I’ve met scumbags of different sizes with colours of problems that I cannot describe. Men! I despised some of them because they act like they were born with their brains in between their legs. Their lack of control was something else.

I thought I had seen it all until I met a wonderful man, a traveller in his early 50s who was my companion on a journey from one of the core northern states. It was wonderful as we had similar views on a lot of issues. It was quite unusual for me as I have never met someone around that age who was as current as he was. I developed an admiration for this man as he had the aura of a father. 

Fast forward to a month later, he started making advances at me. Oh, how I rolled my eyes. Couldn’t there be a different type of man? He was married with kids! Yet he was flirting with me. You can likewise blame me for entertaining him, but I did enjoy it. 

At some point, I felt like there wasn’t anything wrong with being with a married man. Haven’t you heard? older men take greater care of ladies. All these young men will only give you a heart attack, they are very jealous and love to argue.

The atmosphere between us was so serene. Besides, marrying as a second wife was permitted in Islam. It made me feel grateful and happy that the rare, intelligent, and responsible among the male gender won’t belong to just one person and could be shared by other women like me.

The fantasies I had held in my head expanded so much that I could see myself in his arm caressing his white beard. I had very low concerns for the welfare of his wife and kids. Although I pitied his wife. If only she was obedient, and used more kayanmata to support her wilting body so that she could satisfy him better, then maybe. But that also meant I wouldn’t be getting this chance if you think about it.

One evening, he called me and told me he would be in town. I was happy. I planned to meet this delightful gentleman in my best. Fine wine as I decided to call him. You know the older the wine the better it tastes. It was time for us to meet after a month of romantic texting.

Getting there was a bit of a hassle but when I finally arrived, I realized he wanted us to stay in a hotel room. I was angry. I instantly felt cheap. I’ve always believed he had clean intentions toward me.

He immediately noticed my discomfort and apologized stating that that was where he had slept the previous night since he was a stranger in town. I had to see reasons and we finally got talking.

I didn’t know why but something prompted me to ask a question. “What’s your intention towards me?”

I already knew the answers. He wanted me to bring him the happiness that was missing from his home. I wanted to hear more and have this eerie satisfaction in my heart.

“My dear, I love you with all my heart and I want you to know my intention is pure. I have plans for a temporary marriage contract with you”

Temporary marriage? I thought.

“You must be surprised, right?”

With due respect, I was beyond shocked.

“You see there are two types of marriage in Islam.” He said

“Two types of marriage?” I asked. I mean what have I done with all my years of learning about my religion. Have I not been attentive enough? I have never heard of that.

“Yes. Marriage is of two types. The temporary and permanent marriage.”

I rolled my eyes, temporary marriage? Definitely, an excuse to cheat. Do such delusional humans exist? Ugh!

Saddened by the turn of events, I marched back to my house. I couldn’t speak as I was in deep thought. The irony of life. I had planned to show someone’s wife pepper but my pepper had splashed in my eye.

Out of curiosity though. I searched online for temporary marriage in Islam. I wanted to know more about it. It turns out there indeed is something like that during the early Islamic era. They were even various types which included the mut’ah and misyar. Marriage of convenience if you ask me.

Related: 100 Fascinating Facts About Marriage

Mut’ah simply translated to pleasure while misyar was the traveller’s marriage where someone who is on a long journey got married to a person for a while. Most of these temporary marriage contracts had the duration defined at the beginning. The agreement was mostly written or oral. In recent times these types of marriages are becoming common because of how flexible this type of marriage is. There is almost no obligation and one can leave anytime one pleases.

A lot of scholars have argued that since temporary marriage does not satisfy the laws guiding marriage, It is not valid. Imagine being married for as short as three days, you can live independently or in your parents home. But what about the children born from such contracts?

Some English writers conclude that temporary marriage equals prostitution. A way of allowing people to indulge in prostitution in societies where adultery didn’t see the light of day. Some Islamic sects openly practice temporary marriages today. If you ask me, personally it is completely wrong. I don’t see reasons why someone will indulge in such.

It broke my heart too. I had planned to marry and have a forever. Happy ever after kind of life. I had to call My fine wine turned sour to tell him that I wasn’t interested in his proposal and that he should take it elsewhere.