Is temporary marriage (mutʿah) allowed in Islam?

No — the four Sunni schools are unanimous that nikah al-mutʿah, a marriage contracted for a fixed period, is forbidden. It was permitted at certain moments in the early period and then abolished: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib reported that the Prophet ﷺ forbade mutʿah and the meat of domestic donkeys at Khaybar, and Sabrah al-Juhani reported the Prophet ﷺ announcing that Allah had forbidden it until the Day of Resurrection. Twelver Shia jurisprudence permits it, and this is one of the clearest practical differences between the two traditions. The Qur'an restricts lawful intimacy to marriage in its recognised form, and the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah — including Ibn 'Abbas, who is reported to have permitted it before retracting — settled on its prohibition.

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