that is temporary, his bridal gift will be less burdensome. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, therefore considered this permissible.
However, this view is untenable, for it is authentically established that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said—as recorded in the hadith of Muslim (1), on the authority of Sabrah ibn Ma‘bad al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him, when he delivered a sermon—regarding temporary marriage: “It is forbidden until the Day of Resurrection.” Thus, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, explicitly declared it unlawful and explicitly said, “until the Day of Resurrection.” This is a declarative statement, and declarative statements are not subject to abrogation. Moreover, it is a statement restricted to a term ending only with the end of the world. Since the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited it until the Day of Resurrection, this means that this ruling can never be abrogated. If someone were to say, “It is forbidden” is an authentic report, but it conveys a legal ruling, and reports that convey legal rulings may be abrogated, we would reply: abrogation cannot apply here, because he said, “until the Day of Resurrection.”
Some scholars have said that temporary marriage was first made permissible, then prohibited, then permitted again, and then prohibited again. The correct view is that this did not occur; rather, it was made permissible and then prohibited.
The innovators known as the Rafidah differ on this matter, for they permit temporary marriage and cite the saying of Allah, Most High: “So for whatever you have enjoyed of them, give them their due compensation.” [al-Nisa’ 4:24] It is as though they have paid no attention to the hadiths reported on this subject, even though the verse does not indicate what they maintain. For Allah says: “And lawful to you are all beyond that, provided that you seek them with your wealth, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you have enjoyed of them, give them their due compensation.” This follows from the preceding statement: that a person seeks marriage with his wealth while desiring chastity rather than fornication. It is well known that temporary marriage resembles fornication, as though it were a contract of hire for intercourse.