'Misyar', 'Mesfaar' and 'Sigheh' marriages

[Al-khiyal]

RIYADH (Reuters) - Khaled never thought a form of temporary marriage, described by some in Saudi Arabia as legal prostitution, would open the door to his happily-ever-after.

The 25-year-old Saudi security guard opted to marry Zeinab, also a Saudi, through a "misyar" contract - a kind of marriage-lite under which couples often live separately but get together regularly, sometimes just for sex.

Khaled and Zeinab are among thousands of people who choose misyar in this ultraconservative Islamic kingdom where contact between unrelated men and women is forbidden and extramarital sex regarded as a grave sin.

Misyar also offers an alternative to cash-strapped men who want to avoid lavish weddings but would like a relationship, without incurring the wrath of the morality police.

Under misyar, the husband is not financially responsible for his wife, and the marriage often ends in divorce.

Khaled, who declined to give his full name, admitted he wasn't serious about commitment when he decided on misyar.

But now, he and Zeinab are expecting a baby together.

"I thought let's give it a try ... and now I feel like a hero in a romantic film," he said.

Misyar is allowed under Sunni Islam and it is legal in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam. But it is traditionally frowned upon and the fact that it leaves the wife financially vulnerable has angered many women's activists and intellectuals.

"Misyar reduces marriage to sexual intercourse," said Hatoun al-Fassi, a female Saudi historian. "For clerics to allow it is shameful for our religion."

In regular marriages in Saudi Arabia, men must pay for expensive ceremonies, huge dowries and a home. If the couple divorce, he must pay alimony and child support.

So misyar appeals to men of reduced means, as well as men looking for a flexible arrangement - the husband can walk away from a misyar and can marry other women without informing his first wife.

Wealthy Muslims sometimes contract misyar when on holiday to allow them to have sexual relations without breaching the tenets of their faith.

A misyar is often one of the only options for older spinsters, divorcees and widows who often struggle to find husbands in a society where they are stigmatized.

This vulnerability has sometimes encouraged abuses: women sometimes act as matchmakers for less than scrupulous men on the prowl for lonely and wealthy spinsters.

Suhaila Zein al-Abideen, of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Medina, said almost 80 percent of misyar marriages end in divorce.

"A woman loses all her rights. Even how often she sees her husband is decided by his moods," she said.

But Saudi television presenter Rima al-Shamikh said misyar is the result of frustration among Saudi Arabia's largely youthful population, bound by a strict religious code but exposed to Western lifestyles through the media and Internet.

"Our young people watch the satellite television channels. There is dissatisfaction," she explained. "Misyar is a way of getting around the obstacles of marriage in Gulf societies."

Some scholars say misyar was practiced in the Arabian peninsula during the early days of Islam, when men were often away for months during battles or for trading.

The practice reappeared in the early 19th century in Egypt, where it is known as urfi marriage and is now very common.

After years of study, the influential Mecca-based Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly in April declared that misyar marriage was legal, angering many womens' rights' activists in the Gulf, where misyar is practiced in several countries.

Influential Muslim cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi has given his blessing to misyar, but said there should be at least some form of dowry to provide a guarantee for the wife.

"No doubt it is somehow socially unacceptable, but there is a big difference between what is Islamically valid and what is socially acceptable," he recently told Al Jazeera television.

Saudi clerics say misyar is authorized as long as it meets the basic requirements of sharia, Islamic law - consent of both parties, the blessing of the woman's guardian, the presence of witnesses and a state marriage official.

Adverts for Saudi men and women seeking misyar marriage abound on the Internet, recalling the "lonely hearts" columns popular in Western newspapers.

"I am a 33-year-old Saudi man with acceptable looks seeking to marry a Saudi virgin or a divorcee," read one posting on a special misyar site. "Saudi man seeking divorcee living in Jeddah, no objection to children," read another.

But not all misyar couples are in it for the short-term. A few, like Khaled and Zeinab, find misyar can be a first step to something more durable.

"We got used to each other very quickly," said Khaled, who has been married for 18 months. "Then she got pregnant. We couldn't bear our situation, so we decided to live together for real, not just with misyar."

Misyar offers marriage-lite in strict Saudi society

[Khokom]

Misyar marriage is a form of temporary marriage, its being pushed across as a more acceptable form of Mut'a marriage. It does not meet the sharia conditions of a valid marriage, a marriage with the intention of divorce is haram, where is the mahr? and common sense will tell you this type of marriage is degrading to a woman where she seen as a piece of meet.

What is the difference between this and adultery?

I havent heard not seen ANY hadith talk about Misyar marriage and any of the great scholars of ahl el sunnah say that Misyar marriage is valid and acceptable.

Also think about the consequences of this on society in general.

We need to ask ourselves, what is the point of getting married? Why is marriage encouraged in Islam? And why ANY form of temporary marriage is haram (forbidden).

Islam is here to protect women, their honour and dignity.

Also I want to mention that, the enemies of Islam are pushing across all kinda innovations to corrupt muslims further and deviate them from the true path, especially at this time and age. So I urge the brothers and sisters to be strong, if its not in the Quran and Sunnah, and none of the great scholars of Ahl el Sunnah mentioned it, then reject it.

Khokom.

[Khokom]

Subhan'Allah, I cannot find anything whatsoever to suggest that this form of marriage is halal and acceptable yet it has spread like wildfire. Some called it the sunni version of mut'a marriage

The man and women who get involved in such a marriage have NO rights whatsoever, the man can walk out whenever he wants, leaving the woman and the children to suffer, he can also marry a second wife (within a mesyar marriage)... the children will be raised without knowing who their dad is,... why is Adultery haram and this is halal?

And why do we say that Mutua marriage is haram but this is halal? Come on, Islam is a very simple faith, it is very clear on what constitutes a valid marriage. Like I said, the enemies of Islam twist and innovate to divert people from the truth path, and they do it in a way which looks and sounds attractive and acceptable.

Khokom.

[ElHenni]

Haraam and Haraam

[AlgerianZorro]

Some are trying to legalize prostitution in the same way as others try to justify killing innocent people and with all that they are trying to corrupt the purest religion, whether they are "muslims" or non-muslims. Not a bit of common sense and reason could accept this as legal and socially acceptable. The only polygamy allowed in Islam is only what is explicitly permited in the Holy Qur'an. What kind of guardian or parent is the one who agrees to give his daughter to someone just for fun? It is a nonsense even in the western societies!!!

Subhan Allah, Astaghfirouhu wa A'oudhu bih min fiten hadha al-asr.

[Al-khiyal]

JEDDAH — With women students in Saudi Arabia facing problem travelling without a male companion, a new trend of ‘mesfaar marriage’ (travel marriage) has come into being to skirt the hurdle.

Women students aspiring to go abroad on scholarships as part of the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme were told last month that they would be unable to leave the kingdom without a legal companion in the form of a husband, brother, or father, has led to an increase in ‘mesfaar marriage’.

Thirteen students have so far announced their intentions to get married solely for the purpose of being able to travel abroad. The students say their family circumstances make it difficult for their brothers and fathers to accompany them abroad for long periods of time, sometimes three or four years.

“After learning about the requirements that women students need to have a male guardian in order to go abroad, some friends and I decided to get married. We announced that we were hoping to marry quickly in order to meet the deadline for our scholarship applications,” one applicant was reported as saying. According to one student who did not want to be identified, ‘mesfaar marriages’ are perfectly legal and do not contradict principles of Islamic marriage.

“They are in accordance with normal marriage conditions, which include the acceptance of the marriage from both sides, the attendance of witnesses, marriage registration, the consent and knowledge of families from both sides and the dowry,” she explained.

Safiya Ahmed, a teacher said that she did not see any problem in such marriages. “They help women students continue their education. There are certain specialist fields that cannot be studied here and so people end up going abroad. If ‘mesfaar marriages’ don’t consist of specified periods of time, and don’t violate Islamic rulings then there is no big deal. They are pretty helpful,” she added.

Muhammad Al Nujaimi, professor of law at King Fahd University and member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, said that once the marriage has fulfilled its conditions it is legal, regardless of the terminologies used by people. This is the same with regard to what is known as the ‘mesfaar marriage’.

According to Zaid Maharsh, assistant professor at the Faculty of Education in Jizan, who also holds a PhD in Islamic Law, said that such marriages are contrary to the principles of Islam. “This type of marriage does not exist in Islam and contradicts all norms. It is based on personal interests, which is illegal and wrong,” he said.

“The main concern of girls nowadays is money and work. In order for them to achieve those objectives, they’re giving up traditional and religious norms. They’re also giving up their principles by marrying in such dubious ways. It is a shame that women are nowadays giving up their main role in life of being mothers,” said Nour Al Attas, a supervisor in the Islamic Education Office in Abu Arysh.

Afaf Sadeq, head of the Faculty of Arabic Language in Jizan, said people needed to look beyond the modern names given to these sorts of marriages and weigh them up according to Islamic principles.

“People are just coining these names for personal reasons and for prestige. In future, we may hear other invented names. Legitimate marriages are clear and explicit and don’t need names. It is these types of marriages that are based on intentions to build strong and good families,” he added.

‘Mesfaar marriage’ a new trend among Saudi women students

[Bent_Bladi]

That is SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOO sad... . Saudi Arabia is shooting itself in the foot/teez/face/heart - stupid idiots!