Kaba], saying: ٠ people! I had permitted you to seek contentment [through mut a] from women. However, God has forbidden that until the Day of Resurrection. Hence, those among you who have any of them should let them go, and do not take back from them anything that you have given them."
c. Salma relates on the authority of his father, who said, "The Prophet of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) permitted al-muta for three days in the year during which the battle of Awtas occurred, and then he prohibited it."

The response to this contention is [as follows].
First, abrogation cannot be established by means of a single narration, as we have mentioned above repeatedly. Second, these traditions are in contradiction to the ones reported by uninterrupted transmission on the authority of the ahl al-bayt, which prove that the mutawas permitted, and that the Prophet never forbade it. Third, the proof that the mut a was prohibited at some time in the life of the Prophet is not sufficient reason to judge that the verse was abrogated, for it is possible that this period pre‌ ceded the permission that was revealed in the Quran. Furthermore, there are numer‌ ous traditions, reported by Sunni chains of transmission, regarding the permission to contractmuta during the last years of the Prophets life until the caliphate ofUmar. If there is any tradition that disputes this latter fact, then certainly it is a falsehood and there is no doubt that it should be rejected. In order to provide more informa‌ tion, we will mention some of these traditions.
١. A tradition is narrated by Aba al-Zubayr. He said:

I heard Jabir b. AbdAllah say, "We used to seek contentment [through muta] in ex‌ change for a handful of dates or flour during the time of the Prophet and Abu Bakr, until Umar prohibited it-that is, the muta marriage-in the case ofAmr b.I:Iurayth."٥٢

٢. A tradition is related by Abu Na<;lra. He said:

I was with Jabir b. AbdAllah when someone came to him and said, "Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Zubayr differed on the two types of mut a: the muta of the pilgrimage٥٣ and the muta of women." To this, Jabir, said: "We used to practice both of them with the Messenger of God, and then Umar prohibited us from practicing them. Thus we have not returned to them."٥٤

٣. Abu Na<;lra also related from Jabir b. AbdAllah:

He said, "Two types of muta were practiced during the time of the Prophet. How‌ ever, Umar forbade us from practicing them, and, consequently, we denied them to ourselves."٥٥

٤. [In another variant tradition], Aba Na<;lra related from Jabir:

He said, "We used to practice two types of muta during the time of the Prophet, the pilgrimage and the women. Then Umar prohibited us from practicing them, and, con‌ sequently, we denied them to ourselves."٥٦

٥. Reporting also from Jabir, Aba Na<;lra said:

I said, "Ibn al-Zubayr forbids the muta, whereas Ibn Abbas commands it." To this, Jabir said: "I was the one who reported the prophetic tradition: We used to seek con‌ tentment [through muta] during the Prophets and Aba Bakrs time. However, when
Umar assumed power, he delivered an oration to the people. He said: Surely, the