This article examines Harun Nasution's concept of Rational Islam and its implications for the contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia. The study employs a qualitative library research design using intellectual history and normative legal approaches to analyze Harun Nasution's major works and relevant scholarly literature. The findings demonstrate that Rational Islam constitutes an epistemological framework that positions reason and revelation as complementary sources of knowledge while distinguishing between absolute (qaṭʿī) and relative (ẓannī) Islamic teachings. This framework encourages the desacralization of classical fiqh by recognizing it as a historical product of human ijtihād that remains open to reinterpretation in response to changing social realities. The study further finds that Harun Nasution's thought provides an important theoretical foundation for the contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia, as reflected in legal reforms oriented toward maṣlaḥah, including the Compilation of Islamic Law (Kompilasi Hukum Islam), particularly through contextual legal formulations such as substitute heirs and other ijtihād-based legal developments. The novelty of this study lies in positioning Harun Nasution's Rational Islam not merely as a theological paradigm but as an epistemological foundation for the reform and contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia. By revitalizing the tradition of ijtihād and promoting legal reasoning that is responsive to social transformation, Rational Islam contributes to the development of an adaptive Islamic legal system while remaining firmly grounded in the fundamental principles of the Shari’ah.
This article examines and reconstructs the legal understanding of the jilbab through a comparative approach between the interpretations of classical and contemporary Islamic scholars. Debates on the jilbab are not limited to the normative aspects of religious texts, but also reflect the dynamic relationship between religion, culture, and social change. This study employs a qualitative method with a normative–comparative approach by analyzing Qur'anic verses related to the hijab, particularly Q. al-Nūr [24]: 31 and Q. al-Aḥzāb [33]: 59, as well as the interpretations of classical exegetes such as al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qurṭubī, and al-Suyūṭī. These interpretations are then compared with the views of contemporary Muslim thinkers, including Saʿīd al-ʿAshmāwī, Muhammad Syahrūr, Amina Wadud, Yusuf al-Qaraḍāwī, and M. Quraish Shihab. The findings indicate a paradigmatic shift in interpretation from a textual–normative approach that emphasizes the formal obligation of the hijab toward a contextual and teleological approach oriented to the objectives of Islamic law (maqāṣid al-sharīʿah), such as the protection of dignity, modesty, and social justice. The reconstruction of hijab law proposed in this article underscores the importance of distinguishing between universal normative Islamic values and the practical forms of the jilbab, which are historical and contextual in nature. This distinction has particular relevance in a Muslim-majority country such as Indonesia, where debates over religious dress intersect with questions of religious diversity and legal formalization. This study is expected to contribute to the development of contemporary Islamic legal discourse that is more adaptive, humanistic, and responsive to social realities.
Waqf has substantial potential to strengthen local economic development in Indonesia; however, its institutional governance and productive utilization remain uneven across regions. This study examines the governance of waqf assets and the utilization of waqf proceeds for community economic empowerment within the jurisdiction of the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI) Representative Office of Semarang City. A qualitative case study approach was employed using field research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with BWI representatives, waqf managers (nazhir), and beneficiaries, complemented by document analysis of relevant regulations and institutional records. The data were analyzed using an interactive qualitative analysis model involving data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal a significant gap between the regulatory mandate and institutional practice. Although BWI Regulation No. 4 of 2010 authorizes BWI to serve as nazhir under specific circumstances, the BWI Representative Office of Semarang City has not assumed this role and does not directly manage waqf assets. Consequently, the governance of waqf assets remains dependent on individual nazhir institutions with varying managerial capacities. Most waqf assets in Semarang City consist of land dedicated to mosques, prayer facilities, educational institutions, and cemeteries, while only a limited proportion has been developed for productive economic activities. Existing productive initiatives are generally managed independently by local nazhir rather than through direct institutional management by BWI. This institutional arrangement constrains the optimization of waqf for community economic empowerment despite the considerable economic potential of available waqf assets. The study argues that strengthening governance capacity, improving institutional coordination, enhancing nazhir professionalism, and implementing systematic monitoring mechanisms are necessary to align waqf management practices with the objectives of national waqf governance. These findings contribute to the discussion on waqf governance by providing empirical evidence of the implementation gap between regulatory frameworks and local institutional practice, while offering policy recommendations for improving productive waqf management in Indonesia.
The discourse on istinbāṭ al-aḥkām the derivation of Islamic legal rulings remains central to understanding how Islamic law maintains its relevance across time and context. This study explores istinbāṭ al-aḥkām as a dynamic epistemological framework within classical jurisprudence, focusing on how the four major Sunni jurists Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik ibn Anas, Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Syāfi‘ī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal constructed distinct yet complementary methodologies in applying revelation to social realities. Employing a qualitative library-based approach, the research analyzes primary classical sources such as al-Risālah and al-Muwaṭṭa’, alongside modern interpretations by Kamali, Auda, and Aziz, through a comparative-descriptive method. Data were collected through textual documentation and analyzed through content and comparative synthesis to identify the distinctive reasoning patterns of each imam. The findings reveal that the four imams shared common sources of law al-Qur’ān, al-Sunnah, ijmā‘, and qiyās but diverged in methodological emphasis: Abū Ḥanīfah through rational-analogical reasoning (istiḥsān), Mālik through communal practice and maṣlaḥah, al-Syāfi‘ī through linguistic textualism, and Aḥmad through transmitted authenticity. This diversity demonstrates that istinbāṭ al-aḥkām functions as a plural yet unified system of reasoning, balancing revelation, reason, and context. The study concludes that methodological plurality in uṣūl al-fiqh strengthens, rather than fragments, Islamic jurisprudence, ensuring its adaptability and ethical coherence across changing times and conditions.
This article examines the tension between the professed obedience of Salafi Islamic groups in Indonesia (often labelled “conservative” or “Wahabi”) to the legitimate ruler (Ulil Amri) and their rejection of Law No. 52 of 2009 on Population Development and Family Development, together with its family-planning (Keluarga Berencana/KB) programme. Using doctrinal-normative legal research complemented by conceptual analysis, the study reads this tension through two lenses: the legalist theory of law associated with Han Feizi, which treats enforceable law backed by a capable ruler as the basis of social order, and the constitutional framework of the 1945 Constitution and Pancasila. The article presents the groups’ own position in their terms their distinction between birth limitation (tahdid al-nasl), which they reject, and birth spacing (tanzim al-nasl), and their reliance on a pronatalist reading and the Lajnah Daimah fatwa alongside the competing view that family planning is permissible, as affirmed by the MUI, Nahdlatul Ulama, and Muhammadiyah. It argues that the rejection sits in tension with the constitutional duty of equal submission to law (Article 27) and with the groups’ own doctrine of obedience, but that the category is internally diverse and that any state response is bounded by the constitutional freedoms of religion, expression, and association. The study concludes that, rather than the coercive control a strict legalist logic would imply, a constitutionally constrained approach combining law enforcement with dialogue and civic education is more defensible. The contribution of these groups to demographic trends is treated as a hypothesis requiring further empirical study.
