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What is the ruling on marriage with the intention of divorce, given that all pillars and conditions of marriage are met, due to the inability to marry again in the husband's country, and suffice with this temporary marriage to avoid falling into sin?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars permit marriage with the intention of divorce if this condition is not stipulated in the contract. For the intention is an internal matter that does not invalidate the absolute contract. Al-Shafi'i and Ibn Qudamah affirmed that mere intention does not invalidate the marriage; rather, it remains valid unless a time limit is explicitly stipulated in the contract. Some scholars, like Al-Awza'i, consider it a mut'ah marriage (temporary marriage), but the preponderant view is that there is no harm in it. Therefore, if the duration is not mentioned in the contract, and the husband does not inform the wife of it, his internal intention does not cause harm. This intention differs from the forbidden mut'ah marriage, in which a time limit is explicitly stipulated. Mut'ah marriage is what the four Imams have unanimously agreed upon its prohibition, whereas marriage with the intention of divorce is neither mut'ah nor zina (fornication).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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