Cultural Negotiations in the Vernacularization of Islamic Inheritance Law in Indonesia: A Socio-Legal and Maqaṣid al-Shariʿah Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28918/jhi_v24i1_05Abstract
Islamic inheritance law is understood as the primary norm for inheritance distribution in Muslim societies, but in practice, it is influenced by local cultural values and family negotiations. This study analyzes inheritance distribution patterns in Muslim families, the negotiation process between Islamic inheritance law and local cultural values in inheritance practices, and reinterprets these practices through the framework of maqaṣid al-shari‘ah. Adopting a qualitative method with a socio-legal approach, this study was conducted among Muslim families in Central Java. The findings indicate that inheritance distribution in Muslim families includes several patterns, namely, egalitarian inheritance distribution among heirs, delaying distribution until the parents’ death, and transferring assets through a gift mechanism during the parents’ lifetime. These pattern variations are influenced by cultural values that emphasize family harmony, respect for parents, avoidance of conflict, and solidarity between siblings but are not the result of customary legal preferences. Rather than representing a deviation from Islamic law, these practices reflect a negotiation process between Islamic legal norms and local cultural values. Using the maqaṣid al-shari‘ah framework, this study demonstrates that inheritance practices can be interpreted as contextual efforts to realize the broader objectives of Islamic law, specifically the protection of property (ḥifẓ al-mal), the enforcement of justice (ʿadl), and the preservation of family harmony as a form of social welfare (maṣlaḥah). This study confirms the adaptive capacity of Islamic inheritance law to respond to dynamic social realities and underscores the importance of the maqaṣid al-shari‘ah approach to interpreting contemporary inheritance practices.Keywords:
References
Aniroh, Reni Nur, Khoiruddin Nasution, and Ali Sodiqin. "The Bilateral Inheritance System in Islamic Family Law: Fairness, Equality, and Mutual Exchange Perspectives." Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga dan Hukum Islam 8, no. 2 (2024): 891-911.https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v8i2.17630
Adeline, Agnes Listya, and Mella Ismelina Farma Rahayu. "The Existence of Inheritance in Indonesia against Customary Inheritance Law and Islamic Inheritance Law." In 3rd International Conference on Law, Governance, and Social Justice (ICoLGaS 2023), pp. 4-16. Atlantis Press, 2023.https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-164-7_2
Al-Zuhayli, Wahbah. Al-Fiqh Al-Islami Wa Adillatuhu. Damascus: Dar al-Fikr, 2007.
Al Zuhaili, Wahbah al. Al-Fiqh Al-Islami Wa Adillatuhu. 8th ed. Dimasyq: Dar al-Fikr, 1985.
Altintaş, Fatma Betül. “An Anatomy of a Tension: The Case of Fadak –The Dispute Between Abū Bakr and Fatima and Its Reflections in the Commentary Tradition–.” Hitit Theology Journal 24, no. 2 (2025): 1000–1022. https://doi.org/10.14395/hid.1744620.
Anggraeni, Rr Dewi. "Islamic law and customary law in contemporary legal pluralism in Indonesia: Tension and constraints." Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah 23, no. 1 (2023).https://doi.org/10.15408/ajis.v23i1.32549
Auda, Jasser. Maqasid Al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law. Maqasid Al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law. Washington: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvkc67tg.
Azni, Azni, Muhammad Akhyar Rifqi, Saifunnajar Saifunnajar, Kholil Syu'aib, and Najibah Bt Mohd Zin. "The Timing Analysis of Inheritance Distributions in the Compilation of Islamic Law." In Al-Risalah: Forum Kajian Hukum dan Sosial Kemasyarakatan, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 258-273. 2023., https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v23i2.1431.
Baier, Matthias, ed. Social and legal norms: Towards a socio-legal understanding of normativity. Routledge, 2016.
Bausch, Madeleine. "Clifford Geertz: Culture as a System of Meaning." In Landmarks in Intercultural Studies: Biographies. Concepts. Positions, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2026: pp. 99-125. .https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-48139-1_4
Eidrup, Martin. “The Study of Muslim Family Norms in Contemporary Europe: A Systematic Scoping Review.” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 14, no. 1 (2025): 79–103. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwaf005.
Fikri, Muhammad. "Reform of The Inheritance System: Between Islamic Law and Tradition of Sasak Tribe." De Jure: Jurnal Hukum dan Syar'iah 16, no. 1 (2024): 197-211.https://doi.org/10.18860/j-fsh.v16i1.26354
Fadani, Fadhil, and Muhammad Adib Alfarisi Adib. "The Harmonization of Customary, State, and Islam in the Practice of Dayak-Muslim Senganan Customary Inheritance in Sintang, Indonesia." Al-Mazaahib: Jurnal Perbandingan Hukum 12, no. 2 (2024): 137-164.https://doi.org/10.14421/al-mazaahib.v12i2.3657
Griffiths, John. "What is legal pluralism?." The journal of legal pluralism and unofficial law 18, no. 24 (1986): 1-55.https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1986.10756387
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
Goodale, Mark. "Sally Engle Merry: shaping the anthropology of law." The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 53, no. 1 (2021): 4-10.https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.1880149
Heriandita, Syifa Mutiara Putri, Farah Farouk Alwyni, Mohammad Izdiyan Muttaqin, and Mulawarman Hannase. "The Role of Islamic Inheritance Law with a Maqasid al-Shariah Approach in Addressing the Challenges of Social Justice for Women." AJIS: Academic Journal of Islamic Studies 10, no. 1 (2025): 231-252.https://doi.org/10.29240/ajis.v10i1.11931
Hasan, Mohammad Muzwir Luntajo Faradila. “Inheritance across Faiths in Muslim Minahasa Families: Legal Pluralism and Cultural Adaptation in Manado, Indonesia.” Journal of Islamic Economics Lariba 11, no. 1 (2023): 617–44. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.20885/jielariba.vol11.iss1.art24.
Ibrahim, Badruddin Hj. "Hibah (gift inter vivos) by parent in favour of some children to the exclusion of the others under Islamic law." Arab Law Quarterly 31, no. 1 (2017): 54-73.https://doi.org/10.1163/15730255-12341335
Kususiyanah, Anjar. “Keadilan Gender Dalam Kewarisan Islam: Kajian Sosiologis Historis.” Al-Mazaahib 9, no. 1 (2021): 63–82. https://doi.org/10.14421/al-mazaahib.v9i1.2293.
Kiliyamannil, Thahir Jamal. "Neither global nor local: Reorienting the study of Islam in South Asia." Asian Journal of Social Science 51, no. 4 (2023): 244-251.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajss.2023.07.002
LeVine, Robert A. "Properties of Culture: An Enthnographic View." Emerald Publishing Limited (2021).https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-64802-414-620251008
Luntajo, Mohammad Muzwir, and Faradila Hasan. “Inheritance across Faiths in Muslim Minahasa Families: Legal Pluralism and Cultural Adaptation in Manado, Indonesia.” Journal of Islamic Economics Lariba 11, no. 1 (2025): 617–44. https://doi.org/10.20885/jielariba.vol11.iss1.art24.
Maimun, Harisah, Imam Hanafi, and Zubaidi Sulaiman. “Analyzing the Maduranese’s Traditional Inheritance from Al-Tûfi’s Maslahah Theory.” Al-’Adalah 18, no. 1 (2021): 35–54. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v18i1.8649.
Moore, Sally Falk. “Law and Social Change: The Semi-Autonomous Social Field as an Appropriate Subject of Study.” Law & Society Review 7, no. 4 (1973): 719–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/3052967
Mappong, Zainuddin, and Lili. “Right To Self Submission To Western Inheritance Law for the Heirs of Islamic Religion Whom the Property Leaver Has Different Religion.” Journal of Law and Sustainable Development 11, no. 2 (2023): 1–28. https://doi.org/10.55908/sdgs.v11i2.423.
Merry, Sally Engle, and Peggy Levitt. "The vernacularization of women’s human rights." Human rights futures (Cambridge University Press, 2017): 213-236.
Ni’ami, Mohammad Fauzan, and Bustamin. “Maqaṣid Al-Syari’Ah Dalam Tinjauan Pemikiran Ibnu ‘Asyūr Dan Jasser Auda.” Juris: Jurnal Ilmiah Syariah 20, no. 1 (2021): 91–102. https://doi.org/10.31958/juris.v20i1.3257.
Nofialdi, and Siska Rianti. “The Distribution of Pusako Randah Property in Minangkabau Society: Between Cultural Tradition and Islamic Law Provision.” Mazahib Jurnal Pemikiran Hukum Islam 23, no. 1 (2024): 271–304. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v23i1.7257.
Ngazizah, Inna Fauziatal. "Transformation Of Local Norms In Inheritance Division In Pantura: A Sociology Of Law Approach." Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law 13, no. 2 (2025): 591-603.https://doi.org/10.33102/mjsl.vol13no2.1124
Putra, Deri Eka, and Riyanta Riyanta. "Ignoring Islamic Law for Family Harmony: The Practice of Delaying Inheritance Distribution in the Indigenous Muslim Community of Kampar, Riau." Asy-Syir'ah: Jurnal Ilmu Syari'ah dan Hukum 58, no. 1 (2024): 141-173. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajish.v58i1.1433
Quraishi, Asifa, and Mohammad Hashim Kamali. Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Journal of Law and Religion. Vol. 15. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 2000. https://doi.org/10.2307/1051529.
Rozikin, Mokhamad Rohma. "al-Faraʾiḍ is half of knowledge: a critical hadith analysis and its juridical implications in Islamic inheritance discourse." Cogent Arts & Humanities 13, no. 1 (2026): 2598289.https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2598289
Rasyid, Arbanur, Rayendriani Fahmei Lubis, and Idris Saleh. “Contestation of Customary Law and Islamic Law in Inheritance Distribution: A Sociology of Islamic Law Perspective.” Al-Ahkam 34, no. 2 (2024): 419–48. https://doi.org/10.21580/ahkam.2024.34.2.20843.
Ropiah,Siti “Harmonization of Sharia Values in the Modern Inheritance System: Opportunities, Challenges, and Sustainability.” Mizan: Journal of Islamic Law 09, no. 01 (2025): 39. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.32832/mizan.v13i1.
Safitri, Ella, and Ahmat Saiful. “Islamic Inheritance Law in Indonesia: Analysis of Legal Implementation and Compliance Among Muslim Communities.” Responsive Law Journal 2, no. 1 (2025): 53–61. https://doi.org/10.59923/rlj.v2i1.460.
Shakespeare, William. “Reform of Islamic Family Law in Indonesia : Integrating Maqasid Al-Shari’Ah and the Principles of Justice in the Digital Era.” The New Oxford Shakespeare: Critical Reference Edition, Vol. 2 7, no. 2 (2017): 3264–68. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30863/as-hki.v7i2.10637.
Supriyadi, and Forbis Ahamed. “The Legal Culture In the Distribution of Heritage Property Among the Muslim Community In Karas Kepoh Village, Pancur District, Rembang, Central Java.” Al-’Adalah 18, no. 1 (2021): 77–96. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v18i1.5422.
Suryawan, I Nengah Pasek, and Rineke Sara. “Legal Certainty Regarding Pluralism of Inheritance Law in Indonesia in the Transfer of Inheritance Rights in Indonesia.” Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Science 4, no. 3 (2024): 145–54. https://doi.org/10.55324/ijoms.v4i3.1041.
Tekmen, Emre. "Inheritance Law." In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Islamic Finance and Economics, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93703-4_36-1
Tamanaha, Brian Z. Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theory, Consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
Taqiyuddin, Hafidz, Rusli, Mohammad Adnan, and Muhammad Alif. “Habitus and Legal Behavior in Islamic Inheritance Practice: A Socio-Legal Analysis in Rural Serang Regency, Indonesia.” El-Usrah 8, no. 1 (2025): 72–96. https://doi.org/10.22373/p17zvd18.
Tarmizi, Tarmizi, Rahma Amir, Darussalam Syamsuddin, Hamzah Hasan, and Muh Saleh Ridwan. “Inheritance Distribution and Conflict Resolution in Bone Regency: Upholding Women’s Rights and Islamic Law Objectives.” De Jure: Jurnal Hukum Dan Syar’iah 16, no. 2 (2024): 255–77. https://doi.org/10.18860/J-FSH.V16I2.29477.
Yusmita, Iwan Romadhan Sitorus, Laras Shesa, Evy Septiana, and Sri Lumatus Sa’adah. “Legal Pluralism and the Transformation of Islamic Inheritance Law: A Study of Sasak Customary Practices in Indonesia.” Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam 10, no. 2 (2025): 831–52. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v10i2.12500.
Yusuf, Muhammad, and Ismail Suardi Wekke. "Inheritance and gender equality." Justicia Islamica 15, no. 1 (2018): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.21154/justicia.v15i1.1436
Downloads
Published
Article Statistics
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Hukum Islam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Hukum Islam use a variety of waivers and licenses that are specifically designed for and appropriate for the treatment of data:
- Open Data Commons Attribution License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/(default)
- Creative Commons CC-Zero Waiver, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
- Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/pddl/1-0/
Other data publishing licenses may be allowed as exceptions (subject to approval by the editor on a case-by-case basis) and should be justified with a written statement from the author, which will be published with the article.
