What is the ruling on temporary marriage?

The questioner : A question we hope you will clarify further.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : Regarding temporary marriage, can we infer that it is not forbidden because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not forbid it?

The Shaykh : Regarding this question, my answer is that it is wrong from the start, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade temporary marriage; he did not leave it unforbidden. There are numerous hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim regarding the prohibition of temporary marriage. Among these authentic hadiths is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) . I think the answer is clear, and I do not know where you got the idea that the Messenger did not forbid it.

The questioner : It is common among people to say that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab is the one who forbade this matter.

The Shaykh : This question also has its answer. We should remember a principle: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) does not forbid anything on his own authority, because what is lawful is what Allah has made lawful, and what is forbidden is what Allah has forbidden. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not make things lawful or forbidden; he is merely a messenger conveying the message from the One who makes things lawful and forbidden, namely Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This is because making things lawful and forbidden is legislation, and no human being has the right to legislate anything for people on their own, because the Legislator, if we may use the expression, is Allah alone, with no partner. Therefore, we find more than one verse in the Noble Qur'an condemning the polytheists who used to forbid some things and make others lawful. So the Mighty and Majestic said: . And He said regarding the Christians: . This Qur'anic text was difficult for some of the noble companions who were present in the gathering where the Messenger recited this noble verse. One of them was an Arab who had become a Christian during the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, namely 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai. When he heard this verse about the Christians of his former religion, , he said: . Why did he say this? Because he did not understand the verse as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) intended. He understood "lords" to mean that they created the heavens and the earth with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) quickly clarified the correct meaning, which dispelled his confusion. He answered him by asking him a question: . I want to say that if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), who is the master of people on the Day of Resurrection, including Adam and all the prophets and messengers below him, if the master of the prophets does not have the right to make things lawful or forbidden, and that belongs only to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then does anyone below the Messenger (peace be upon him) have the right to forbid, as long as the Messenger does not forbid? The answer, to complete the clarification of the question: if Allah forbids something and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveys it to us, do we forbid it or make it lawful? If Allah forbids something, what is our position? Do we make it lawful or forbid it? We forbid it. For example, you might quote me saying so-and-so forbade temporary marriage. It is self-evident, because this prohibition is based on the message of the Messenger (peace be upon him), who is described in the Qur'an by the saying of the Exalted: . So when 'Umar forbade temporary marriage, he did so based on the prohibition of the Messenger. And when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it, he did not forbid it on his own authority, because he does not have the attribute of making things lawful or forbidden; rather, it is from his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He). 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's prohibition of temporary marriage was his implementation of a legal text. We want to draw attention to the fact that the prohibition of temporary marriage is not only by the Sunnah, but the Sunnah clarified and explained the Qur'anic prohibition of it. We all read in the beginning of Surat al-Mu'minun: . So our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) has clarified in this decisive verse that there is no way for a Muslim to satisfy his desire except through two paths, with no third: marriage and having a slave woman. Temporary marriage is a temporary arrangement, not a marriage. Therefore, the Messenger (peace be upon him) affirmed what this verse indicated regarding the prohibition. 'Umar was conveying the Messenger's prohibition of temporary marriage, and the Messenger was conveying the prohibition of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). 'Umar's action in forbidding temporary marriage has a very great resemblance, I say now by way of metaphor, to his legislation of standing in night prayer in Ramadan. Many people assume that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab is the one who innovated the innovation of standing in prayer in Ramadan and praying the night prayer in congregation in Ramadan. He did not do anything new; rather, he revived a Sunnah established by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) before him. I do not want to lengthen this now; I only intended to make the matter clear. I do not want to elaborate on the prayer of tarawih, but I mention it, for the reminder benefits the believers. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the night prayer in congregation in Ramadan for three nights, then left it off for fear that it would become obligatory for people. But at the same time, he encouraged the Muslims to pray the night prayer in Ramadan in congregation. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): . So if one prays the 'Isha' prayer in congregation and then prays the night prayer in Ramadan with the imam, it is as if he stood the whole night. If there were nothing in the Sunnah but this explicit hadith regarding the legitimacy of praying the night prayer with the imam in Ramadan, then 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's action was not something he brought from himself. How much more so, when this Prophetic statement encouraging the night prayer with the imam is joined by his (peace be upon him) actual practice of it for three days of Ramadan? So 'Umar revived this Sunnah and did not legislate it from himself. Likewise, 'Umar forbade temporary marriage following his Prophet, and did not forbid it from himself. Perhaps this is an answer to what came before. Please proceed.