Today, a news item on the BBC website grabbed my attention “Iran talks up Temporary Marriage”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6714885.stm
Aha!! Isn’t that a solution to my problem? Isn’t that a perfectly legal and moral way to solve one’s loneliness without losing face or reputation in the society? The report says that in Iran it is perfectly legal to marry a woman for one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year or even up to a century. I cannot understand how you can have a temporary marriage for a century – perhaps, with all the temporary marriages, Iranians lead a very healthy and active life and live up to hundreds of years. In any case, that will be an added bonus I wouldn’t mind. The report also did not specify whether they will allow temporary gay or lesbian relationships in a similar legal manner – perhaps that is too much to hope for even in a post modern religious country.
Assuming this could be a hoax, that some smart hacker sabotaged the BBC website, I checked for the authenticity of the claim – by doing a quick search on the internet. There are hundreds of websites on the subject, many authored or supported by well read religious scholars
Below is the verse from Holy Quran, the scholars say that will justify a temporary union – (I looked up three translations and they all agree). I couldn’t believe it; the BBC report is true – there is no doubt about that.
These are the three or four popular translations (translator’s name given in the beginning of verse): The previous verse in the scripture (i.e. 4-23) gives a list of women you cannot marry – mother, mothers-in-law, foster mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces etc.
Sura 4 - verse 24
- YUSUFALI: Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.
- PICKTHAL: And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.
- SHAKIR: And all married women except those whom your right hands possess (this is) Allah's ordinance to you, and lawful for you are (all women) besides those, provided that you seek (them) with your property, taking (them) in marriage not committing fornication. Then as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed; and there is no blame on you about what you mutually agree after what is appointed; surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ - Another translation is even more specific, it explicitly uses the term ‘temporary’:
“To women whom you choose in temporary and conditional (muwaqat and muta'a) marriage, give their dowry, as a duty.". http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/Temp.Marriage.htm
It is now very clear. Except for close blood relatives and married women, all other women can be approached legally for a temporary alliance and without any guilt. You just pay for their services or duty from your wealth by mutual agreement. After that, you can do whatever you want and there is no sin. Don’t you think it is a perfect legal and moral solution to a common, everyday problem faced by men all over the world – for example what will you do when your wife takes a sabbatical and leaves you in solitary confinement for a day, a week or even a month? That is longest my wife goes away – definitely not for a century.
The report says a man can have any number of temporary marriages but does not specify how many temporary wives you can have simultaneously. In Islam, you can have up to four wives simultaneously. I am not sure whether that limit is for four legal, permanent wives excluding the temporary ones; I have to ask an ayatollah. Perhaps he could find a justification for four legal wives and any number of temporary wives.
Of course, woman will not be allowed to have more than one husband at a time – permanent or temporary. That means, my wife who is on sabbatical is not allowed to have a temporary husband – unless I divorce her first (she cannot divorce me easily). Isn’t that a beauty? That’s what I like about it – everything is in favor of the males of the species.
There is at least one country in the world where they neither allow women to touch a steering wheel, nor walk alone in the streets. A clever society indeed, who knew from the beginning that women are bad drivers and cause accidents! So they totally banned them from the roads. I could think of a few other places where women should be banned – politics, schools, workplaces, public gatherings. I will have to change my residence to regions under Taliban control for that ultimate bliss. Also, according to these people, women titillate you so much; so to prevent any harm, they are ordered to cover in black from head to toe and wear a face mask and veil with only a small slit for the eyes.
Mr. Mostafa Pour Mohammed, who is the interior minister of Iran and himself a junior ayatollah says that marriage is a human need and temporary marriage should not be used just for sex, but to solve social problems”. He cannot be more correct. How else can I solve my solitude when my wife is away? Who will give me company? Who will make me food? Who do I sleep with? What solutions do other societies prescribe for similar grave social problems? Alcohol, drugs or much worse, cable TV?
A woman MP asked the honorable minister how many temporary marriages his daughter had so far. The MP was promptly sent to jail – that suits her. I do not know why ministers are always called honorable? The only thing these specimens invariably lack is exactly that – honor.
The beauty of the temporary marriage concept is that you do not need a cleric to solemnize it or a registrar to issue a contract. You just read an oath in private and that’s that - you are husband and wife – albeit temporary. The duration is specified at the time of oath taking. Since it is a private affair, probably you could alter it at your sole discretion.
It is also a convenience for young girls to travel with their boy friends or vice versa and share a hotel room without worrying about police knocking at the door at the inappropriate moment. Poor women who need financial support also can legally do it; other societies might use a different word for such temporary alliances but they are primitive societies still in the dark ages who do not know how to solve a basic moral problem. In Iran such relationships are perfectly legal and moral under the temporary marriage act.
It is also a good business opportunity for the travel and tourism industry. Already a Tehran travel agency is advertising holidays by the beautiful Caspian Sea for couples who want to have temporary marriages – the package includes a free one week accommodation in a three-star hotel and solemnization of the marriage by a local ayatollah. So, you are legal in front of the police and morally clean in front of the character in the heavens. It did not specify whether they will arrange a temporary wife as well – probably they will, for a small extra fee.
Good bye for now. I am packing my bags to catch the next flight to Tehran!
2 comments:
This is one of the many divergences between the Sunnis and Shi'ias as. The legitimacy of the Muta marriage is derived from a hadith where the Prophet permitted his companions to a minor pilgrimage to Mecca to "enjoy" the women there. While the Shia belief is that this is a blanket sanction for this practice, the Sunnis sort of treat this is as a one time thing, and do not consider it a valid form of marriage!
Just goes to show how much trouble this business of hadith can be. I read this translation of Malik's Muwatta, where he discredits many of the hadith in practise in his time, and sets out what he believes are the true hadith. This led to the Maliki school of Islamic law. Many of his students differed with him, and with each other, leading to the emergence of various other schools of Islamic Law/thought.
The evolution of Islam is relatively well documented, as opposed to say Christianity or Hinduism. If there can be such dispute regarding the authenticity of beliefs in a well documented faith such as Islam, what does this say about other religions?
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