Social Functions of Temporary Marriage in the Qajar Period

In Islam, marriage can be categorized into two groups: temporary (Nikah mut'ah) and permanent. The former was ubiquitous during the Qajar dynasty, always existing in Iranian history and continued when the Qajar dynasty ruled over Iran. Generally speaking, it may be noted that temporary marriage was established in the history of Iran. Depending on various social conditions such as insecurity, famine, economic crises, or peace and quiet and improved economic situations, this type of marriage probably had various functions under different circumstances and historical periods, however. Based on this, the main question of this research is that what were the social functions of temporary marriage seen in marriage contracts during the Qajar dynasty? That is, why did temporary marriage occur during this period? The major claim is that the practice of temporary marriage stemmed from different reasons including to sexual appeal, earning income and addressing women’s basic needs, taking religious tips, female infertility, escaping everyday life, learning marriage etiquettes, the instrumental view of a man toward a woman as an ornament of the house, prosperous men’s efforts on keeping up with the Joneses, females’ contributions in agriculture, and political and economic interests.