Answered by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt
Question:
If two individuals want to get married (either due to personal or family reasons) and they both have a long term intention of getting divorced, is that marriage valid?
Answer:
In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Kind
Jazāk Allāh Khayr/ Thank you for your question.
Getting married with the intention of divorcing in the future is considered a temporary marriage in Islam. The overwhelming number of sunni jurists from all persuasions regard such a marriage as invalid and prohibited. The international body of islamic scholars, Al-Majmaʾ Al-Fiqhī, has also passed a verdict of such a marriage as invalid and ḥarām (forbidden). Some jurists such as Imam Zufar are of the view the marriage is valid and the stipulation of divorce in the future is invalid. (See: Al-Hidāyah, Fatḥ Al-Qadīr)
Qāḍī ʿAyāḍ states, “It is the consensus of all sunni islamic jurists that temporary marriage or mut’ah is forbidden. Some Shia groups do allow it.” (Nayl Al-Awṭār)
And Allāh Knows Best
