Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1122
حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُقْبَةَ، أَخُو قَبِيصَةَ بْنِ عُقْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ عُبَيْدَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ إِنَّمَا كَانَتِ الْمُتْعَةُ فِي أَوَّلِ الإِسْلاَمِ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَقْدَمُ الْبَلْدَةَ لَيْسَ لَهُ بِهَا مَعْرِفَةٌ فَيَتَزَوَّجُ الْمَرْأَةَ بِقَدْرِ مَا يَرَى أَنَّهُ يُقِيمُ فَتَحْفَظُ لَهُ مَتَاعَهُ وَتُصْلِحُ لَهُ شَيْئَهُ حَتَّى إِذَا نَزَلَتِ الآيَةُ : ( إِلاَّ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ ) قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَكُلُّ فَرْجٍ سِوَى هَذَيْنِ فَهُوَ حَرَامٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us: Sufyan ibn Uqbah, the brother of Qabisah ibn Uqbah, narrated to us: Sufyan al-Thawri narrated to us, from Musa ibn Ubaydah, from Muhammad ibn Ka'b, from Ibn Abbas, who said: Temporary marriage existed only in the early days of Islam. A man would arrive in a town where he knew no one and marry a woman for the length of time he expected to stay. She would look after his belongings and take care of his affairs. Then, when the verse was revealed, Except with their wives or those whom their right hands possess, Ibn Abbas said: Any sexual relation beyond these two is forbidden.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report describes a temporary arrangement and attributes the explanation to Ibn Abbas.