al-Ahadith wal-Athar al-Warida fi Nikah al-Muta Diraya wa Riwaya
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- al-Ahadith wal-Athar al-Warida fi Nikah al-Muta Diraya wa Riwaya
al-Ahadith wal-Athar al-Warida fi Nikah al-Muta Diraya wa Riwaya (Prophetic Hadiths and Non-Prophetic Reports on Temporary Marriage in Terms of Critical Comprehension and Transmission) is an academic study by Fahd Abdullah Ali al-Khathlan that compiles and evaluates the scriptural reports concerning temporary marriage (nikah al-mut'a), analyzing their authenticity, legal rulings, and social ramifications .
Composition and Academic Context
The work originated as a Master's thesis submitted to the College of Graduate Studies at Kuwait University in fulfillment of the requirements for the graduate program in Hadith and Its Sciences (Hadith Sharif and Its Sciences) . Written under the supervision of Dr. Abd al-Muhsin ibn Zabin al-Mutayri, it was defended and approved in February 2018 by an examination committee chaired by Prof. Hakim Ubayyisan al-Mutayri and co-examined by Prof. Mubarak Sayf al-Hajiri . The author noted that his motivation for writing the thesis was the widespread resurgence of discussions and promotions regarding temporary marriage in certain Muslim communities, alongside the need for a focused compilation that combined hadith criticism with legal reasoning and an assessment of its practical consequences .
Structure and Scope
The book is organized into an introduction, a preliminary chapter (tamhid), three main chapters, a conclusion, and technical indices :
- Preliminary Chapter: Defines temporary marriage linguistically and juridically, explores the terminology of mut'a in the Islamic legal tradition, outlines its reality and conditions in Shi'i jurisprudence, and presents the broader objectives of marriage in Islam .
- Chapter One (The Legal Ruling of Mut'a in Islamic Law): Consists of three sections examining the chronological history of the temporary permission and subsequent prohibition of mut'a in the Prophetic Sunna, evaluating the authenticity of narrations on its prohibition, and detailing the consensus and positions of Sunni jurists .
- Chapter Two (The Ruling on Temporary Marriage among the Shi'a): Divided into three sections that discuss the scriptural evidence used by Shi'i scholars to permit mut'a (alongside rebuttals to related arguments, such as reports regarding mut'at al-hajj), compile reports prohibiting mut'a found within Shi'i hadith collections, and cite classical Shi'i scholars who prohibited the practice .
- Chapter Three (The Harms and Consequences of Permitting Temporary Marriage): Examines the negative outcomes of practicing mut'a across three dimensions: social effects, psychological effects, and health consequences .
Method and Sources
The author's methodology for Prophetic traditions (marfu') was restricted to the six canonical collections (al-Kutub al-Sitta), the Muwatta' of Imam Malik ibn Anas, the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and the Sunan of al-Darimi . He verified and graded the chains of transmission for traditions appearing outside Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, while sourcing non-Prophetic reports (athar) of the Companions and Successors from classical musannaf and sunan compilations . Textual commentary and legal analysis were primarily drawn from classical reference works such as Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and the commentary on Sahih Muslim by al-Nawawi .
For Shi'i positions and traditions, the study relied directly on authoritative Shi'i compilations, including al-Kafi by al-Kulayni, al-Istibsar and Tahdhib al-Ahkam by al-Tusi, and Wasa'il al-Shi'a by al-Hurr al-Amili . In addition to traditional textual analysis, the work incorporated field research and personal interviews conducted with men and women who permit or engage in temporary marriage to document its practical and societal impacts .
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