It ( Mut‘ah ) Must Not Be Practiced if Not Urgently Needed

سَأَلْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ مُوسَى ع عَنِ الْمُتْعَةِ فَقَالَ وَ مَا أَنْتَ وَ ذَاكَ فَقَدْ أَغْنَاكَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قُلْتُ إِنَّمَا أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَعْلَمَهَا فَقَالَ هِيَ فِي كِتَابِ عَلِيٍّ ع فَقُلْتُ نَزِيدُهَا وَ تَزْدَادُ فَقَالَ وَ هَلْ يَطِيبُهُ إِلَّا ذَاكَ‌[1].

“I once asked abu al-Hassan, Musa (a.s.), about al-Mut‘ah (advantageous marriage). He (the Imam) said, ‘What do you have to do with it when Allah has made you free of need for it?’ I then said, ‘I only wanted to know about it.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is in the book of Ali (a.s.) .’ I then asked, ‘Can we extend and the

سَأَلْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ ع عَنِ الْمُتْعَةِ فَقَالَ هِيَ حَلَالٌ مُبَاحٌ مُطْلَقٌ لِمَنْ لَمْ يُغْنِهِ اللَّهُ بِالتَّزْوِيجِ فَلْيَسْتَعْفِفْ بِالْمُتْعَةِ[2] فَإِنِ اسْتَغْنَى عَنْهَا بِالتَّزْوِيجِ فَهِيَ مُبَاحٌ لَهُ إِذَا غَابَ عَنْهَا.

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about al-Mut‘ah (advantageous marriage). He (the Imam) said, ‘It is lawful, permissible and available for those whom Allah has not made free of need for marriage, so he can maintain chastity by means of al-Mut‘ah (advantageous marriage), and when he is free of such need by means of m

كَتَبَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ ع إِلَى بَعْضِ مَوَالِيهِ لَا تُلِحُّوا عَلَى الْمُتْعَةِ إِنَّمَا عَلَيْكُمْ إِقَامَةُ السُّنَّةِ[1] فَلَا تَشْتَغِلُوا بِهَا عَنْ فُرُشِكُمْ وَ حَرَائِرِكُمْ فَيَكْفُرْنَ وَ يَتَبَرَّيْنَ وَ يَدْعِينَ عَلَى الْآمِرِ بِذَلِكَ وَ يَلْعَنُونَا.

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), once wrote to certain ones of his followers and it (the letter) said, ‘You must not insist on al-Mut‘ah (advantageous marriage). You only have to maintain the Sunnah. You must not involve in it to ignore your bed (wives) and your free ones to cause them turn to disbelief, disowning and claim agai

سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع يَقُولُ‌ فِي الْمُتْعَةِ دَعُوهَا أَ مَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يُرَى فِي مَوْضِعِ الْعَوْرَةِ[2] فَيُحْمَلَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى صَالِحِي إِخْوَانِهِ وَ أَصْحَابِهِ.

‘Stay away from it. Do you not feel ashamed of being seen in a place for which your virtuous brothers in belief and friends feel embarrassed?”’