A: from an Islamic point of view, marriage is a contract held between a couple. But there is a juristic difference between Ahl Albeit’s (a.s) school and the schools of the Prophet’s companions, so to speak (on how to conclude this contact) . Most of our Sunni Muslim brothers believe that the testimony of two just witnesses is very essential for the marriage contract to be valid, whereas, according to the Islamic Shiite Sect, most scholars believe that marriage represents a personal contract which is legitimate without the witnesses’ testimony. Anyway, in both points of view, Shiites and Sunnis consider that the Misyar marriage is valid if it is concluded between both parties in the presence of two witnesses. Concerning the alimony and other rights, the wife has all the said rights in addition to the right of claiming them or giving them up. The same thing applies to the marriage, which is called “friends marriage”. If both parties accept the marriage under the supervision of their parents knowing that the religious conditions are observed and the approval of the guardian is obtained, the friends marriage is considered legally accepted. Nevertheless , it is not in conformity with the basis of marriage that include living together, steadiness, and stability . On the other hand, the world’s new developments and especially concerning the complications of the sexual issue and marriage in all their financial and other needs have made such marriage an essential need for youth. Thus, the young man or the woman may legitimately protect himself or herself, and the matrimonial obligations imposed on the husband are being reduced.

A: When we were asked about the issue of the “friends marriage”, we said that we reject it and that although from a juristic point of view this marriage is valid, the naming “friends marriage” suggests our approval of this Western marriage that has no legitimate or juristic basis. Hence, we reject the name given to such a marriage. We do not have any problem if a man concludes a marriage with a girl living with her family and always visiting her. But naming it a “friendship” relation is similar to a relation between two lovers which is rejected according to Islamic law and social moral norms.

A: The word “modern” refers to the fact that this kind of marriage was not familiar in the past, but is modernized as a result of some necessities or circumstances related to the sexual issue. Modern marriage is similar to temporary marriage. The Sunni scholars do not consider this marriage a legitimate one because they believe that the Prophet (p.) has annulled it after he legitimized it, yet, the Shiites disagree with them on this point.

A: String-free marriage “Al Misyar” is not limited by a specific time, whereas, the temporary marriage is limited to a definite time. Moreover, the temporary marriage “Muta” does not give the wife the right of alimony, whereas, the “Misyar” marriage gives her this right even if she chooses to give it up. In the “friends marriage”, the wife can not give up either the dowry “mahr” or the alimony, but the contract may include a provision which permits her to give up the alimony. We say that the difference between the Shiites’ doctrine and the Sunnis’ doctrine is that the latter does not permit the temporary marriage since Sunnis believe that the Prophet (p.) has legitimized this marriage and then annulled it, whereas, the Shiites believe that the second caliph, Omar Bin Al-Kattab is the one who had annulled the “muta” and not the Prophet. Even some Sunnis say that Omar has said: “two ‘mutas’ was permissible during the Prophet’s age; I prohibit them and impose punishment on them”. Also, Abdullah Bin Omar and Abdullah Bin Abbass spoke about the legitimacy of temporary marriage, and there is a Hadith which shows that Muslims concluded this marriage during the Prophet’s age and a part of Omar’s age. Others may say that Omar has prohibited the temporary marriage executively but not juristically. Many of the Shiite scholars believe that the legitimacy of “muta” was firstly announced as a result of a necessity. But nowadays, this necessity has become stronger and more urgent than before due to many reasons such as the sexual circumstances and the difficulty of getting married permanently due to the financial obligations and many other reasons. Therefore, temporary marriage is considered as a solution for the problems of sex and permanent marriage. Imam Ali (a.s) said: “Were it not for what Omar has prohibited from the “muta”, no one would fornicate except the villain”.

A: The issue of temporary marriage is subjected to the juristic discussion which raises the question whether the Prophet (p.) annulled it after he has legitimized it or not?

Since both Sunnis and the Shiites agree that it was legitimized, but they disagree on its annulment, this issue must be juristically and scientifically studied. We always call for a scientific study of the issues on which Sunnis and Shiites disagree and which are related to scholastic theology or doctrine, without registering a negative point on any of the two sects. This is the path God guided us to follow when we disagree: “If you disagree on something, refer it to God and His Prophet.”

We call for establishing an Islamic jurisprudence council of both the Shiites and Sunnis, in order to discuss the issues, which they disagree on.

A: Marriage is a personal state, whereas, with respect to the official aspect, it is related to documentation and not to Sharia (Islamic law). Thus, if a man and a woman got married according to the Sunna of God and His Prophet when fulfilling all the legitimate provisions of marriage, they are regarded as husband and wife before God ,even if this marriage is not registered before the official authorities. Perhaps, the documentation is necessary to preserve the rights of each party. It is also necessary for proving the lineage of children who come to life as fruits of this marriage.