Transformasi Kafā’ah dalam Hukum Perkawinan Islam: Dari Doktrin Mazhab ke Kodifikasi Hukum Keluarga dan Relevansinya di Indonesia

Abstract

Kafā’ah, or marital compatibility, constitutes an important discourse in Islamic family jurisprudence because it connects religious norms with the social structures in which marriage takes place. Classical Islamic jurisprudence demonstrates substantial disagreement among jurists regarding both the legal status and criteria of kafā’ah. Some jurists emphasize religious commitment and moral integrity, whereas others include lineage, freedom, occupation, economic capacity, and the absence of certain physical defects. This study examines the transformation of kafā’ah from classical juristic doctrine into codified Muslim family law and evaluates its relevance to Indonesian marriage law. This is normative legal research employing conceptual, comparative, historical, and statutory approaches. Legal materials were examined through content and comparative analyses of classical and contemporary Islamic jurisprudence, literature on Muslim family law reform, Indonesian Marriage Law, and the Compilation of Islamic Law. The findings demonstrate that the criteria of kafā’ah are neither uniform nor entirely immutable; rather, several criteria emerged in response to particular social structures. Family-law codification consequently involved selective adoption and modification of classical doctrines. In Indonesia, Article 61 of the Compilation of Islamic Law limits the legal relevance of incompatibility primarily to religious difference. This study proposes a reconstruction from status-based compatibility toward substantive compatibility, prioritizing religious commitment, moral integrity, economic responsibility, psychological maturity, communication, and shared family orientation. Lineage, ethnicity, profession, and social status should remain cultural considerations and should not operate as discriminatory barriers to marriage.