What do you understand by Muta?

Question: What do you understand by Muta? [RJS 1991, DJS 1976]

Find the answer only on Legal Bites. [What do you understand by Muta?]

Answer

Muta is a kind of “temporary marriage” recognized only in the Ithna Asharia Shia School of Muslim law. The term Muta implies ‘enjoyment’ or ‘use’. It is not recognized in Sunni Law because according to that school the marriage contract should not be restricted in its duration and the words used at the time of proposal and acceptance must denote an immediate and permanent union. Hence, Muta marriage is void under Sunni Law but valid under Shia Law.

Essentials of Muta Marriage

The essentials of Muta marriage are:-

• The parties to the marriage must have attained the age of puberty i.e. above 15 years of age.
• The period of cohabitation should be fixed.
• Parties must have given free consent to enter into marriage.
• Dower should be fixed.
• If dower is specified, the term is not specified in the nikahnama, it could amount to permanent or regular marriage.
• If the term fixed dower is not specified, it amounts to void marriage.
• The children born out of Muta marriage are legitimate and possess the right to inherit the properties of both their parents.
• Divorce is not recognized in such marriages.

The husband and wife don’t have any mutual right of inheritance. The children born out of such marriage are legitimate and have the right to inherit the properties of both parents. Muta Marriage can be terminated by expiry of the time period, death of either party or Hiba-I Muddat, i.e. the husband gifts the unexpired term of the marriage.

Legal incidents

1. The marriage is dissolved ipso facto on the expiry of the fixed period or by mutual consent or by the death of either party.
2. Divorce is not recognized in muta marriage. The husband may, if he likes, make a gift of the unexpired period to the wife which is called Hiba-i muddat. If the wife leaves the husband before the term, he may deduct a proportionate part of the dower.
3. If the marriage is consummated, the wife is entitled to get full. dower; if the marriage is not consummated she is entitled to half dower.
4. The wife is not entitled to maintenance under Shia Law because according to the Shara-i-at-Islam the name of the wife does not, in reality, apply to a woman contracted in muta,94 but she may claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
5. There is no minimum time for the duration of a muta marriage. Where cohabitation continues beyond the specified period for which muta marriage was contracted, it has been held in Shoharat Singh v. Jafri Bibi, (1915) 17 BOMLR 13. That in absence of evidence the term of muta may be treated as extended for the period over which cohabitation continues and the issues born after the term of muta are legitimate and entitled to inherit from both the parents.
6. There is no limit to the number of wives.
7. The husband is not bound to provide residence to the muta wife.

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