mutʿah, inIslamic law, a temporarymarriage that is contracted for a limited or fixed period and involves the payment of money to the female partner.Mutʿah is referred to in theQurʾān (Muslim scriptures) in these words:

And you are allowed to seek out wives with your wealth in decorous conduct, but not in fornication, but give them their reward for what you have enjoyed of them in keeping with your promise. (4:24)

Partners who engage inmutʿah must do so freely and must predetermine the compensation and duration of the contract. The woman, therefore, has no claim for maintenance, and the two do not inherit from one another unless there is a previous agreement on these matters. Any children from amutʿah union go with the father. No extension of themutʿahis permitted, but cohabitation may be resumed if a new agreement is reached with new compensation for the woman. All Muslim legal schools agree thatmutʿahwas recognized and practiced in the Prophet Muhammad’s time. MostSunni Muslims, however, think the practice to have beenabrogated by Muhammad. In consequence, Sunni leaders have denouncedmutʿah as simple prostitution. In contrast, theTwelver Shīʿites, holding thatmutʿah was forbidden not by Muhammad but byʿUmar I, the secondcaliph, considermutʿah to be still valid and defend it as a guard against prostitution or license in circumstances in which regular marriage is impossible.

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