Temporary Marriage in Iran

Reviewing Temporary Marriage in Iran

Extremist religious groups in Iranian society consider Temporary Marriage an approach to prevent prostitution and the moral degradation of people. This is while the critics of this form of marriage consider it as an excuse for the morally loose behavior of some men as well as a violation of the rights of women and children.Legal activists claim that child marriage and violence against women are both caused by this type of marriage. In this type of relationship, the man usually pays a certain amount in advance for sexual services.In addition to psychological stress and social stigma, temporary marriages have other consequences and problems for women related to child custody possibly arising from relationships as well as inheritance. 

The official law of Iran about temporary marriage

In Islamic jurisprudence and the official laws of the country, the various forms of temporary marriage, despite their different nature, are considered the same, and this issue is not considered a separate and independent issue.This is while the ambiguities about legal and religious aspects of temporary marriage, without considering Iran’s social conditions, have led to unpleasant consequences such as child marriage, children and teenagers dropping out of school, violation of women’s rights, as well as physical injuries and psychological pressures, especially for girls and women.A House on Water (A Comprehensive Study Research on Temporary Marriage in Iran) is a research report that, in addition to the impact of casual marriage on child marriage, examines the emergence and spread of new forms of casual adult marriage, legal loopholes and their impact on individuals, especially women, in such cases as dowry, allowance, custody and unwanted pregnancy. 

Temporary marriage rules 

Many of the requirements of a permanent marriage are absent in the case of temporary marriage. The conditions of temporary marriage are as follows: recitation of the temporary marriage formula sermon by a wise and mature person (there is no need to hire a lawyer, and if the husband and wife are not fluent in Arabic, they can read the temporary marriage formula form in Persian or any other common language as well), determining the amount of the dowry and the duration of the temporary marriage with the consent of both sides, at the time of entering into a temporary contract, the woman should not be in a permanent or temporary marriage with another man, and if she is already married, the period of her Udda must have expired (Udda in Islamic jurisprudence is the time between two marriages, the period of Udda of permanent marriage is about three months and Udda of temporary marriage is about forty-five days). A menopausal woman is not required to keep an Udda. Temporary marriage is not allowed without the permission of the father or legal protector of the girl. Men are forbidden to marry adulterous women even for a temporary marriage. 

Marriage formula marriage sermon for a temporary marriage

Temporary marriage is practised in two ways:

• with the presence of Aqed, the religious agent

If the man and the woman choose to marry by a religious agent, they can ask him to recite the Marriage formula, first, the woman’s advocate should tell the man’s advocate, “zawwajt-u muwakkilat-i muwakkiluk-a fi l-muddat-i l-ma’luma ala l-mahr-i l-ma’lum”, meaning “I made my client married to your client for a specified duration upon the known (specified) mahr”. Then, the man’s advocate should say, “Qabilt-u al-tazwij li muwakkil-i ha kadha”, meaning “I accepted the marriage for my client as such.”

• Marriage formula without Aqed, the religious agent

Alternatively, if they agree, the man and the woman can recite the formula for temporary marriage themselves, after they specify the duration of marriage and mahr. To do this, the woman should say, “Zawwajtuk-a nafsi fi l-muddat-i l-ma’luma ala l-mahr-i l-ma’lum”, meaning, “I married myself to you for a specified duration upon the known (specified) mahr”; then, the man should say, “qabilt-u”, meaning “I accepted”. Thus they become mahram to each other.

Temporary Marriage from the point of view of Iranian women

A significant number of Iranian women do not like this type of temporary marriage. In their eyes, it is a repulsive practice that should not be accepted. This is despite legislators who have accepted the quasi-legal legitimacy of the practice. Religious sections of Iranian society have also accepted temporary marriage and adhere to it.Damages incurred by temporary marriage to traditional marriageOne of the main characteristics of marriage is the creation of intimacy between a man and a woman. Some researchers believe that marital values between men and women include sexual excitement, respect, pleasure, acceptance, trust, and empathy.One of the most important values between two couples is the sexual attraction as well as the satisfaction of sexual desire. Marriage is a type of bond and contract that establishes a marital relationship between a man and a woman based on sexual needs within a specific legal and social framework.Therefore, since the freedom and restrictions of sexual behavior in different societies are influenced by cultural, religious and social factors of the same society, the institutionalization of sexual relations and the determination of the boundaries and territories of this field have always been the subject of discussions and research.