Hadith of Mut'ah and Imran ibn Husain: Difference between revisions

A famous recorded oral tradition among Muslims (Arabic: Hadith) is about comment made by Imran ibn Husain, one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a Narrator of hadith. The comment was regarding the prohibition of Mut'ah

Although the narration is prominently quoted and referred to, it is not given any formal name, in contrast to other hadith such as the Hadith of the pond of Khumm or the Hadith of Qur'an and Sunnah

Introduction

To be able to understand this narration, one must be familiar with the concepts that are presented in the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah.

Narration

A hadith attributed to Imran ibn Husain reports:

The Verse of Mut'ah was revealed in Allah's Book, so we performed it with Allah's Apostle, and nothing was revealed in Qur'an to make it illegal, nor did the Prophet prohibit it till he died. But the man (who regarded it illegal) just expressed what his own mind suggested.

Sunnis tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Sahih Bukhari.

A hadith attributed to Mutarrif reports:

'Imran b. Husain sent for me during his illness of which he died, and said: I am narrating to you some ahadith which may benefit you after me. If I live you conceal (the fact that these have been transmitted by me), and if I die, then you narrate them if you like (and these are): I am blessed, and bear in mind that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) allowed Mut'ah . Then no verse was revealed in regard to it in the Book of Allah (which abrogated it) and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) did not forbid (from doing it). And whatever a person (, Umar) said was out of his personal opinion.

Sunnis tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Sahih Muslim .

Muslim view

Muslims view this hadith as notable since it related to the Hadiths regarding the legality of Nikah Mut'ah, and is often mentioned when discussing those topics.

The comment of Imran ibn Husain is regarding the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah.

All Muslims agree that this hadith is authentic, and that Umar did indeed forbid Mut'ah. However, there is dispute on how to define "Mut'ah" and whether or not it was forbidden before Umar.

Sunni view

Sunnis considered this hadith as Sahih and it's found in the first and second of their Six major Hadith collections, the Two Sahihs, both believed by Sunnis to contain only authentic hadith (Arabic: sahih). In Sahih Muslim, it is included among the chapters of the Hajj related subjects.

In Template:Muslim, it is narrated: Template:QuoteScholar

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Thalabi, an 11th century Sunni Islamic scholar wrote in his after this hadith in his tafsir: Template:QuoteScholar

Shi'a view

Shi'a view this hadith as notable and important on several accounts, and often include it when discussing the hadith that related to Nikah Mut'ah .

They view that this verse confirms that Umar prohibited Nikah Mut'ah, and that the reason the Sahaba were not more vocal in their rejection of Umar's verdict Template:Istr was due to fear of life. This, in turn, is line with the Shi'a notion of Umar being responsible for a military Coup d'état during the Succession to Muhammad.

Shi'a notice the Sahaba Imran ibn Husain waited till his dying state before passing on what he knew of the subject, and in fact insisted that the one receiving the information would not pass it on in case he survived.

Shi'a also complain about the Sunni translators mistranslating the Arabic word "Mut'ah" that appears in the original text into english variations that make impossible the Shi'a interpretation of the text.

See also

• List of hadith