Muta PDF

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MUSLIM LAW Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam, followed by 87–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word sunnah, referring to the behaviour of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad Prophet. One of the most crucial differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims is the importance that the Shiites give to Ali, whom the Sunni do not recognize as being the Prophet's rightful successor There are 4 form of marriages under Muslim lawA. SAHIH – Valid under both Shia and Sunni B. BATIL – Void under both Shia and Sunni C. FASID - Irregular form under Sunni and no existence under Shia D. MUTA – Temporary form under Shia and no existence under Sunni Muta Marriage - The temporary marriage, muta is an ancient Islamic practice that unites man and woman as husband and wife for a limited time. Historically it was used so that a man could have a wife for a short while when travelling long distances. In the late sixth and early seventh century, during the time of Prophet Muhammad, temporary marriages were already prevalent in the Arabia. The second caliph, Umar, banned temporary marriage, but Shiites reject his authority because they believe he took Muhammad's rightful heir, his sonin-law Ali. Professor Fyzee states that “Muta” translates literally to “pleasure” in Arabic. In the Shia context, Muta refers to a “temporary marriage.” A man pays a woman a sum of money (i.e. a so-called “dower”) and he can have sexual relations with her for however long they agree for in the Muta contract. The Muta time period can be as little as one night, or even one hour. For a valid Muta marriage, the requirements are the following: a. Dower must be specified, otherwise the marriage will be void; b. The duration of the marriage must be specified. After the specified period the marriage automatically dissolves without going through the process of Divorce. c. If the term is not fixed but dower is specified, then the marriage will be presumed to be for life and a permanent marriage is implied.

d. If the duration of marriage is fixed but no dower is specified, the contract for Muta marriage is void. Muta Marriage is automatically dissolved on the expiry of the stated term. Children issue of a Muta are legitimate children of the marriage. There is no fixed limit prescribed for the duration of a Muta marriage. In Sohrat Singh v Jafri Bibi, (1915) case it was held that “Where cohabitation of the parties to a Muta marriage has commenced, but there is no evidence of the term or duration for which the marriage was contracted, the inference would, in absence of evidence to the contrary, be that the Muta continued during the entire period of cohabitation and the children conceived during such period are legitimate and capable of inheriting from their parents”. Nikah- In Islam, marriage (Nikah) is a legal contract between a man and a woman. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract - verbal or on paper - is considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride. There must be two Muslim witnesses of the marriage contract. Difference between Nikah and Muta Marriage- Muta marriage differs from the permanent marriage on the following grounds: (1) Whereas after separation, a wife can claim maintenance from her husband in a regular marriage, such a claim cannot be made in ‘muta’, marriage. (2) The right of succession is secured only in a permanent marriage and not in ‘muta’ marriage. However, the children born out of this marriage can inherit the property of their parents. (3) The ‘muta’ marriage continues for a specific period and after expiry of that period, marriage dissolves and it becomes illegal to continue the marriage after that. On the contrary, the ‘Nikah’ marriage is permanent. It can be ended only in the case of death or divorce. (4) ‘Nikah’ is a common and popular form of marriage, whereas ‘muta’ is a quite unpopular and uncommon form of marriage. (5) Both the Muslim communities, the Shias and the Sunni’s accept and respect the ‘Nikah’ marriage. But the muta marriage is recognized only by the Shia’s and not by the Sunni’s.

(6) The question of divorce does not arise in a ‘muta’ marriage because it is only for a specific period. It is automatically dissolved after the expiry of the specific period. On the contrary, provision of divorce is prevalent in ‘Nikah’ type of marriage. (7) A wife is not entitled to any maintenance unless it is expressly stipulated in the (muta) contract but in Nikah she is entitled for maintenance. Conclusion- Muta marriage has its own pros and cons but one cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that it is indeed a form of Islamic prostitution and such a practised should be curbed in order to bring an end to gender discrimination and promote equality of women to men, a concept is hardly seen in male centric patriarchal Muslim law. Muta marriage is yet another practise which favours the Muslim males more than the females....