According to the Shia Fiqh, a man who has Mutah with a woman is not obligated to provide for her at all. In fact, even if she gets pregnant, the man still does not need to provide! We find the following Fatwa issued by Ayatollah Sistani on Al-Islam.org:
“2433. A woman with whom temporary marriage is contracted, is not entitled to subsistence even if she becomes pregnant.”
(source: Ayatollah Sistani, Al-Islam.org,
http://www.al-islam.org/laws/marriage2.html)
Even if the woman thought she would be provided for, she still has no right to claim any subsistence from the man. We find the following statement by Ayatollah Sistani (emphasis is ours):
“2435. If a woman with whom temporary marriage is contracted, did not know that she was not entitled to any subsistence and sharing her husband’s conjugal bed, still her marriage will be valid, and inspite of this lack of knowledge, she has no right to claim anything from her husband.”
(source: Ayatollah Sistani, Al-Islam.org,
http://www.al-islam.org/laws/marriage2.html)
Both of these religious edicts are confirmed by Grand Ayatollah Lankarani on his official website:
“2569. A woman, with whom temporary marriage is contracted, is not entitled to subsistence even if she becomes pregnant.
“2571. If a woman with whom temporary marriage is contracted, did not know that she was not entitled to any subsistence and sharing her husband's conjugal bed, still her marriage will be valid, and in spite of this lack of knowledge, she has no right to claim anything from her husband.”
(source: Grand Ayatollah Lankarani’s official website,
http://www.lankarani.com/eng/index.html)
So we wonder how in the world this is a marriage at all? The reality is that the woman is nothing more than a prostitute who is provided a small fee at the start of the Mutah period, and that is it. It defies logic and common sense that anybody would refer to this as a marriage at all. A man can literally have sex with a woman, and even if she gets pregnant as a consequence, the man does not need to provide for her or the child! The manner in which Shia law allows men to enjoy sexual relations surpasses even the civil laws of the Westerners who at least demand that a boyfriend pay child support in case his girlfriend gets pregnant.
Article Written By: Ibn al-Hashimi, www.ahlelbayt.com
