Reconstructing the Epistemology of MUI Family Law Fatwas: Integrating Ushul Fiqh, Maqāṣid, and Social Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25217/jm.v10i2.6802Keywords:
Family Law, Islamic Jurisprudence, Legal Reasoning, Maqāṣid Al-Sharī’ah, MUI FatwasAbstract
The fatwas of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in the field of family law play an important role in shaping the religious direction of the people, but are often formulated without an explicit, transparent, and academically verifiable process of istinbāṭ. Although many fatwas refer directly to the Qur'an and Sunnah, these references are often not accompanied by open ushuliyyah reasoning, causing the fatwas to appear normative rather than the result of scientifically responsible legal construction. This article investigates the epistemic structure of five MUI fatwas on divorce, marriage guardianship, child custody, polygamy, and interfaith marriage that were not responded to with fatwas, using a normative-critical approach based on ushul fikih and maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. The results show that most fatwas use nash arguments directly, but do not explain the stages of istidlāl, such as qiyās, istiḥsān, istiṣlāḥ, or sadd al-dzarī‘ah. This indicates an epistemic disconnect between authoritative sources and the process of legal reasoning, which implies weak scientific legitimacy and low social and gender sensitivity in fatwa rulings. In response, this article offers an integrative istinbāṭ model based on four main nodes: naṣṣ, istidlāl, maqṣad, and context, as an effort to reconstruct a more ethical, adaptive, and responsible fatwa methodology. By simultaneously operating the frameworks of ushul fikih, maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, and ijtihad epistemology, this model not only strengthens the methodological accountability of fatwa institutions, but also opens new horizons for fatwas that are fair in meaning and socially relevant in facing the complexities of contemporary Muslim families.
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