Mut'ah (arabic word)
Encyclopedia
Mut'ah is an Arabic
word meaning literary "joy". As a term, its main connotation is Temporary Marriage (Arabic: Nikah Mut'ah)
. The root m-t-' has a great number of meanings, some of which are listed by Ayatullah Maghniyah in his Fiqh
al-Imam
Ja'far as-Sadiq ("The Understanding of the Sacred Law Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq" (Shi'a Ja'fari madhhab
):
The Hans-Wehr dictionary
gives the following meanings for the root m-t-' :
Of those three, the most common meanings are:
Those two terms should not be confused with each other, as they are separate things and the Islamic Term "Mut'ah" can denote one or both of the Islamic Term Mut'ah of Hajj and the Islamic Term Nikah Mut'ah.
As narrated in the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah, Umar
banned "Mut'ah" during his time as Caliph
.
Sunni view that Nikah Mut'ah was abrogated, while Shi'a do not hold that view, hence they disagree on its current day permissibility.
Sunni scholars do not consider Mut'ah marriage as legislative, rather they consider it Haram (prohibited). The version of Mut'ah for Sunni Muslims is Nikah Misyar
, accepted largely as a secret way of marriage hence the meaning of the Arabic word Misyar (secret).
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word meaning literary "joy". As a term, its main connotation is Temporary Marriage (Arabic: Nikah Mut'ah)
General meaning
The word is used in the name of the Battle of Mu'tahBattle of Mu'tah
The Battle of Mu'tah was fought in 629 , near the village of Mu'tah, east of the Jordan River and Karak in Karak Governorate, between an army sent by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and an army of the Byzantine Empire- The Eastern Romans.In Muslim histories, the battle is usually described as the...
. The root m-t-' has a great number of meanings, some of which are listed by Ayatullah Maghniyah in his Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
al-Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
Ja'far as-Sadiq ("The Understanding of the Sacred Law Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq" (Shi'a Ja'fari madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
):
The Hans-Wehr dictionary
Hans Wehr
Hans Wehr was a German Arabist. A professor at the University of Münster from 1957-1974, he published the Arabisches Wörterbuch , which was later published in an English edition as A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, edited by J Milton Cowan. For the dictionary Wehr created a transliteration...
gives the following meanings for the root m-t-' :
Of those three, the most common meanings are:
- Nikah Mut'ah — The second Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic Marriage form. - Mut'ah of HajjMut'ah of Hajj"Mut'ah of Hajj" or "hajj al-tamattu" , involves relaxation of the ihram between the Umrah and Hajj, including the dress code and other prohibitions.-History:...
— relaxation between a UmrahUmrahThe Umrah or is a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, performed by Muslims that can be undertaken at any time of the year. In Arabic, Umrah means "to visit a populated place"...
and a HajjHajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
.
Those two terms should not be confused with each other, as they are separate things and the Islamic Term "Mut'ah" can denote one or both of the Islamic Term Mut'ah of Hajj and the Islamic Term Nikah Mut'ah.
As narrated in the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah, Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
banned "Mut'ah" during his time as Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
.
Sunni view that Nikah Mut'ah was abrogated, while Shi'a do not hold that view, hence they disagree on its current day permissibility.
See also
- Hadiths related to Mut'ah
Sunni scholars do not consider Mut'ah marriage as legislative, rather they consider it Haram (prohibited). The version of Mut'ah for Sunni Muslims is Nikah Misyar
Nikah Misyar
Nikah Misyar is a Muslim Nikah carried out via the normal contractual procedure, with the specificity that the husband and wife give up several rights by their own free will, such as living together, equal division of nights between wives in cases of polygamy, the wife's rights to housing, and...
, accepted largely as a secret way of marriage hence the meaning of the Arabic word Misyar (secret).