, a comprehensive guide
  5. ^
    1. Tafseer Durre Manthur Volume2 P. 40 -
    2. Tafsir al-Tabari Volume 5 p. (14 & 15 ?) [1]
    3. Tafseer Kabeer Volume 3 p. 94
    4. Fathul Qadeer Volume 1 p. 14
    5. Tafseer Ibn Katheer Volume 1 p. 84
    6. Tafseer Ruh al Maani Volume 5 p.
    7. Tafseer Kashaf p. 20
    8. Tafseer Mazhari Volume2 p. 4
    9. Tafseer Ahkam al Quran Volume2 p. 47
    10. Tafseer Mu'alim al Tanzeel p. 63
    11. Mustadrak Al Hakim volume 2 p. 47
    12. Al Musahif by Abi Bakr Sijistani p. 3
    13. Tafseer Mawahib al Rahman page 4 part 5
    14. Tafseer Haqqani volume5 p.
    15. Tafseer Jama Al Bayan Volume1 p. 66
    16. Neel al Authar Volume2 p. 53 Kitab Nikah
    17. Tafseer Qurtabi Volume5 p. 30
    18. Dhurqani Sharh Muwatta Volume1 p. 54
    19. Kitab al Musahaf page 342
    20. Al Bahar al Maheet Volume 3 page 218
    21. Tafseer Maar Volume5 p. 5
    22. Tafseer Jama al Bayan Volume6 p. 9
    23. Tafseer Al Baghawi, Al Musami Mu'alim al Tanzeel, p. 414 [2]
    Also, Imam of Ahl as-Sunnah Abu Hayyan Andalusi in his commentary of Sharh Afhaq 'al Bahar al Maheet' Volume 3 page 218 states it. [3]
  6. ^ Tafsir.com Tafsir Ibn Kathir
  7. ^ Furu al-Kafi Volume 5 page 452 (Tehran printed edition 1391 Hijri)[4]