Prohibition of Two Lawful Pleasures: a Critical Assessment of Prohibition of Mut'a of Hajj and Mut'a Marriage

Preface

There is consensus among Muslims that there are verses in the Holy Quran on mut'a of hajj and temporary marriage. In regard with mut'a of hajj Allah says:

فَمَنْ تَمَتَّعَ بِالْعُمْرَةِ إِلَى الْحَجِّ فَمَا اسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ الْهَدْيِ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيامُ ثَلاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ فِي الْحَجِّ وَ سَبْعَةٍ إِذا رَجَعْتُمْ تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌ كامِلَةٌ ذلِكَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ أَهْلُهُ حاضِرِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرامِ وَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقابِ[^2]

But when the pilgrim is secure [from the enemy or illness ] then whoever performs Hajj following 'Umrah, he must make an offering easily available, but he who is not able to find any offering he should fast three days during the hajj and seven days after his return to his home, making ten days complete. This is for him whose household does not live near the Sacred Mosque. Fear from the disobedience of Allah's commands and know that Allah is the server in punishment.

فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَ لا جُناحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيما تَراضَيْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً[^3]

If you marry them for the appointed time you must pay their dowries. There is no harm if you reach an understanding among yourselves about the dowry. God is All-knowing and All-wise.

Obviously, Muslims acted in accordance with these verses until Umar bin Khattab after assuming caliphate declared:

Two pleasures were lawful and current during the time of the Holy Prophet (s). I prohibit both of them and punish those who commit them. They are mut'a of hajj and temporary marriage.

Thus there emerged difference among Muslims. The followers of Umar, who considered his words as a part of their principles were perplexed as how to justify his words which were as he himself admitted in contradiction with Allah's commandment. Umar himself said that two pleasure were lawful and he prohibited them.

Section One: Mut'a of hajj

What is the mut'a of hajj?

In mut'a of hajj, a pilgrim wears ihram garment in hajj months at Miqat and then leaves it for the house of Allah in order to perform Tamattu'a Hajj. [After arriving at the house of Allah], He circumambulates, walks between Safa and Mawa, does taqsir[^4] and then gets out of the state of ihram. Thereupon he once again enters the state of ihram in the same journey in Mecca or preferably at the Sacred Mosque. Thereupon he goes towards 'Arafat and Mash'ar al-Haram performing hajj rituals to the end.

By doing this, he is able to perform tamatu'a hajj and Umra [in the same journey]. The term 'mut'a' means pleasure and enjoyment. In this kind of hajj, things that are prohibited during ihram, are allowed in the interval between ihrams. That is why it is called mut'a of hajj.

The prohibition of two mut'as and Imam Ali's opinion

When Umar prohibited those two lawful pleasures [muta' of hajj and mut'a marriage], Imam Ali (a.s), the guardian of Shari'a laws and the supporter of the Holy Prophet (s) stood against it.

Ahmad bin Hanbal and Muslim Nayshaburi have narrated certain traditions in this respect. Ahmad quotes Abdullah bin Shafiq as saying: Uthman used to prohibit mut'a and Ali (a.s) used to allow it. Addressing Uthman, Ali (a.s) said: You are so and so![^5]

Thereupon Ali (a.s) said: You know very well that we used to practice mut'a at the time of the Holy Prophet (s).

Uthman said: Yes, but we entertained fear.[^6]

In another tradition, Sa'eed bin Musayyab says:

'Ali and 'Uthman differed on Hajj-at-Tamattu' while they were at 'Usfan (a familiar place near Mecca). 'Ali said, "I see you want to forbid people from doing a thing that the Prophet did?" When 'Ali saw that, he assumed Ihram for both Hajj and 'Umra.[^7]

In another tradition, Marwan bin Hakam says:

I saw 'Uthman and 'Ali. 'Uthman used to forbid people from performing Hajj-at-Tamattu' and Hajj-al-Qiran (Hajj and 'Umra together), and when 'Ali saw (this act of 'Uthman), he assumed Ihram for Hajj and 'Umra together saying, "Labbaik for 'Umra and Hajj," and said, "I will not leave the tradition of the Prophet on the saying of somebody."[^8]

Great companions on prohibition of two mut'as

The great companions of the Holy Prophet (s) have also confirmed the stance that Imam Ali (a.s) took in regard with the prohibition of the two mut'as. Here are the views of some of them:

Ibn Abbas

One of the companions who has rejected Umar's opinion is Ibn Abbas. In his Musnad, Ahmad bin Hanbal narrates:

Once Ibn Abbas said: The Holy Prophet used to perform mut'a of hajj.

'Arwa bin Zubair said: Abu Bakr and Umar prohibited mut'a of hajj.

Belittling him, Ibn Abbas said: What does this little 'Arwa say?

'Arwa said: I said that Abu Bakr and Umar prohibited mut'a of hajj.

In response Ibn Abbas said: I think they are perished! I say that the Holy Prophet says so and so and he says that Abu Bakr and Umar forbade people from doing it![^9]

Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas

Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas did not accept Umar's opinion either. In hisSunan , Tirmidhi quotes Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Harith bin Nufil as saying: Sa'ad bin Waqqas and Dahhak bin Qays were talking on muta' of hajj. Dahhak bin Qays said that no one except someone who does not know about shari'a laws does it (mut'a of hajj).

Sa'ad said: My nephew! How bad your idea is!

Dahhak said: Umar bin Khattab has prohibited it (mut'a of hajj).

Sa'ad said: The Messenger of Allah did it and following him we did it too.

After quoting this tradition, Tirmidhi says that the chain of this tradition is authentic.[^10]

Abu Musa 'Ash'ari

Another companion who has refused to accept Umar's opinion is Abu Musa Ash'ari. In hisMusnad , Ahmad says: Abu Musa always decreed that mut'a of hajj was permissible. One day a man addressing him, said: Review some of your decrees, as you do not know that Umar, commander of the faithful has given a new decree concerning hajj rituals!

Thereupon, Abu Musa met Umar and asked him about it. In response, Umar said: I know that the Holy Prophet (s) did it and his companions also, following him, did it, but I did not like Muslims to (leave mut'a of hajj and) make sex with their wives under these arak[^11] trees and then perform hajj rituals while their heads and hairs are wet.[^12]

Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari

Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari was also among the companions who were opposed to Umar's opinion concerning mut'a of hajj. Muslim in hisSahih and others have reported the following:

Abu Nadra reported: Ibn'Abbas continued to decree that mut'a of hajj was permissible, but Ibn Zubair forbade doing it. I made a mention of it to Jabir b. Abdullih and he said: It is through me that this hadith has been circulated. We entered into the state of Ihram as Tamattu' with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). When 'Umar was Installed as Caliph, he said: Verily Allah made permissible for His Messenger (may peace be upon him) whatever He liked. Quran is revealed for a particular occasion. Now however separate hajj from umra (mut'a of hajj) and leave aside temporary marriage. And any person would come to me with a marriage of appointed duration (Mut'a), I would stone him (to death).[^13]

Abdullah bin Umar

Abdullah bin Umar was also opposed to his father's decree concerning mut'a of hajj. When he was asked about mut'a of hajj, he said, "Mut'a of hajj is permissible". When the questioner said that his father had forbidden it, he said, "If my father forbade it and the Holy Prophet permitted it, whom

should we follow, my father or the Holy Prophet (s)?" When the questioner said 'indeed the Messenger of Allah's command', Abdullah bin Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah (s) did it himself".[^14]

Imran bin Husain

According to Ibn Abd al-Barr in hisal-Isti'ab and Ibn Hajar Asqalani in hisal-Isaba, Imran bin Husain was one of the great companions and jurists.[^15] During the last days of his life, he was extremely critical of Umar's opinion. Muslim narrates a tradition as under:

Mutarrif reported: 'Imran bin Husain sent for me during his illness of which he died, and said: I am narrating to you some traditions which may benefit you after me. If I live you conceal (the fact that these have been transmitted by me), and if I die, then you narrate them if you like (and these are): I am blessed, and bear in mind that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) combined Hajj and Umra. Then no verse was revealed in regard to it in the Book of Allah (which abrogated it) and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not forbid (from doing it). And whatever a person (Umar) said was out of his personal opinion.[^16]

Commenting on traditions that indicate that Imran bin Hasin was denying it, Nawavi says, "All these traditions unanimously agree that Imran intended to say that mut'a of hajj and qiran hajj[^17] both were permissible. This tradition likewise clearly indicates that Imran is critical of Umar's decree concerning mut'a of hajj".[^18]

Ibn Taymiyya defends Umar but admits his mistake

Ibn Taymiyya, a great Sunni scholar has also commented in this regard. Defending Umar's opinion concerning women, he says that Umar wanted to order [his followers] to do a better thing. To substantiate his point of view, he resorts to Ibn Umar's words, saying that Abdullah bin Umar used to allow mut'a. When he was told that his father had prohibited it, he said that his father meant something else [from prohibiting Mut'a].

In short, Ibn Taymiyya wants to say that the prohibition verdict issued by Umar was something acting on which was optional not compulsory, implying that Umar did not really prohibit the said two mut'as.[^19]

In my point of view, the justification on the bases of which Umar wanted to order his people to do a better thing is not acceptable at all. This is utterly false and ridiculous. On the other hand, he has attributed something to Ibn Umar, which is in contradiction with what is narrated from Ibn Umar in Sunni books. According to Ibn Kathir, Abdullah used to oppose his father to the extent that when he was told that his father used to prohibit mut'a, he said, "I am afraid lest Allah descends stones from the sky on you! The Messenger of Allah (s) used to do it. Whose tradition should we now follow, the Holy Prophet's tradition or Umar's?![^20]

The main point in Ibn Taymiyya's words is his denial of Umar's opinion according to which the said two mut'as are forbidden.[^21] A group of scholars have however, as we will mention, narrated this opinion.

Nevertheless, it seems that Ibn Taymiyya has sensed that his struggles for the justification of Umar's stand are in vain, leading nowhere. That is why he helplessly mentions that Sunni scholars are unanimous that it is only the

Messenger o Allah whose deeds are authoritative and we are supposed to follow them. According to him, on the view of Sunni scholars all human beings except the Holy Prophet (s) are prone to error and Umar is no exception to this rule.[^22]

The stand taken by Umar is considered to be an 'innovation', being an instance of the tradition reported by Abu Musa Ash'ari, who quotes the Holy Prophet as saying:

أَنَا فَرَطُكُمْ عَلَى الْحَوْضِ وَلَيُرْفَعَنَّ مَعِي رِجَالٌ مِنْكُمْ ثُمَّ لَيُخْتَلَجُنَّ دُونِي فَأَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَصْحَابِي فَيُقَالُ إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِي مَا أَحْدَثُوا بَعْدَكَ[^23]

I am your predecessor at the Lake-Fount, and some of you will be brought in front of me till I will see them and then they will be taken away from me and I will say, 'O Lord, my companions!' It will be said, 'You do not know what they did after you had left.'

It can be said that the main aim behind forbidding mut'a of hajj was to revive a tradition that was current at the time of ignorance. This is because it was considered a major sin on earth at the time of ignorance to do mut'a of hajj during the hajj months.[^24]

Inhis al-Sunan al-Kubra , Bayhaqi quotes Ibn Abbas as saying: By Allah, the Messenger of Allah did not take Aisha with himself during the hajj months but to declare the tradition practiced at the time of ignorance as null and void. That is why there are many authentic traditions that quote the Holy Prophet (s) as saying:

If I had formerly known what I came to know lately, I would not have brought the Hadi (sacrificial animal) with me. [Had there been no Hadi with me, I would have finished the state of lhram] Suraqa b. Malik b. Ju'shum said: O Messenger of Allah, is it (this concession putting off Ihram of Hajj or Umra) meant for this year or is it forever? He said: It is forever.[^25]

According to this tradition, it is not necessary to make sacrifice in order to get out of the state of ihram. It indicates that it is permissible to get out of the state of ihram after completing the rituals of umra of tamattu'a. The said tradition is reported by all Sahihs and Bukhari has allocated a particular chapter to it.