Was Mu'tah (Temporary Marriage) being practiced during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar (Radhi'allahu'anhu)?

Question

There are many reports that suggest that Mu'tah marriage was forbidden during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu'alayhiwassalam). Some hadith like Sahih Muslim Book 008, Hadith Number 3262 and many others clearly states that Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu'alayhiwassalam) forbade Mu'tah. But there are some hadith that suggests that Mu'tah was still practiced during the lifetime of Abu Bakr and Umar:-

Ibn Uraij reported:

'Ati' reported that jibir b. Abdullah came to perform 'Umra, and we came to his abode, and the people asked him about different things, and then they made a mention of temporary marriage, whereupon he said: Yes, we had been benefiting ourselves by this temporary marriage during the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ) and during the time of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. (Sahih Muslim 1405 c)

Why was Mu'tah still being practiced despite the fact that it was abrogated? Can someone please explain? Thanks.

Answer 1

A possible explanation is that some of them were unaware of the abrogation. They were not present at the time when the Prophet ﷺ forbade it and so held onto what they previously knew until Umar and the other sahaba informed them that the Prophet had later forbade it.

قوله (استمتعنا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبي بكر وعمر) هذا محمول على أن الذي استمتع في عهد أبي بكر وعمر لم يبلغه النسخ وقوله (حتى نهانا عنه عمر) يعني حين بلغه النسخ

^{— شرح النووي على مسلم}

قلت وتمامه أن يقال لعل جابرا ومن نقل عنه استمرارهم على ذلك بعده صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى أن نهى عنها عمر لم يبلغهم النهي ومما يستفاد أيضا أن عمر لم ينه عنها اجتهادا وإنما نهى عنها مستندا إلى نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

^{— فتح الباري لابن حجر}