http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43000000/jpg/_43000711_getty_couple203.jpg Unmarried Iranian couples can fall foul of strict Islamic morality laws

Iran's Interior Minister, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, has started promoting temporary marriage as a solution to the country's social problems.

Shia Islam allows a man and woman to marry for a fixed period of time, ranging from an hour to a century.


A man can also have any number of temporary marriages - or sigheh, as they are known.


However, Iranian society still looks down on temporary marriage as a cover for prostitution.
Iran's interior minister, himself a cleric, said marriage was a human need and temporary marriage should not be used just for sex but to solve social problems.


He said there needed to be a cultural change to allow this.
He also said couples should marry at an earlier age.
Strong taboo
Iran first started promoting temporary marriage as an alternative to living in sin 15 years ago.
The then President, Hashemi Rafsanjani, said it was a way for men and women to satisfy their sexual needs.
[SIZE=2] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43000000/jpg/_43000733_getty_women203.jpg Iran's police have recently cracked down on "un-Islamic" dress

He even said there was no need for a cleric: the couple could read out an oath in private in order to marry.

These days, some girls who want to travel with their boyfriends and be allowed to stay in the same hotel room or avoid arrest by the moral police might have a temporary marriage.

Poor women who need financial support also do it.

But on the whole there is still a strong taboo against the practice.

One woman MP asked the interior minister if a man came to ask for the hand of his daughter in marriage, would he willingly tell him how many temporary marriages she had had.

Another warned that promoting temporary marriages would cause thousands of problems.

There are already tens of thousands of children from temporary marriages whose fathers will not acknowledge them and are therefore considered illegitimate.

One Friday prayer leader has suggested that Iran needs a centre to help young people find spouses.

Meanwhile, a hardline newspaper has complained that a travel agent in Tehran has been advertising holidays by the Caspian Sea for couples who want to have temporary marriages, offering accommodation and a cleric to register the marriage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6714885.stm

I think this is scandalous.

You can call it anything you like but it's prostitution, plain and simple.

What sort of Islam is this - where a woman needs to cover her hair in front of strange men, unless of cause she has signed an agreement for a 'temporary marriage' in which case she needn't cover anything at all.

Whats that story about the pot and the kettle ?

This is one of the things that Sunnis claim that it has nothing to do with Islam and is nowhere found in all Sunni sections nor Abadhi/Ebadhi.
Another name for that is "zawaj al mut'aa" meaning "pleasure marriage" the name explains it all..
Shia' claim that it used to be practiced in the time of Prophet Mohammed :PBUH: but then The Khalifa Umar stopped it and it became Forbidden ever since. Sunni's Claim otherwise, they claim that its an innovation that came up ages after the time of Prophet Mohammed :PBUH:

I agree woody. Even the way it was implemented years ago, for men who went to battle, it still is a form of legal prostitution.

Wasn't there a big 'thing' about it when someone opened a thread about this same thing in Iraq?

As usual, it's a 'law' made by man, for man, more precisely, that caters for a man's "needs". Forget the lives he tramples on in the quest to serve those "needs".

Doesn't Hitman have anything to say ?

Great, so ... Shall we start defending Islam? I believe that this is a "joke" rather than news.

They should expect more earthquakes then.

From what I know, temporary marriages are highly regulated and various criteria must first be met. Either way, although I am against it in general, I find it way more appropriate than the pathetic practices known as "dating" in the Western world which even many Asian countries are adopting!

In a temporary marriage, post-sex issues, such as pregnancy, can at least be solved and it can be made sure diseases are better controlled. As for dating, we all know how degrading that could be!

If the so called temporary husband doesn't acknowledge the child as his own, how is that "solved"?

It's exactly the same, with a simple code of religious law to make it all nice and legal. Until he gets fed up that is.

I don't see how it is ANY different than dating. Actually, I think it's more like prostitution.

Doesn't Hitman have anything to say ?

I am personally against such marriages

So what are you (and the rest of the Islamic world) doing to stop it ?

Whom shall we blame for this ?

In the absence of an islamic 'pope' who is responsible ?

Who is responsible for the 10's of thousands of illegitimate children (and that in Iran alone !) !

Good God, this is an even worse scandal than the abuse by priests - because here there is no one to put an end to this disgraceful behavior - in fact - it is even being sanctioned by the state !

If the so called temporary husband doesn't acknowledge the child as his own, how is that "solved"?

I don't see how it is ANY different than dating. Actually, I think it's more like prostitution.

From what I know for a fact, the couples have to sign a contract and if you watch the Western tv channels, you know how creative these guys have become in finding the "real" father of the child ;)

As for it being prostitution, it might be similar to it in many ways but well regulated as I said, thats why I am against it. Because of that similarity.

Anyhow, don't compare this to dating please.

So what are you (and the rest of the Islamic world) doing to stop it ?

what do you suggest? It is not allowed in our countries that follow the sections we follow, telling them that they shouldn't do it won't help, because they're doing in their own country that follows their own section.

BrAiKi, since people started to look up to us to find solutions, finally, what do you think? Should we consider helping the ignorant people in the West? Until when can we allow pathetic governments to rule those people?

Those, my friend, are the questions that will never be answered :no:

This is apparently not just a Shia thing.

In Saudi Arabis, they call it a misyar marriage. Same crap, different name.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9&section=0&article=64891

not the same, check your info, otherwise it will be deleted

Whats the difference ?

not the same, check your info, otherwise it will be deletedVery much the same.

Most of the women respondents called it “legal prostitution” or objected to the lack of women’s rights in misyar marriages.

Let me also say ... I have no problem with "consenting adults" having sex.

But both of these are a simple sham to satisfy what are natural human desires to make them acceptable religiously.

So what are you (and the rest of the Islamic world) doing to stop it ?

I am doing nothing about it, no idea about the rest. It's not bothering me, if both parties agree to engage in such deeds, it's up to them, their country does not see it as an illegal act so why should I be bothered, plus it's not like rape or forced marriage

Whom shall we blame for this ?

The ones whom practise it, no one else

In the absence of an islamic 'pope' who is responsible ?

Everyone responsible for their own deeds, I don't believe in people taking sins for my actions or myths such as a man died for my sins

Who is responsible for the 10's of thousands of illegitimate children (and that in Iran alone !) !



Statistics? 10's of thousand in one month, year, decade?

Who know ? But the article mentioned 10's of thousands of illegitimate children, that should be concern enough.

You like myths about magical flying horses instead ?

This is another article about misyar marriage.

No strings attached marriage enrages Gulf women
April 25, 2006

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- An Islamic tribunal's ruling that allows Sunni Muslim men to marry without having to live with or financially support their wives has enraged Gulf women's rights activists who say that Islamic marriage is unfair enough already.

The Mecca-based Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly announced on April 12 that so-called Misyar marriage - from the colloquial Gulf Arabic word for visitor - was permitted, drawing the ire of women in the region.

Kuwaiti activist Rula Dashti said that the move, which skirts around strict Islamic rules on extramarital sexual relationships and relieves men of almost all responsibility for their wives, "destroys the fundamentals of a family".

"The rights which would be abandoned by a woman are essential to build a stable family," said Dashti, who also heads the Kuwait Economic Society.

The controversial edict says "a marriage contract in which the woman relinquishes [her right to] housing and support money ... and accepts that the man visits her in her [family] house whenever he likes, day or night ... is valid".

Misyar marriage is sought after by men who want to avoid the burden of dowries and alimonies that are usually stipulated in standard Islamic marriage contracts.

But by giving up her rights with such a marriage, which is usually seen as temporary, the wife would not necessarily receive a penny when divorced.

"A woman who is married the standard way faces enormous problems when it comes to getting a divorce, so what would her situation be in a Misyar marriage?" said Dashti.

Unlike Shia Islam's form of temporary marriage known as Mutaa, which has a preset date of expiry, Misyar marriage in predominantly Sunni Gulf countries does not have a predetermined end.

The practice has previously already been accepted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with the blessing of notable clerics.

"Enlightened Islamic scholars should stand up to such radical thoughts disseminated through [Islamic] tribunes, and not abandon women to stand up to them alone," Dashti said. "There should be a counter-campaign to face down this extremist doctrine because it harms religion and society ... and limits women's progress in Arab society."

[I]Misyar marriage is particularly appealing in Saudi Arabia where segregation of the sexes is heavily enforced, with Saudi men posting hundreds of Internet messages seeking Misyar wives.

Bahraini activist Ghada Jamshir, who also lobbies for a reduction of clerical influence in family affairs, said that liberals should rise up to combat Misyar marriage.

"I don't encourage Misyar marriage, nor Mutaa marriage, because they deny women and children their rights. I believe in a normal marriage, which is based on the couple living together for their lifetime," she said.

"The women's rights movement, liberals and the intelligentsia, as well as all those who believe in liberty, should move to defend freedom in general, and women's freedoms in particular," said Jamshir.

But prominent United Arab Emirates-based cleric Sheikh Ahmed Al Kubaissi says that while Misyar marriage is correct Islamically, it also compromises some values.

"The only difference [with a normal marriage] is that the woman abandons voluntarily her right to housing and support money. There is nothing wrong in relinquishing one's own rights," the preacher said.

He said that Misyar marriage is suitable for divorced women as it would help solve the high-rate of "spinsterhood" in the Gulf.

Iraqi-born Kubaissi said that Misyar marriage became popular during and after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq to "protect widows from committing sin", referring to the difficulties of finding sexual satisfaction without being married.

And, he said, a "respectful" woman would never accept a Misyar marriage, which, "despite being accepted according to Islamic Sharia [law], compromises a number of values".

"If a king came asking for my daughter's hand in this [Misyar] way, I would spit in his face," he said.

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060425-070226-4676r

Just for the record, I am against Mesiyar Marriage & Temporary Marriage..
Mesiyar Marriage and Temporary Marriage are NOT the same. Lemme show you the differences:

Temporary Marriage:
- Man & Woman live together he has to pay for her food, etc like a normal couple.
- Man & Women (or her father) declare how long is the Marriage, so as the name says, it's temporary.
- NO pregnancy should result of this Marriage, and if there was, the marriage becomes a full (permenant) marriage and the same procedures of normal divorce take place in case of divorce (the father has to pay for his kid, etc)


Mesiyar Marriage:
- Woman doesn't live with her husband
- The Marriage is permenant (no certain period of time).
- Man has to pay for the kids, if there were any, as a result of this marriage.
- Divorce procedures are similar to the normal marriage
- Wife will have one husband only and the wife is counted as 1, similar to the normal marriage..

Mesiyar Marriage is similar to the normal marriage but the only difference is that the wife doesn't have to live with her husband and he doesn't have to pay for her food, etc.
However, in my very personal opinion, it is not better than temporary marriages, the purpose of marriage if to have a stable family not just sex, this certain marriage, in my opinion, has even worse effects than adultery!

Off topics have been deleted, please stick to the topic

'Ranging from an hour to a month'? doesn't sound any different than dating or even prostitution. I find this highly disturbing and very un-islamic to be completely honest.

alslam alaikum

here is a comprehensive interactive study about temporary marriage, its aimed at sunnie audiance and derived from the 9 sunnie saheeh books, both in arabic and english,,,

English:

part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlvS6ynfQ9Q

part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K5rRn_lTqA

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbMHpnwXs5k

part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8l9LQAK1o


Arabic:
part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tOuXw5PD2w

part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zod4Bb99FFE

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBi0ltJgC7M

part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYoW9qXJwWg

Personally speaking, I am against naming marragies. There is one kind of marraige in Islam, and it should satisfies the marraige rule (2 witnesses, the woman's gardian, and dowry). Any other clause in the marraige contract is up to the couple. Plus, a marraige CANT have a limited timing .. the basic idea of marraige is violated.

this is what I beleive in according to my understanding in Islamic fiqh(rules).

Personally speaking, I am against naming marragies. There is one kind of marraige in Islam, and it should satisfies the marraige rule (2 witnesses, the woman's gardian, and dowry). Any other clause in the marraige contract is up to the couple. Plus, a marraige CANT have a limited timing .. the basic idea of marraige is violated.

this is what I beleive in according to my understanding in Islamic fiqh(rules).

Agreed. Mut3a and Mesyar in my opinion are both 7aram, and thier consequences can be nasty. Same goes for 3urfi.
It just all seams like zena really.

wa alaikum asalam brotha!!

I don't know when they will allow for women to marry 4 or as needed you know what I mean. I guess they should put this into consideration :-), you know now women is being
treated equally as men....

What's with the temp. marriage threads these days?!

Anyhow, I don't believe in temp. marriages. Marriage is a sacred bond that should be taken seriously, not just to satisfy instincts temporarily.

if you have every thing you want, from a young age. You will not want it any more. This will give you alot of space to advance like no other country ever known.

I feel sorry for any children produced in such a "marriage" they become the victims of such ignorance.

Women themselves can stop this type of marraige for pleasure.

Can they? What if say for example the father makes the woman marry the man in exchange for money which DOES happen. I am not talking about women who knowingly go into these temp marriages for pleasure. They are at fault just as much as the man is for getting into the contract.

I don't think they can be forced, she has to agree.

Ummm but it DOES happen Ice...cohersion does happen in some families guilt trips laid on a woman etc...especially if the family is going through difficult times. You cannot discount that.

You can't blame one side of the issue, both men and women in mut3a marriages are at fault.

so a guy can go to a father, choose one of his daughters, gives him some money, does a temporary marriage thing, rapes her (because she won't have any right to refuse him, he's her husband now). when he finishes, he takes her back to her dad on expiry of contract.
super charming.
what girl would agree to an hour's marriage licence?

Now it is in Iraq too?
Bravo, Iran!

You can't blame one side of the issue, both men and women in mut3a marriages are at fault.

Sometimes.

But often what happens is that a girl is strong armed or tricked into this marriage or is too young to realize what she is getting into and then she is abandoned.

Then, the girls usually end up becoming prostitutes and even drug addicts. The streets of Qum are filled with such unfortunates.

Here you go Tea, enjoy reading.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008081614555

I quite liked this specific line :

They alleged they did not deceive their father-in-law because they declared the marriages were only being conducted to “protect them from temptation.”

did they put age celiengs i mean if a man wants tembrory marriage with a 8 yr girl is it halal

misyar or mut3a it is pure PROSTITUTION:(