How is that possible that people after the demise of the Prophet
were practicing it? To answer this, some claim that although the
Messenger of Allah had forbidden it, but it had not been given
wide publicity, and thus some continued to practice it till Umar
reinforced that law during his rule.
If this allegation is true, then it implies that all the companions
except Umar were ignorant of the Sunnah of the Prophet, and ignorant
of the fact that Mut'a was forbidden forever, and they continued
practicing it after the demise of the Prophet, and quarreled amongst
each other in this issue. They committed the sin of fornication
and encouraged others to do that, and no body said to them not
to do that BEFORE the rule of Umar. All of a sudden, some of them
started saying it after the rule of Umar.
Then how can we conclude that they ALL carried the Sunnah of the
Prophet and if we follow ANY ONE among them we will go to paradise,
because any single one of them is a star of guidance (no matter
if it came out to be Muawiyah). What will be wrong if we follow
Jabir who said Umar forbade it? What about Imran Ibn Husain who
believed that Umar said what he wished, and neither Allah nor
His Prophet prohibited it? What will be wrong if we take the opinion
of Imam Ali (AS), the most knowledgeable one among the companions
who said:The Mut'a is a mercy from Allah to his servants.
If it were not for Umar forbidding it, no one would commit (the
sin) of fornication except the wretched (Shaqi)." (See above
for two set of references given before, one set from books on
Tafsir and one set from books on history and misc. in Parts I
& III respectively.)
Imam Ali (AS), Abu Dhar, Jabir Ibn Abdillah, Abdullah Ibn Abbas,
Abdullah Ibn Masud, Zubair Ibn al-Awwam, Imran Ibn Husain, and
Abdullah Ibn Umar, Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Salama
Ibn Umayyah, Awka' Ibn Abdillah, Salama Ibn al-Awka', Khalid Ibn
Muhajir, 'Amr Ibn Huraith, Rabi'a Ibn Umayya, Suhair, Sa'id Ibn
Jubair Tawoos, Qotadah, Mujahid, Ataa al-Madani al-Suddy, and
Imam al-Hasan (AS), ... are also the stars of guidance if that
Sunni tradition is true. So if we follow them with regard to permissibility
of Mut'a, are we not guided then?
Also if the claim that the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) allowed it for a single instance
is true, then he would have told them at the same time that they
can do it only for this certain period of time, and it will be
forbidden after that for ever. In other words, he should have
mentioned its prohibition at the time that he prescribed it. In
this way there would be no confusion, and we can say the Prophet
(PBUH&HF) delivered the Message in this regard. Now the question
is: Did the Prophet mentioned its prohibition at the time when
he allowed it momentarily?
If yes, then why did prominent companions
such as Jabir Ibn Abdillah al- Ansari, Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn
Masud, Imran bin Husain, and Abdullah Ibn Umar, practiced (and
some even promoted) Mut'a long after the demise of the Prophet?
If no (i.e., the Prophet did not mention its prohibition at
the time he allowed it momentarily), then the Prophet intentionally
confused some of his own companions such as those I mentioned
above, because as a result of their "ignorance", some
of them even practiced and promoted Temporary Marriage even after
the rule of Umar!
Moreover if the prohibition of Mut'a was
not given wide publicity by the Prophet, then it would contradict
the following verse of Quran:
"He (Allah) has
explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you"
(Quran 6:119)
Is it possible that the Messenger
of Allah does not publicize what has been prohibited by Allah,
which led the companions commit adultery till near the end of
the rule of Umar, until it was finally decided that it is time
to publicize this fact and stop the Muslims and companions from
committing adultery!! How can we justify the above verse of Quran
if the Prophet did not inform his companions the prohibition of
Mut'a so that they do not quarrel amongst each other because of
their ignorance of such important subject?
Also, do Sunnis think that the above mentioned companions did
not have any fear of Allah? If they had any fear of Allah, and
if they did not have strong proof that Mut'a is allowed forever,
they would quit promoting Mut'a after Umar. Ibn Abbas did not
accept what Umar said and he continued to promote Mut'a even after
the battle of Camel when he argued with Ibn Zubair. Was Ibn Abbas
suspicious to Umar? Why didn't he believe in him? The reason simply
is the fact that Umar did not attribute this prohibition to the
Prophet. Umar said: "The Prophet allowed it and I prohibit
it." Then if I were Ibn Abbas, I would do the same. Reviving
the Sunnah of the Prophet which has been forsaken is a duty and
has a lot of reward, and this was the concern of Ibn Abbas. This
goes for other companions who supported Mut'a even after the death
of Umar, because they were sure that this is a man-made prohibition,
and is not issued by Allah, nor by His Prophet (PBUH&HF).
Otherwise, if these companions were unsure then they would at
least keep silent for the fear of Allah. But the fact is that
they knew what they were doing.