Question: Is mut’ah marriage (temporary marriage) allowed in Islam?
ANSWER
Mut’ah marriage is haram (forbidden) according to all of the four Sunni madhhabs. It is a marriage contract without the presence of any witnesses in which a man pays a woman a certain amount of money to live together for a fixed term. It is written in the books Mizan al-Kubra and Radd al-Mukhtar that there is unanimity among all scholars that mut’ah marriage is haram.

Imam-i Tabarani stated:
“Abdullah ibn Abbas said, ‘Mut’ah marriage was initially halal [Islamically lawful], but it was prohibited after the Qur’anic verse (that means) “Forbidden to you are your mothers” was revealed. The verse meaning “Only your wives and the jariyas you possess are halal,” which exists in Surat al-Mu’minun, states in a very definite and emphatic way that mut’ah marriage was prohibited, for it is understood that only a man’s wives and jariyas are halal to him, and the other women are haram to him.’”

A lot of Companions, including Hadrat Ali, stated that mut’ah marriage was haram. It is written in Sahih Bukhari: “Ali said to Abdullah ibn Abbas, ‘At the Battle of Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah forbade people from practicing mut’ah marriage and eating donkey meat.’” Additionally, in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Ibn Majah, our Master the Prophet is reported to have said, “O Muslims, I permitted you to contract mut’ah marriage with women, but Allahu ta’ala has forbidden it now. Whoever has a woman by mut’ah marriage, he should let her go and should not take back the property he gave her.”

It is written in all tafsir and fiqh books that the 24th verse of Surat an-Nisa saying (what means) “To the women you have married, give their mahr” does not refer to mut’ah marriage. It is about giving a woman her mahr stipulated at marriage contract (nikah). For example, in Tafsir al-Baydawi and on the 26th page of the second volume of Tafsir ash-Shaikhzada, a hashiya to the former, the above-mentioned Qur’anic verse is interpreted as follows:

“This verse is about a valid marriage contract. It does not refer to the permissibility of mut’ah marriage because it orders men to pay women their mahr. Mut’ah marriage was initially permitted, but later it was prohibited. In Islam, there is no marriage contracted for a specified period of time."

Question: I am dating a girl. I sometimes have intimate physical contact with her, such as kissing her on the lips. Does my intention of marrying her exempt me from being sinful?
ANSWER
It does not exempt you from being sinful. Your decision to marry her does not change a sinful act into a permissible act.