Temporary marriage, or mut’a, is the practice of entering into a marriage with a time limit: the couple is married only for a night, or a week, or whatever time period their agreement specifies. So in other words, it is prostitution under the guise of morality. Temporary wives are found in large numbers in seminary towns where young clerics-in-training are away from home and lonely.
This is a Shi’ite concept that mainstream Sunnis ostensibly reject; the Shi’ites point out that Muhammad allowed it, while the Sunnis maintain that he later abolished the practice. Shi’ites also justify it by reference to Qur’an 4:24, which says: “And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done).” They see in that reference to “what ye do by mutual agreement” the allowance of a time limit.
Sharia Alert from the Islamic Republic of Iran: “Iran hangs former soccer player’s mistress,” from the Associated Press, December 1 (thanks to S.K.S.):
Iran on Wednesday hanged a former soccer player’s mistress _ known as a “temporary wife _ who was convicted of murdering her love rival, the player’s wife, the official IRNA news agency reported. Shahla Jahed was hanged at dawn, after spending more than eight years in jail, IRNA said, in a case that has captivated the Iranian public for several years.
Jahed had become what is known as a “temporary wife” of former soccer star Nasser Mohammad Khani.
She was charged in 2002 with stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, the player’s wife, and convicted of murder in 2004 and again in 2009, after her appeal was denied.
Contracts with “temporary wives” are a legal way for Iranian men to have mistresses outside marriage, with the agreements lasting from between several hours to a few years.
Wednesday’s death sentence was based on the Islamic law of “qisas” _ or eye for an eye retribution.
International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, had campaigned for Jahed’s punishment to be halted. The IRNA report said that just before the hanging at Tehran’s Evin prison, the 40-year-old Jahed prayed peacefully, then burst into tears and cries, shouting for her life to be spared. The victim’s son pulled the chair from under her feet as Jahed gasped for breath in the remaining moments of her life, the khabaronline.ir news website said. The former soccer striker, Khani, also attended the hanging….
Under Iranian law, men and women can commit to a “temporary marriage” for an agreed period of time after a certain amount of money is paid to the woman.
In Iran, men are allowed up to four legal wives under Islam and any number of temporary wives. Women can only be married to one man at a time….