While Islam is sometimes stereotyped as a rigid religion with teaching that resist adaptation to the ever-changing social circumstances, the reality of the Muslim faith defies this portrayal. Contrary to some perceptions of Islam in the public consciousness, it has embedded mechanisms specifically designed to make the believers’ lives in adverse conditions easier. Examples of such practices include Taqiya or the concealment of one’s faith to avoid persecution, and Mut’ah, also known as temporary or contract marriage.
Taqiya is a theological doctrine intended to protect Muslims from harm if they end up in a hostile social and political environment. According to this doctrine, a Muslim facing the threat of persecution for his or her religious beliefs can pretend to deny them while still adhering to Islam in the heart. Quran explicitly points out that, while genuine apostasy is unforgivable, pretending to change faith when forcefully coerced into it is not a sin (Holter 15). It does not change the fact that Islam respects religious martyrdom greatly and celebrates those who prefer to die rather than surrender their faith (Holter 16). However, Taqiya offers an alternative option that is permissible within Islamic tradition in the Middle East and beyond.
Mut’ah is also an Islamic doctrine that aims to provide believers with a way to live their lives more comfortably without compromising their faith. It is essentially a temporary contract marriage, in which a man and a woman agree to assume the roles of husband and wife for a limited period (Mintarsih and Mahdami 398). Upon the completion of the term stated in the contract, Mut’ah may either be transformed into a full-fledged marriage or end, thus terminating the couple’s mutual obligations. As such, it allows Muslims to explore romantic relationships without sinning against the letter of their faith. Unlike Taqiya, which is universally acceptable, Mut’ah is predominantly a Shia phenomenon, and most Sunni thinkers criticize and refuse to acknowledge it (Mintarsih and Mahdami 398). Still, the very existence of Mut’ah, even if it is not universally accepted, shows that Islam can be flexible when it comes to gender relations.
This is likely the main lesson to be learned from analyzing both doctrines: Islamic teachings are not rigid and uncaring and can give the followers a reasonable amount of leeway in pursuing comfortable lives. If anything, the existence of Taqiya as a doctrine paints Islam in a more tolerant way than Christianity. The latter, heavily influenced by the death of Jesus Christ, proclaims faith to be more important than any sort of social stature and material possessions and even live (Holter 10). Conversely, the Quran’s provision for conditional apostasy, which allows a superficial denial of faith as long as a Muslim does not betray the internal religious conviction, demonstrates its concern for the believers’ well-being. Similarly, Mut’ah constructs a provision that allows Shia believers to explore romantic and sexual relations before fully committing to a long-term marriage.
In short, the examples of Taqiya and Mut’ah demonstrate that Islam is not a complex of inflexible and uncaring teachings but a religion that takes the believers’ well-being into consideration. Taqiya essentially permits conditional and superficial apostasy for the sake of saving one’s life and, in this respect, is more humane than the Christian doctrines of apostasy and martyrdom. Similarly, Mut’ah allows realizing the natural impulse to explore romantic and sexual relations without fully committing to marriage without having any experience in the matter.
Works Cited
Holter, Matthew. “Denying God: A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Christian Historiographical and Scriptural Approaches to Apostasy and Martyrdom.” Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-18.
Mintarsih, Mimin, and Lukman Mahdami. “The Legal Status of Mut’ah Marriage in Indonesia.” Jurnal Penelitian Hukum De Jure, vol. 21. No. 3, 2021, pp. 397-408.