The Thought of Sheikh Nawawi Al-Bantani in the 19th Century: His Contribution to Islamic Family Law Thought in Indonesia

Abstract

The Islamic Legal Thought of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani in the Nineteenth Century and Its Contribution to the Tradition of Islamic Family Law in Indonesia. This study examines the Islamic legal thought of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani in the nineteenth century and its contribution to the tradition of Islamic family law in Indonesia. It is based on the assumption that Indonesian Islamic family law did not emerge in a vacuum, but was shaped through a long process of transmission involving Shafi‘i jurisprudence, the pesantren tradition, classical Islamic texts known as kitab kuning, local culture, and the codification of law within the modern state system. This research employs a qualitative method based on library research, using historical-normative and socio-intellectual approaches. The primary sources of this study are the works of Shaykh Nawawi al-Bantani related to family law, particularly ‘Uqud al-Lujjain, Nihayat al-Zain, and Qut al-?abib al-Gharib. These sources are supported by journal articles, academic books, the Marriage Law, the Compilation of Islamic Law, and other relevant contemporary regulations. The data are analyzed through descriptive analysis and a contextual-hermeneutical approach in order to examine the construction of Nawawi’s thought in relation to the social context of the nineteenth century and the development of Islamic family law in Indonesia. The findings indicate that Nawawi’s thought on family law is deeply rooted in the Shafi‘i school of law and positions the family as a moral-religious institution. Marriage is understood as a contract that entails responsibility, protection, education, and the preservation of family honor. However, the construction of husband-wife relations in his thought also reflects hierarchical and patriarchal features, as the husband is positioned as the leader of the family, while the wife is placed within a framework of obedience. Nevertheless, Nawawi’s thought also contains a protective dimension, particularly through its emphasis on the husband’s obligation to provide maintenance, guidance, education, and kind treatment toward his wife. This study concludes that Nawawi not only produced legal texts, but also contributed to the formation of the habitus of Islamic family law in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago through pesantren and kitab kuning traditions. His thought remains relevant when read critically and contextually through the perspectives of maq??id al-shar?‘ah, human rights, gender equality, and the contemporary needs of Muslim family law in Indonesia.