A man traveled to a foreign country and feared committing zina, so he married with the intention of divorcing, without writing this in the contract. Is this permissible?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you. A man traveled to a foreign country and feared for his religion regarding zina, fearing the urge, so he wanted to marry with the intention that he would divorce her when he returned to his country, but this is not stipulated in the marriage contract. Is this marriage invalid?
The Shaykh : In this, may Allah reward you, there is disagreement among the scholars. Some say: The marriage is not valid because what is intended is like what is stipulated. Just as if you said to the wife: "I am marrying you as long as you are in the country," that would be forbidden and a marriage of pleasure (mut'ah), so likewise is what you intended, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1.
And some scholars said: There is no harm in it, because a man marries a woman with the intention that he will divorce her when he returns to his homeland, but he desires her and does not divorce her.
And in my view, that is not permissible from the aspect that it is deception of the wife and her family, because they married him on the basis that she would remain with him.
If they knew that he intended to divorce her when he returned to the country, they would not have married him to him. Also, there is harm in the present time. I heard that some people, when they heard the opinion of permissibility, started going to the countries in order to marry for a week and return. This is clear zina.
The scholars who mentioned the disagreement do not intend this. They say: A stranger is staying in the homeland for knowledge or trade. He did not come to the homeland to marry; he came for a purpose and saw that he had to marry. He marries and there is no harm in him intending to divorce her when he leaves. And I lean toward the view that this is forbidden, but it is not a marriage of pleasure (mut'ah). Rather, it is forbidden because it is deception of the woman and her family after that.
The Shaykh : In this, may Allah reward you, there is disagreement among the scholars. Some say: The marriage is not valid because what is intended is like what is stipulated. Just as if you said to the wife: "I am marrying you as long as you are in the country," that would be forbidden and a marriage of pleasure (mut'ah), so likewise is what you intended, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىAnd some scholars said: There is no harm in it, because a man marries a woman with the intention that he will divorce her when he returns to his homeland, but he desires her and does not divorce her.
And in my view, that is not permissible from the aspect that it is deception of the wife and her family, because they married him on the basis that she would remain with him.
If they knew that he intended to divorce her when he returned to the country, they would not have married him to him. Also, there is harm in the present time. I heard that some people, when they heard the opinion of permissibility, started going to the countries in order to marry for a week and return. This is clear zina.
The scholars who mentioned the disagreement do not intend this. They say: A stranger is staying in the homeland for knowledge or trade. He did not come to the homeland to marry; he came for a purpose and saw that he had to marry. He marries and there is no harm in him intending to divorce her when he leaves. And I lean toward the view that this is forbidden, but it is not a marriage of pleasure (mut'ah). Rather, it is forbidden because it is deception of the woman and her family after that.