Darulfunun Institute

Institute for Development, Research and Initiatives (IDRIS)

Tag: Islamic family law

  • The Thought of Sheikh Nawawi Al-Bantani in the 19th Century: His Contribution to Islamic Family Law Thought in Indonesia

    » AL-IMAM: Journal on Islamic Studies, Civilization and Learning Societies

    The Islamic Legal Thought of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani in the Nineteenth Century and Its Contribution to the Tradition of Islamic Family Law in Indonesia. This study examines the Islamic legal thought of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani in the nineteenth century and its contribution to the tradition of Islamic family law in Indonesia. It is based on the assumption that Indonesian Islamic family law did not emerge in a vacuum, but was shaped through a long process of transmission involving Shafi‘i jurisprudence, the pesantren tradition, classical Islamic texts known as kitab kuning, local culture, and the codification of law within the modern state system. This research employs a qualitative method based on library research, using historical-normative and socio-intellectual approaches. The primary sources of this study are the works of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani related to family law, particularly ‘Uqud al-Lujjain, Nihayat al-Zain, and Qut al-?abib al-Gharib. These sources are supported by journal articles, academic books, the Marriage Law, the Compilation of Islamic Law, and other relevant contemporary regulations. The data are analyzed through descriptive analysis and a contextual-hermeneutical approach in order to examine the construction of Nawawi’s thought in relation to the social context of the nineteenth century and the development of Islamic family law in Indonesia. The findings indicate that Nawawi’s thought on family law is deeply rooted in the Shafi‘i school of law and positions the family as a moral-religious institution. Marriage is understood as a contract that entails responsibility, protection, education, and the preservation of family honor. However, the construction of husband-wife relations in his thought also reflects hierarchical and patriarchal features, as the husband is positioned as the leader of the family, while the wife is placed within a framework of obedience. Nevertheless, Nawawi’s thought also contains a protective dimension, particularly through its emphasis on the husband’s obligation to provide maintenance, guidance, education, and kind treatment toward his wife. This study concludes that Nawawi not only produced legal texts, but also contributed to the formation of the habitus of Islamic family law in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago through pesantren and kitab kuning traditions. His thought remains relevant when read critically and contextually through the perspectives of maq??id al-shar?‘ah, human rights, gender equality, and the contemporary needs of Muslim family law in Indonesia.

  • The Dynamics of Underage Marriage: An Empirical Socio-Legal Study at the Religious Affairs Office of Simo, Boyolali, Indonesia

    » AL-IMAM: Journal on Islamic Studies, Civilization and Learning Societies

    Underage marriage remains a persistent socio-legal challenge in Indonesia despite the establishment of nineteen as the statutory minimum marriage age. This study examines the implementation of underage marriage at the Religious Affairs Office (KUA) of Simo, Boyolali, analyses its driving factors and consequences, and evaluates the institutional role of the KUA in addressing the practice. Employing a normative-empirical socio-legal approach, the study integrates statutory analysis with field evidence obtained through semi-structured interviews, observation, and institutional documentation. The findings demonstrate that underage marriage occurs through two principal pathways: court-authorised marriage dispensation followed by formal registration and religious marriage conducted prior to, or outside, the formal registration process. The practice is driven by the interaction of economic hardship, educational discontinuity, cultural expectations, premarital relationships and pregnancy, partial religious understandings, and individual preference. Its consequences include disrupted education, economic insecurity, psychological immaturity, reproductive-health vulnerability, and marital instability. Although the KUA effectively performs legal gatekeeping through age verification, registration control, premarital guidance, and institutional coordination, its preventive capacity remains limited where social practices precede or bypass formal legal procedures. These findings imply that underage-marriage prevention requires an integrated intervention involving legal institutions, schools, health services, village authorities, religious leaders, and families. The study contributes original empirical evidence by locating the regulatory-practice gap at the local institutional level and by demonstrating the relevance of integrating socio-legal analysis with a maqasid al-shariah-oriented child-protection framework.

  • Administration and Religious Dilemma: Implementation of SPTJM in the Heart of Minangkabau (Case Study of Harau District)

    » AL-IMAM: Journal on Islamic Studies, Civilization and Learning Societies

    Unregistered marriages (nikah siri) remain a significant social phenomenon in the Minangkabau community, particularly in Harau District, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra. To address administrative barriers for children from these marriages, the government implemented the Absolute Statement of Responsibility (SPTJM) policy based on Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Numbers 108 and 109 of 2019, which allows for the inclusion of “Unregistered Marriage” status on Family Cards (Kartu Keluarga) and the issuance of complete birth certificates. This study analyzes the effectiveness of SPTJM implementation in Harau District and the dilemmas it raises from a maqasid sharia perspective, focusing on hifz al-nasl (protection of offspring) and hifz al-mal (protection of property). Using a qualitative juridical-empirical approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with couples using SPTJMs, those involved in unregistered marriages, employees of the Civil Registration Office (Disdukcapil), the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA), the Religious Court, and religious leaders, complemented by source and method triangulation. The research results show that the SPTJM effectively provides beneficial benefits in the form of quick and affordable access to children’s administrative rights (identity, education, health, and social assistance), thus partially supporting hifz al-nasl. However, this policy creates more dominant long-term benefits, such as substantive legal uncertainty (difficulties in claiming inheritance and joint property), socio-customary conflicts (stigma and disputes over high inheritance rights in the Minangkabau matrilineal system), and a decline in interest in marriage confirmations, which weaken the obligation for official registration (Article 7 of the Compilation of Islamic Law). This article concludes that there is a dilemma between temporary administrative benefits and long-term damage to Islamic family law. The proposed recommendation is synergy between institutions (Disdukcapil, KUA, Religious Courts, and traditional leaders) through an affordable mass marriage confirmation program and outreach based on the maqasid sharia (Islamic principles) to maximize the necessities of life and minimize the mafsadah within the Minangkabau indigenous community.