concerning muta marriage, gives the lie to such an attribution. At any rate, the abun‌ dance of traditions proving this kind of marriage and its legality relieves us from the obligation of proving it and unnecessarily prolonging this discussion.
As for the second condition-the proof that the mut a type of marriage was pro‌ hibited after it had been permitted-this is out of the question. This is because what‌ ever may possibly be suggested as abrogator must be one of the following verses, none of which qualifies as abrogator.
[First, we have] the verse in which God, the Exalted, says, "٠ Prophet! When you
[men] put away women, put them away for their [legal] period" (Q. ٦٥:١).٤٦ This opinion has been attributed to Ibn Abbas.٤٧ But the attribution is incorrect, because, as we shall mention, Ibn Abbas remained firm throughout his life in maintaining the lawfulness of mut a.
The response [to the view that Q. ٦٥:١ is the abrogator] is obvious. If abrogation is assumed because of the shorter legal period of waiting for the woman who has contracted a muta than for one who has contracted a [permanent] marriage, then there is no evidence to this effect, either in this verse or in any other verse. Moreover, a waiting period of the same length is required of all women. On the other hand, if abrogation is assumed because there is no divorce in the muta contract, the verse in question here does not deal with the conditions and circumstances of divorce as to when it may, and when it may not, be given.
[Rashid Ri<;la, in] al-Manar, relates, on the authority of some commentators, that the Shiites maintain that there is no waiting period after the muta marriage.٤٨ This is nothing but monstrous slander. There is not a single book of Shiite jurisprudence, from the earliest to the most recent, whose author can be charged with such a view even as a deviation, let alone there being a consensus about it. The Shiites shall certainly have a day with those who have falsely attributed opinions to them and have ascribed to them erroneous views-the day when adversaries shall be brought to‌ gether and those who follow falsehood shall be lost.٤٩
[Second, we have] the verse in which God, the Exalted, says, "And to you be‌
longs half of that which your wives leave" (Q. ٤:١٢). ٥٠ This verse abrogates the verse about the mut a because the woman who contracts this kind of marriage neither in‌ herits nor is inherited. Hence, she is not a wife. This opinion has been attributed to SaId al-Musayyib, Salim b. AbdAllah, and al-Qasim b. AbU Bakr.٥١
Our response to this assertion is that the verses which prohibit mutual inheritance in the mut a type of marriage are a particularization of the general verse that deals with inheritance. There is, moreover, no indication that marriage as such necessi‌ tates mutual inheritance. Indeed, it is well established that a nonbeliever cannot in‌ herit a Muslim; and likewise, a murderer cannot inherit his victim. The most this verse demonstrates is that inheritance is limited to the permanent marriage. How can this be an abrogation of the muta verse?
[Third], The following traditions are regarded as abrogators of the verse-:
a. It is related that Ali b. Abi Talib told Ibn Abbas, "You are certainly a person gone astray. Certainly, the Prophet has forbidden mut a and the meat of domestic ass since [the battle of] Khaybar."
b. Al-Rabi b. Sabra relates on the authority of his father, who said: "I saw the Prophet
(peace be upon him) standing between the Rukn and the Bab [in the mosque of the