16. Temporary and Secret Marriages.

Temporary marriage was a custom amongst eastern countries, as it was also practised by some men at the dawn of Islam on their missions / trips. Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.a.) said: "Temporary marriage was at the beginning of Islam. A man comes by a town where he has no acquaintances, so he marries for a fixed time depending on his stay in the town, the woman looks after his provisions and prepares his food, until the verse was revealed: "Except to your wives or what your right hands possess." Ibn 'Abbas explained that any relationship beyond this is forbidden. [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhy].

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. 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 fulfillment of the lusts of men, and belittles the value of a woman whom Allah has honored. So temporary marriage was forbidden.

There are many hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) that point to the prohibition of temporary marriage, some of which are mentioned below:

Ali Bin Abi Taleb (r.a.a.) said that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) had forbidden temporary marriage on the day of Khaybar and had forbidden the eating of the meat of domestic camels. [Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmidhy, Ibn Majah, Nasa`i and others].

According to Sabra Bin Ma'had AlJuhany who said: I was with my cousin when we passed by a woman who liked my youth and a robe which my companion had. So she offered temporary marriage with the robe as the dowry. I married her and spent the night with her. In the next morning, I went to the mosque and heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) saying: 'O people, I had permitted you temporary marriage before, whoever of you has any part in it currently must part with her, and do not take back anything which you may have given them, as Allah Exalted and Majestic has forbidden it until the day of resurrection.' " [Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Nasa`i, and Darimi].

According to Abu Huraira (r.a.a.), the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) had forbidden or abolished temporary marriage, its marriage and its divorce, its waiting period, and its inheritance. [narrated by DarQutny, Ishaq Bin Rahwiya, and Ibn Habban].

Abu Bakr Bin Hafs reported according to Ibn 'Umar who said: "When Ali was given the Caliphate, he thanked Allah Most High and praised Him and said: 'O people, the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) had permitted temporary marriage three times then forbade it. I swear by Allah, ready to fulfil my oath, that if I find any person who engages in temporary marriage without having ratified this with a proper marriage, I will have him lashed 100 stripes unless he can bring two witnesses to prove that the Messenger (s.a.w.) had permitted it after forbidding it.' " [Ibn Majah].

There is more evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah, as pointed to by scholars. Also, the opinions of all the well known major scholars are that temporary marriage is prohibited based upon the large amount of evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah. Only the misguided deviant Shia sect permits temporary marriage. Their deviance in well known in many issues.

Another issue similar to temporary marriage is that of "secret" marriage. This comes in many names and has many forms. However, it must be known by all Muslims, that one of the conditions of a valid marriage in Islam is that it should be publicized. If this condition is not fulfilled, the marriage is not legal according to Shariah, and the two people involved in such a marriage are committing fornication and having an illegal relationship, which is a major sin in Islam.

Any marriage that is kept secret from anyone, such as the families, other spouses of the husband, the state, friends or anyone else is not Islamically valid. Otherwise, marriage will become mixed with fornication, and it will not be clear what the relationship is.

Also, Muslim women must be warned that some men who just want to take advantage of them may make a million excuses to get into a temporary or secret marriage. This is because in temporary and secret marriages all rights of the woman are lost. Once the man has satisfied his desires he can just disappear and the woman will not have any way of getting any of her rights. May Allah (swt) save us all, and save Muslim women from falling into the trap of these kinds of marriages.

And Allah (swt) knows best, May Allah (swt) guide us all to the right path.