Despite their superficial, similarities prostitution and temporary marriage vary greatly in their core beliefs, a fact Shahla Haeri conveys quite well in her book Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi’i Iran. Haeri analyzes mut’a, or temporary marriage, in an attempt to understand and clear up any misconceptions surrounding this highly tabooed issue. Through her analysis, she reveals some interesting aspects of Iranian society, the country where mut’a marriage is most heavily practiced. She sheds light on male-female relationships and interactions in Iran, as well as the Shi’a-Sunni religious divisions. The introduction consists of a brief historical background. Both Sunnis and Shi’ites, the two main Islamic sects, agree that mut’a existed
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The nikah, permanent marriage is a contract of ownership. Nikah has three components that legitimize it, the ‘aqd, the mahal, which says that Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, and the mahr, or brideprice. Temporary marriage also has guidelines. Like nikah there is a contract, called sigheh in this type of marriage, mahal, ajal, time limit, and ajr, consideration or payment. These strict guidelines for mut’a are put in place so that people do not go around abusing the privilege. Mut’a should not be taken …show more content…
While this is one of the main factors propelling people to do it, it is definitely not the only one. There are both sexual sigheh contracts and nonsexual ones. Sexual sigheh is done for the obvious purpose of sexual satisfaction. These occur most frequently when one is traveling long distances or on a pilgrimage; when a man is away from his wife for extended period of time. A nonsexual sigheh is performed mainly for convenience, allowing people to travel together, share a room, and share expenses in a lawful and acceptable manner. People in this Iranian society and especially at the time of the Prophet, when mut’a was created, led lifestyles that require this kind of arrangement. It was a necessary implementation put in place to benefit both the man and woman, not to hurt
The nikah, permanent marriage is a contract of ownership. Nikah has three components that legitimize it, the ‘aqd, the mahal, which says that Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, and the mahr, or brideprice. Temporary marriage also has guidelines. Like nikah there is a contract, called sigheh in this type of marriage, mahal, ajal, time limit, and ajr, consideration or payment. These strict guidelines for mut’a are put in place so that people do not go around abusing the privilege. Mut’a should not be taken …show more content…
While this is one of the main factors propelling people to do it, it is definitely not the only one. There are both sexual sigheh contracts and nonsexual ones. Sexual sigheh is done for the obvious purpose of sexual satisfaction. These occur most frequently when one is traveling long distances or on a pilgrimage; when a man is away from his wife for extended period of time. A nonsexual sigheh is performed mainly for convenience, allowing people to travel together, share a room, and share expenses in a lawful and acceptable manner. People in this Iranian society and especially at the time of the Prophet, when mut’a was created, led lifestyles that require this kind of arrangement. It was a necessary implementation put in place to benefit both the man and woman, not to hurt