A Study of the Effects and Rules of Temporary Marriage, itsPraiseworthiness and Blameworthiness in an Approach to Ahlal- Bayt Hadīth

The rules and consequences of temporary marriage are different fromthose of permanent marriage. Marriage portion and duration must bestated in temporary marriage. Failure to state the marriage portion intemporary marriage leads to the nullification of the contract. However,failure to state the duration gives rise to a permanent marriage accordingto some jurisprudents. Others see it as a nullifying factor of the contract.In this type of marriage, the wife is not entitled to maintenance, norinheritance. Majority of jurisprudents hold that it is possible to considermaintenance for the wife according to a proviso within the contract.However, there are different views concerning succession. The dissolutionof temporary marriage is due to various factors including expiration of theterm, dispensing with remaining term, revocation, automatic cancellation,and the death of one of the spouses. Following the dissolution of marriagecontract in case of having had sexual intercourse, the wife is bound toobserve a waiting term. Temporary marriage makes the wife the owner ofthe whole marriage portion enjoying the right to withhold it.If considered parallel with permanent marriage, temporary marriagemay lead to the collapse of the foundations of family or failure to form it.Traditions of the Household of the prophet have recommended thetemporary marriage for specific cases and in certain cases have consideredit an indecent and shameful act. Wasāil al-ShīÝa devotes a chapter entitled"the undesirability of temporary marriage" to this issue considering itundesirable for married men and virgins. The chapter embraces 14traditions considering temporary marriage in case of virgins and marriedmen an indecent and shameful act which causes humiliation of womenand daughters on the one hand, and a matter of promiscuity and laxity formarried men on the other hand.