Can someone help explain this to me? I have tried to look it up on Wikipedia but I am still confused. I thought temporary marriages were banned in Islam? How can a proper Islamic marriage be temporary and without obligations? Is this permitted in Islam and if so, why?

Busy days for Saudi matchmakers
Published: Monday, 15 May, 2006, 11:35 AM Doha Time

RIYADH: Professional matchmakers in Saudi Arabia have boosted their business by 60% following the legalisation of ‘misyar’, a temporary marriage without obligations.

The Saudi newspaper Arab News said one reason why people resort to such secret but legal options is to avoid family responsibilities and others such as housing a woman and rearing her children.

The paper said ‘misyar’ has grown in popularity in the business community, among educated people and among women with private income as well as with the poor.

The increasing number of unmarried women is why such marriages have become more acceptable, said the paper. – DPA

It's a bit like having a boy/girl friend.

But the intention of this is wrong, as you should marry only if you have the means to do so, and you shouldn't marry for the wrong reasons, rather, you should be able to provide and take care of the wife.

I mean the intention is only temporary pleasure...I don't know....someone correct me, but this doesn't go down too well in my books, this is just morally wrong.

You can try look up "Nikah Mut'ah". As far as I know it has been forbidden long time ago even during the time of Prophet and the Khulafa Ar-Rashideen.

I can find Mut'ah marriages without any problem but they must be illegal in Saudi Arabia as they are elsewhere in the >cough< >cough< part of the Muslim world.

So are these just Mut'ah marriages in disguise (which I can't believe) or are they something else? Are they new or have they been around for a while?

I don't dare expound on matters beyond knowledge, but take a look at this. Maybe others can furnish more.

Question:

As-Salamu `Alaykum! May Allah bless you, and in Sha’ Allah you will always be in progress. I want to ask you about the marriage that is called in Arabic Misyar. I hope you will explain to me what it means, and kindly shed light on the Islamic ruling concerning it.

Answer:

Wa`alaykum As-Salamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Almighty Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, we are really pleased to have your question and to have the chance to convey some of the teachings of our religion to our Muslim brothers. In fact, it adds to our happiness to find guidance being disseminated and the word of truth being highly elevated. We hope these humble efforts meet the great expectations of yours.

Misyar marriage can be defined as a marriage contract between a man and a woman, in which the woman waives some of the rights she would have in a normal Islamic marriage. This sometimes takes place when, for example, there are many women who, as they get older, find it increasingly difficult to marry. In this case a woman opts for a husband who is not able to fulfil the normal marital duties like financial maintenance, or spending adequate time with her, for example. She considers that marrying such a husband is better than remaining unmarried.

It’s noteworthy that once a marriage contract meets its Shari`ah requirements, it will be acceptable from the Islamic points of view irrespective of what people call such contract. Conditions of valid marriage are: The consent of both spouses, the consent of the Wali (guardian), the payment of the dower, the presence of the witnesses, and the announcement of the contract.

It goes without saying that valid marriage should not be limited to a certain period of time; otherwise it will be reckoned as a Mut`ah (temporal) marriage which is prohibited in Islam.

Dealing with this subject, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

Misyar marriage should be viewed as a form of legal relationship between man and woman regardless of any description attached to it. This is pursuant to the juristic rule: "What matters most in contracts are motives and meaning, not the wording or structure."

Therefore, in determining the legal nature of this marriage, we should not judge things according to names, for as we know, people feel free in naming or describing something.

There is nothing new about this kind of marriage. It is in one way or another very similar to what is known as `Urfi marriage or non-documented marriage.

Stipulating certain details in the marriage contract on both sides is acceptable. For example, some `Ulama (scholars) maintain that a woman has a right to determine the timing of marriage; i.e., it can take place at day or night, however, she can also waive this right.

Therefore, based on what has been mentioned, we can state that Misyar marriage, or something in similar form, has been in practice from time immemorial. It also serves the purpose of some women, who, for instance, may be rich but happen to be unable to marry at the proper time. So, such women can opt for this kind of marriage.

But I do have to make it clear that the aforementioned statement does not make me a protagonist of Misyar marriage. In all my Fatwas and sermons, it is not mentioned anywhere that I give any support for such marriage.

The point is that when I was asked by a journalist to state my opinion regarding this marriage, I found it a pressing religious duty to give a clear-cut opinion on something that does not make unlawful what Almighty Allah has made lawful for His servants.

Therefore, if anyone seeks my opinion on this marriage, I must reply him saying: What do you mean by Misyar marriage. However, if I get an explanation that shows that in Misyar marriage, all the Islamic legal requirements are met, then the marriage is valid.

Those requirements are: an offer and acceptance from both parties; a specified dowry, according to the Qur'anic verse: "And give unto the women, (whom ye marry) free gift of their marriage portions" (An-Nisa': 4), and that the contract wins the consent of the guardian. Thereby, no one has the right to brandish it as unlawful.

There is no doubt that such marriage may be somehow socially unacceptable, but there is a big difference between what is Islamically valid and what is socially acceptable. As we know, people can be cynical about the idea of an employee marrying his employer. But who can deny the validity of such a marriage if it meets all the legal requirements?

This issue, therefore, needs a cautious approach. One should not feel free to condemn an act as absolutely forbidden, merely on social repugnance. Rather, one needs to have convincing evidence to determine the legal nature of each particular act.

http://www.islamawareness.net/Marria.../fatwa_01.html

Apparently it's not common either. For me it's the first time I heard about this.

http://www.islamawareness.net/Marriage/Misyar/

its not legalised "prostitution"

read Muslim Knight posted

chk also this

Misyaar marriage is no different from the kind of marriage which you know (ordinary marriage), except in one regard, which is that the woman foregoes her right to a share of the husband’s time in a plural marriage. So she does not have a day of her own like her co-wives have, and whenever her husband can come to see her, she is content with that.

Shaykh Sa’d al-Humayd

“ Misyaar” is a name that is used by the common people; it is not mentioned in the Qur’aan or Sunnah. If this marriage fulfils all the shar’i conditions of marriage such as having a wali (guardian), the proposal of marriage and the acceptance, the consent of both parties and no impediments to the marriage, etc., then the marriage is valid. If the woman says to the man in a misyaar marriage, “I will spend on myself and I will not ask you to spend on me or provide me with accommodation, and I will forego the right to ask for a night of my own” – if the husband has another wife – if the woman agrees to these compromises, she has the right to do so and the marriage is valid, even if it is unlikely to succeed or to last. Then if the wife wants the husband to spend on her and provide accommodation, and she asks for a night of her own, these are her rights. In this case the husband can either respond to her requests or he can divorce her. The difference between this and mut’ah marriage is a great difference. Mut’ah marriage is subject to the condition that it is for a limited time agreed upon by both parties, and the marriage contract ends when that time period ends. So it is a temporary marriage with a limit for its termination which is known to both parties from the outset. This is haraam and is not permitted. Getting married for twenty-four hours or for two or three days is no more than a joke.

The marriage of which we spoke at the beginning is marriage based on continuing indefinitely; it is not temporary or limited to a specific time period agreed upon by both parties and mentioned in the contract. The aim of misyaar marriage is that the woman keeps quiet about some of her rights and does not ask for them, and this is permissible.

islamqa.com

masalama

Thank you to the person who provided the links. This is obviously not legalised prostitution although I was interested in one of the above links saying this,

Eyad comes from another Arab country and is married to a Saudi woman in a Mesyar arrangement. “Our marriage is more like a business deal that we both agreed to. She wants a husband and children, something that I am willing to give to her. She does not care is she sees me once or twice a week. What I need from her is money and financial aid in this country. It is something that she gives me. We live by this agreement and we are both happy.”

I am, rarely for me, speechless.

(Although I thought that Saudi Arabia prohibited foreigners marrying Saudi women? Anyway I forsee problems so I think I'll leave this thread here)

I don't see it that way. You can say it's a marriage of convenience, last resort for women who can't get husbands until their late age. Rather than finish off life alone and without children... or worse fate, prostitution, this could be more dignified for them. And it's within legal framework. Furthermore, it is really up to the woman's consent as is conventional marriage... on other hand, I would say it required mutual consent.

Maybe a bit unethical, but halal. Personally, I'd rather go condemn forced marriages rather than this.

So if the woman willingly waived her rights...wat happens to Childrens rights in such marrgies?

Well sis, things r not just to simple, not everything is white n black. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him never prayd or even ordered his companions to pray Salat Al-taraweeh in Congeregation every night in Ramadhan...so is it Bid'ah?!

"This sometimes takes place when, for example, there are many women who, as they get older, find it increasingly difficult to marry. In this case a woman opts for a husband who is not able to fulfil the normal marital duties like financial maintenance, or spending adequate time with her, for example. She considers that marrying such a husband is better than remaining unmarried."


But how can be this legal. Its in Qur'an written clearly the men needs to treat his wive equally(the same treatment)and he needs to be the women protector, so he needs to ensure some financial maintenance to her too.

It seems the opinion is it that it is halal and we can not call haram what wis halal and vica versa....it has been explained in depth of the meaning and what situations it is used.... so we can not call it haram

thats cuz the woman wants that. its her choice. if she agrees that she gives up her islamic rights (like the husband spending time with her, providing for her) then its allowed and we must respect that.

she is not forced in to it and its entirly her choice

masalama

Peace to all!

What do you have to say about this ?
ya sure they're actually practising muta not misyar or in the name of misyar.. but who draws the limit! our beloved scholars???
and read this too!

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Pa...rm&ID=SP106005

..its just to open your eyes what is happening in the so called musli