Kafa’ah in Islamic Marriage: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Fathullah; Sayehu; Nafan Tarihoran

Authors

Fathullah UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten
Sayehu UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten
Nafan Tarihoran UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten

Keywords:

Kafa’ah, Islamic marriage, compatibility, Muslim family law

Abstract

The concept of kafa’ah (marital compatibility) in Islamic marriage law has long served as a normative framework to ensure harmony between spouses based on factors such as lineage, wealth, profession, and religious commitment. However, contemporary societies face new realities—such as interethnic marriage, rising education levels, and socioeconomic diversity—that challenge traditional interpretations of kafa’ah. This study asks: how is the concept of kafa’ah interpreted, debated, and applied in contemporary Islamic scholarship and legal systems across Muslim-majority societies? The main goal is to systematically review the existing literature to identify dominant themes, gaps, and the evolving application of kafa’ah in modern contexts. Using a meta-analysis and the PRISMA framework, the researcher selected and analyzed 42 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2024, drawn from databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, and PubMed. The results show that most studies on kafa’ah still adopt a normative-theological approach, with limited empirical engagement. The concept is most frequently discussed in relation to social status, wealth, piety, and religious affiliation. However, a growing number of studies reflect a shift toward understanding kafa’ah in terms of mutual respect, shared values, and socioeconomic compatibility rather than rigid class or lineage standards. These findings suggest the need for a more contextual and reform-oriented approach to kafa’ah, especially in legal systems and religious fatwas that seek to balance tradition with social justice and contemporary realities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abu-Odeh, Lama, “Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case of Egypt,” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 37, no. 4 (2004)

Academy, Al-Azhar Research, “Guidelines on Marriage and Social Equality,” Journal of Contemporary Islamic Thought 4, no. 1 (2020)

Al-Qaradaghi, Ali M., and Abdul Aziz Al-Twaijri. “The Question of Sectarian Marriage in Islamic Law: A Comparative Study of Fatwas in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.” Journal of Islamic Legal Studies 26, no. 2 (2021): 147–168. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-02602001.

Al-Zahrani, Laila, “Kafa’ah and Gender Justice in Islamic Law: A Feminist Critique,” International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 35, no. 3 (2021): 285–305, https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebab014.

al-Zuhayli, Wahbah, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu, vol. 9 (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 2007)

Auda, Jasser, Maqasid Al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law: A Systems Approach (London: IIIT, 2008)

Fadel, Mohammad, "Public Reason as a Strategy for Principled Reconciliation: The Case of Islamic Law and International Human Rights Law," Chicago Journal of International Law 11, no. 1 (2010)

Hallaq, Wael B., Sharīʿa: Theory, Practice, Transformations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Hamid, Areefa, “Marriage Compatibility and Legal Reform in Islamic Family Law,” Journal of Law and Religion 37, no. 1 (2022): 87–104, https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2022.7.

Hashim, Noraini Md., “Ethnic Boundaries and the Application of Kafa’ah in Malaysian Muslim Marriages,” Islam and Civilisational Renewal 10, no. 2 (2019): 201–221, https://doi.org/10.12816/0053231.

Huda, Nurul, “Negotiating Kafa’ah and Parental Objection in Indonesian Marriage Law,” Journal of Islamic Family Law 12, no. 2 (2020)

Kamali, Mohammad Hashim, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, 3rd ed. (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 2003)

Kamali, Mohammad Hashim, Shari’ah Law: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2021)

Mahfudh, Sahal, Fiqh Sosial: Kontekstualisasi Ajaran Islam (Yogyakarta: LKiS, 2001)

Mehdi, Rubya, “The Legal Autonomy of Women in Pakistan: Implications for Marriage and Divorce,” Islamic Studies 56, no. 1 (2017): 21–40, https://doi.org/10.3366/is.2017.0017.

Mehdi, Rubya, The Islamization of the Law in Pakistan (Richmond: Curzon Press, 1994)

Othman, Norani and Shad Saleem Faruqi, “Marriage, Religion and the Law in Malaysia: Syariah and Civil Laws in Conflict?” Islam and Civilisational Renewal 9, no. 1 (2018): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.12816/0047314.

Rahman, Saifur. “Shifting Paradigms of Marriage Compatibility in Contemporary Muslim Society: A Socioeconomic Analysis.” Asian Journal of Social Science 48, no. 3 (2020): 312–330. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-04803004.

Ruby, Tabassum Fahim, Muslim Women in Western Courts: Unmet Obligations and Unfinished Business (London: Routledge, 2016)

Saeed, Abdullah, “Religious Compatibility and the Shifting Meaning of Kafa’ah,” Islamic Law and Society 27, no. 1 (2020): 23–45, https://doi.org/10.1163/15685195-00271P01.

Saigol, Rubina, “Patriarchy, Honour and Violence: Critical Essays,” Journal of Gender Studies 23, no. 2 (2015): 135–150, https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2015.1010486.

Senzai, Farid, “Marriage in Islam: Legal Framework and Contemporary Challenges,” Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 2 (2019): 75–87, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1608653.

Shahid, Ayesha, “Marriage Laws and Women’s Rights in the Muslim World,” International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 21, no. 1 (2007): 1–28, https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebl023.

Suliman, Noor Azuin and Siti Hajar Mohd Yusoff, “Islamic Marital Jurisprudence and Judicial Practice in Malaysia: Between Kafa’ah and Individual Rights,” Muslim World Journal of Human Rights 17, no. 2 (2020): 155–178, https://doi.org/10.1515/mwjhr-2020-0010.

Walbridge, Linda S., The Most Learned of the Shiʿa: The Institution of the Marjaʿ Taqlid (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)

Yusran, Luthfi, and R. Wahyuni, “Negotiating Kafa’ah in Contemporary Indonesian Islamic Courts: A Socio-Legal Study,” Journal of Islamic Legal Studies 13, no. 1 (2021): 51–68, https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-bja10010