What is a Contract Marriage and How its Legality According to Islam?

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By:

Team of Hukumindo

Previously, the www.hukumindo.com platform has talk about "Contoh Surat Permohonan Perubahan Nama Secara Mandiri", "The Law of Contract Marriages That Often Occurs in the 'Puncak Area' of Bogor and Cianjur", "The Role of Law in Sharia Economic Development" you may read also "How To Married Indonesian Women Legally?" and on this occasion we will discuss about 'What is a contract marriage and how its legality according to Islam?'.

Legal Terminology

Contract marriage or mut'ah mariage is a marriage between a man and a woman with a certain dowry or within a certain period of time. Mut'ah marriage does not oblige the husband to provide a living, a place to live, and there is no inheritance relationship between the two.[1]

Brief History

Quoting the book Practical Fiqh II: According to the Al-Qur'an, As-Sunnah, and Opinions of the Ulama by Muhammad Bagir (2008), that mutah marriage has the goal of venting sexual desires only. In contract marriage, neither the wife nor the husband wishes to have children. Therefore, contract marriage is very detrimental to the women because it seems that they are only used as merchandise.[2]

Mut'ah marriage was once practiced during the time of Rasulullah SAW, where at that time the law was permissible because there was a war going on which prevented the companions from returning home for a long time. But after that, the Prophet then forbid mut'ah marriage until now.[3]

Law of Contract Marriage in Islam

Most of the scholars say that mut'ah marriage is not valid according to ijma. This is based on a hadith narrated by Sabrah ra that Rasulullah SAW said:

"O people, in fact, I used to allow you to do mut'ah marriage with some women. And, indeed now Allah has forbidden it until the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, whoever is still by his side, someone from them, then let him go to follow his own path (life). And do not take anything that you have given them at all." (Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawud, and An-Nasa'i)"

In addition, it was narrated by Ali bin Abi Talib ra that Rasulullah SAW once said the prohibition of mut'ah marriage at the Khaibar incident. Likewise, during the reign of the caliph Umar bin Khattab ra, he conveyed directly in his speech about the law of mut'ah marriage being illegal.[4]

In addition, in reviewing the law of mut'ah marriage, several opinions of the following scholars can be seen:[5]

1. Madzhab Hanafi, in the book Al-Mabtush, Imam Syamsuddin Al-Sarkhasi said that, "This mut'ah marriage is invalid according to our school of thought."
2. Madzhab Maliki, Imam Ibnu Rushd in a book entitled Bidayatul Mujtahid wa Nihayah A-Muqtashid said that, "The hadiths that forbid muta'ah marriage reach the rank of mutawatir."
3. Madzhab Syafi'i, In his book Al-Umm, Imam Syafii explained that mut'ah marriage is prohibited because it is limited by time either in the short or long term.
4. Madzhab Hambali, Imam Ibn Qudamah in his book Al-Mughni says that mut'ah marriage is a vanity marriage.

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References:

1. "Apa Itu Nikah Mut'ah dan Seperti Apa Hukumnya dalam Islam", www.detik.com., Cicin Yulianti, Diakses pada tanggal 26 Februari 2023, Link: https://www.detik.com/hikmah/khazanah/d-6457982/apa-itu-nikah-mutah-dan-seperti-apa-hukumnya-dalam-islam

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.