Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
Marriage
By means of a marriage contract, a man and woman become lawful (ḥalāl) for each other. A marriage contract is of two types: permanent (dāʾim) and temporary (munqaṭiʿ) [also known as ‘mutʿah’]. A permanent marriage contract is one in which no period is specified for the marriage. A woman married by such a contract is called a ‘permanent wife’ (dāʾimah). A temporary marriage contract is one in which a period is specified for the marriage, such as a marriage contract that is concluded with a woman for one hour, one day, one month, one year, or longer. However, the period specified for such a marriage must not exceed the lifespan of the husband and wife or one of them; otherwise, the contract is invalid (bāṭil). A woman married by such a contract is called a ‘temporary wife’ (mutʿah). (297)
[297] In the Persian original, the terms ‘mutʿah’ and ‘ṣīghah’ are used to refer to both temporary marriage and a temporary wife. In his Arabic work Minhāj al-Ṣāliḥīn, al-Sayyid al-Sistani refers to a temporary wife as ‘mutʿah’, ‘al-mutamattaʿ bi-hā’, and ‘munqaṭiʿah’ (vol. 3, p. 23).