New Update:

Muta marriage is forbidden according also to the Shia sources themselves!

Was Islam's Muta (temporary marriage) Law immoral? What does the Bible
say about it?

Temporary Marriage (muta) is forbidden in

Islam!
In this short article we will see how and why Temporary Marriage was first allowed in
Islam, but then later was forbidden by our Prophet peace be upon him:
"Rabi' b. Sabra reported that his father went on an expedition with Allah's Messenger
(may peace be upon him) during the Victory of Mecca, and we stayed there for fifteen
days (i. e. for thirteen full days and a day and a night), and Allah's Messenger (may
peace be upon him) permitted us to contract temporary marriage with
women. So I and another person of my tribe went out, and I was more handsome than
he, whereas he was almost ugly. Each one of us had a cloaks, My cloak was worn out,
whereas the cloak of my cousin was quite new. As we reached the lower or the upper
side of Mecca, we came across a young woman like a young smart long-necked shecamel. We said: Is it possible that one of us may contract temporary marriage with
you? She said: What will you give me as a dower? Each one of us spread his cloak.
She began to cast a glance on both the persons. My companion also looked at her
when she was casting a glance at her side and he said: This cloak of his is worn out,
whereas my cloak is quite new. She, however, said twice or thrice: There is no harm in
(accepting) this cloak (the old one). So I contracted temporary marriage with her,
and I did not come out (of this) until Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)
declared it forbidden. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 8, Number 3253)"

Narrated 'Ali: "I said to Ibn 'Abbas, 'During the battle of Khaibar the Prophet
forbade (Nikah) Al-Mut'a [Temporary Marriage in English] and the eating of
donkey's meat.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume
7, Book 62, Number 50)"
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah and Salama bin Al-Akwa': "While we were in an army,
Allah's Apostle came to us and said, "You have been allowed to do the Mut'a
(marriage), so do it." Salama bin Al-Akwa' said: Allah's Apostle's said, "If a man and a
woman agree (to marry temporarily), their marriage should last for three nights, and if
they like to continue, they can do so; and if they want to separate, they can do so." I
do not know whether that was only for us or for all the people in general. Abu
Abdullah (Al-Bukhari) said: 'Ali made it clear that the Prophet said, "The Mut'a
marriage has been cancelled (made unlawful)." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari,
Wedlock, Marriage (Nikaah), Volume 7, Book 62, Number 52)"
Narrated Saburah ibn Ma'bad al-Juhani: "The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) prohibited temporary marriage with women. (Translation
of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Book 11, Number 2068)"
The reason why temporary marriage was allowed is to prevent illegal sex, prostitution
and rape especially during the early times of Islam when Muslims didn't have
residence stability and were facing all kinds of difficulties from the pagans. The
Muslim men used to also travel for long months away from their families to meet the
enemy in the battle field. Some of the towns they used to go to had Muslim women in
them, and like I said, to prevent adultery and fornication with any woman (Muslim or
non-Muslim), and to prevent rape, the Prophet peace be upon him allowed temporary
marriage contracts between Muslim men and women.
When the Muslim state became stable during our Prophet's time, he then forbade that
act because Muslims then could get married and have stable lives with their families
and raise Children in a stable and convenient community.

A Brief Description of the Question:

My question is that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) offered divorce to Hazrath Sawda
(r.a) because she was finding hard to compete with other young wives, but she
declined because she said she wants to be resurrected as his wife, what does that mean
finding hard to compete. Was prophet giving more time to other wives, although a
husband should be just with all wives? Please reply at earliest thanks.

The Answer:
Question: My question is about Prophet Muhammad's (peace and blessings be upon him)
proposing a divorce to Sawda (one of his wives) because of her slowness and laziness in
relation to his young wives. However, Sawda (may Allah be pleased with her) does not
accept it and wants to remain as his wife. How should we understand Prophet Muhammad's
(PBUH)

seeing

his

wife

lazy?

Answer: There is some information about Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) wanting to

divorce Sawda. However, the reason for this is not that she was old or behaved slowly.
Sawda is the daughter of Zem'a who belongs to Amir b. Luay, a branch of the tribe of
Quraysh. Sawda was married to Sakran, the brother of Suhayl b. Amr. She accepted Islam
before her husband and played an important role in her husband's choosing Islam. At the
time when Muslims were severely tortured in Mecca, Sakran and his wife emigrated to
Abyssinia

but

he

died

there

some

time

later.

Sawda returned to Mecca after her husband's death. At this time, Khadija, the first wife of
the Prophet, had just died. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had children who needed care. The
Prophet, who named the year of Khadija's death as 'the year of sadness' was having a
troubled time. He was left alone. This situation of the Prophet was felt by everybody. Hawla,
the daughter of Hakim and the wife of Uthman b. Maz'un, saw the sadness of the Prophet

and proposed to find a partner for him, and he assented. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was
very much affected by the loyalty to faith Sawda had shown and as a result of the respect
and high value that he attached to her, he proposed to marry her. Sawda was at the age of
fifty when she married the Prophet. The marriage took place three years before the Hijra
(migration from Mecca to Madinah). For the marriage, the Prophet went to the home of
Sawda and her father performed the marriage ceremony. The mihr (money given to the wife
before marriage by the husband) given by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to his wife was
worth four hundred dirhams. Sawda had a brother who was initially a polytheist but
afterwards

chose

the

rightful

religion.

After the marriage, Sawda looked after the children of the Prophet and brought them up
with

mother's

mercy.

Sawda, who earned the honor of being the second wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),
died in 640 AD (19, of the Hegira) at the time of the Caliph Umar, according to the soundest
narration.
As is seen, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) took this righteous old lady under his care, who
had separated from her relatives and joined the group of believers and who did not ever
want to return back to polytheism in which her relatives believed; and the Prophet did this
only because she was loyal to Allah and His religion, and he thus gave her the honor of being
the

mother

of

believers.

Sawda was tall and heavy in body and in her actions. As she could not move fast, she asked
for permission to set out from Muzdalifa before anyone else in the Final Pilgrimage of the
Prophet. On the other hand, one of the most important assets of Sawda was her generosity.
In this matter, she was the first among the Prophet's wives after Aisha (may Allah be pleased
with her). One day, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a bag to Sawda. Sawda
asked what was in the bag. When she learnt that it was money, she commanded it to be
distributed

to

the

poor.

One of the points which distinguished her from the other wives of the Prophet was her
ultimate obedience. Moreover, Sawda is among those who narrated hadiths from the
Prophet. However, the hadiths narrated by her are not more than five. Bukhari took one of
these hadiths in his book. Abdullah b. Abbas, Yahya b. Adurrahman and As'ad b. Zurara
narrated

hadiths

from

Sawda.

Before her death, Sawda bequeathed her room to her friend Aisha, who lived in the next
room to hers. By this way, Aisha had the chance to widen her place, which was quite limited
as

the

Prophet

was

buried

on

one

side

of

her

room.

In As-Siratu'n-Nabawiya by Ibn Hisham, one of the most important sources of the history of
Islam, there are some narrations apart from those above. According to this book, some time

after the marriage, Sawda caused some delay in the Prophet's relations with his daughters.
Again in the same source, the event in which the Prophet decides to divorce Sawda is also
mentioned. It is narrated that when Sawda sees Suhayl b. Amr, the brother of her deceased
husband, among the prisoners of Badr War with his hands tied, she said: O Aba Yazid!
How did you surrender? Could you not die with your honor? When the Prophet heard this,
he said: Sawda! Do you oppose Allah and His Messenger? Sawda replied: O Messenger of
Allah! I swear to Allah Who has sent you as the rightful Prophet that I could not help saying
this when I saw Abu Yazid like that. Thereupon, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) intended to
divorce Sawda, but she pleaded: O Prophet, do not divorce me! Keep me in your wedlock;
show me mercy! Do not let me drift into oblivion! Then the Prophet accepted her wish.
Islamic sources are of the same opinion that after this event, their marriage continued
without

any

problem.

In short, Sawda is a lady who alleviated the sadness of the Prophet upon Khadija's death,
who did the housework, who fulfilled the duty of motherhood for six children and most
importantly

who

earned

the

title

'the

mother

of

the

believers'.

(Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqatul-Kubra, Beirut, t.y., VIII, 52-58; Ibnul-Athir, al-Kamil fi't-Tarih, trans.
M. Beir Eryarsoy, Istanbul 1985, II, 138 and others; Muhammad Hamidullah, The Prophet
of Islam, trans. Salih Tu, Istanbul 1980, II, 730-731; Mevlana Shibli, Asr Saadah, trans. .
Rza Dorul, Istanbul 1981, II, 138-140).