Islamic Family Law Reform in Indonesia: An Analysis of KH. Ahmad Azhar Basyir's Legal Interpretation Regarding the Irrelevance of Zihar
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Abstract
Introduction: zihar is a tradition of the pre-Islamic Arab that has been reformulated by Islam and subsequently regulated in the Qur'an. However, not all countries incorporate zihar into their marriage laws; Indonesia is one such example. According to KH. Ahmad Basyir, this lack of regulation arises from the irrelevance of zihar to the customs and social conditions of the Indonesian community. Objective: This article aims to examine the reformulation of Islamic family law in Indonesia by exploring KH. Ahmad Basyir's method of istinbath concerning the relevance of zihar. Methods: This research is classified as normative legal research employing a conceptual approach. The primary data for this study comprises three works by KH. Ahmad Basyir that elucidate his method of istinbath: ‘Reflections on Islamic Issues Surrounding Philosophy, Law, Politics and Economics (1993)’, ‘Ijtihad in the Spotlight (1998)’, and ‘Islamic Marriage Law (1999)’. Secondary data includes journal articles, books, theses, and dissertations that discuss the contributions of KH. Ahmad Basyir. Data collection was conducted using the documentation method, and analysis was performed employing the Verstehen analysis method. Results: The findings of this study indicate the moral underpinning of zihar, which emphasises respect for wives, asserting that they must not be demeaned by their husbands, thereby representing an improvement over Arab cultural practice. This historical perspective illustrates that the application of zihar law is both local and temporal in nature, rendering it inapplicable across all social contexts. The moral underpinning, also referred to as the 'illat, should not be applied in Indonesia, which does not recognise the custom of zihar, in accordance with the principle ‘al-hukmu yaduuru ma'a al-'illati wujudan wa 'adaman’. Conclusion: Consequently, the provisions of zihar are deemed irrelevant in Indonesia, according to the views of KH. Ahmad Azhar Basyir.
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