Interfaith Marriage Between Muslims and Female Ahlul-Kitāb: MUI Fatwa and Preservation of the Shāfiʿi Madhab In Indonesia

El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/usrah/index ISSN: 2620 – 8075 ║ E-ISSN: 2620 – 8083 Vol. 8. No. 2. December 2025 DOI: 10.22373/ujhk.v8i2.27176 Interfaith Marriage Between Muslims and Female Ahlul-Kitāb: MUI Fatwa and Preservation of the Shāfiʿi Madhab In Indonesia 1 Mariati Aprilia Harahap1 Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU), Indonesia Email: Abstract The study investigates the rulings of Shāfiʿi’s madhab, which suggests a strict rule regarding the permissibility of interreligious marriage between a Muslim and a female ahl-kitāb, in contrast to other Imam madhabs that do not prohibit such marriages. However, Indonesians who embraced most of Shāfiʿi’s madhab forbade this marriage through an issued fatwa by the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI). Despite extensive research on its arguments due to the historical roots of Shāfiʿi’s madhab ruling on connectivity, it is more concerned with the virtue and balance in society. This paper aims to analyze the prohibition of interfaith marriage between Muslims and female ahl-kitāb in Indonesia as a change in discourse that reinforces devotion to the Shāfiʿi madhab, which has historical roots connected to its rulings. This paper uses the qualitative method by comprehending classical Islamic law perspectives, the fatwa driven by the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI), and the historical trajectory of Imam Shāfiʿi schools in the early Indonesian era through textual analysis. The result found that the fiqh rulings “attracting benefits and preventing damage” held strongly by Majelis Ulama were not a clear affirmation of prohibiting marriage between Muslims and the female scriptures. Key findings indicate that the MUI released its prohibited fatwa on such marriage as a formchanging discourse to justify the continuation of the Shāfiʿi school of thought traditionally rooted in Indonesia to maintain the virtue and balance work in society. Future research should consider the increased case of interfaith marriages between female Muslims and non-Muslim males due to its relevancy, according to Fiqh alWāqi.’ Keywords: Ahlul-kitāb, interfaith marriage, fatwa MUI, Shāfiʿi madhab 812 Mariati Aprilia Harahap, Interfaith Marriage Between Muslim and Female Ahlul-Kitāb 813 Abstrak Penelitian ini mengkaji hukum-hukum mazhab Syafi'i, yang menerapkan aturan ketat mengenai jika dibolehkannya pernikahan beda agama antara seorang Muslim dan seorang perempuan ahl-kitāb, yang berbeda dengan mazhab-mazhab Imam lain yang tidak melarang adanya pernikahan tersebut. Namun, masyarakat Indonesia yang sebagian besar menganut mazhab Syafi'i melarang adanya pernikahan tersebut melalui fatwa yang dikeluarkan oleh Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI). Meskipun telah dilakukan penelitian ekstensif terhadap argumen-argumen tersebut karena akar sejarah hukum mazhab Syafi'i yang memiliki keterikatan kuat dengan masyarakat Indonesia sejak dulu, keputusan mengikuti mazhab ini lebih kepada memperhatikan keutamaan dan keseimbangan dalam masyarakat. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis larangan pernikahan beda agama antara Muslim dan ahl-kitāb perempuan di Indonesia sebagai perubahan wacana yang memperkuat kesetiaan kepada mazhab Syafi'i, yang memiliki akar historis dalam setiap keputusan hukumnya. Makalah ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan memahami perspektif hukum Islam klasik, fatwa Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), dan lintasan historis mazhab Imam Syafi'i di era awal Indonesia melalui analisis tekstual. Hasilnya ditemukan bahwa keputusan fikih "menarik manfaat dan mencegah kerusakan" yang dipegang teguh oleh Majelis Ulama bukanlah sebuah penegasan yang jelas tentang pelarangan pernikahan antara Muslim dan perempuan ahl-kitāb. Temuan utama menunjukkan bahwa MUI mengeluarkan fatwa haramnya tentang pernikahan semacam itu sebagai wacana perubahan bentuk untuk membenarkan kelanjutan mazhab Syafi'i yang secara tradisional telah berakar lama di Indonesia sebagai bentuk penjagaan keutamaan dan keseimbangan dalam masyarakat. Penelitian di masa mendatang sebaiknya mempertimbangkan peningkatan kasus pernikahan beda agama antara perempuan Muslim dan laki-laki non-Muslim sesuai dengan relevansinya, menurut Fiqh al-Wāqi. Kata Kunci: ahlul-kitab, pernikahan beda agama, fatwa MUI, madzhab Syafi'i Introduction Far from the colonialism era, Muslim societies have reached their peak by implementing their ruled activities based on sharia law. This was recorded by Ibnu Batutah once he visited the Sumatera, in the year 1345. He said that he watched over himself how the Sultan Malik Az-Zahir ruled his countries by bringing in great scholars from Isfahan and Shiraz to help him enforce the law according to the Shāfiʿi school of jurisprudence. Then the splendor of the sharia was established in Aceh until it continued in the Malacca Kingdom. Among the books of the Shāfiʿi school of thought, the "Book of Muhadhab" written by Sheikh Abu Ishaq Asy-Syirazi and the books written by Ibn Hajar al-Haithami became the basis for law in the Kingdom of Malacca. This continued until Aceh was founded for the second time in 1514.1 1 Hamka, Studi Islam, First, ed. Mardiati (Gema Insani Press, 2020), p. p. 199–201. https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/usrah/index Vol. 8 No. 2, December 2025 Mariati Aprilia Harahap, Interfaith Marriage Between Muslim and Female Ahlul-Kitāb 814 Historically, since time immemorial, the Sultan, as the supreme leader at that time, had introduced the Shāfiʿi school of thought in Aceh, and it continued to be applied as the basic law in the Kingdom of Malacca, which recognized this school of thought as its legal basis law in that kingdom. Abdul Hadi pointed out that, the Shāfiʿi madhab dominates the development of Islam in Indonesia. This madhab is also the most widely adhered to by Muslims in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Shāfiʿi madhab fiqh is used to solve various daily life problems, such as in worship, muʿamalah, inheritance, and marriage. Scientific materials sourced from Fiqh books belonging to the Shāfiʿi madhab are a reference source in court decisions, especially in the chapter on marriage. In the past, the community-made courts in a simple form, namely in a mosque. After that, the old ‘porch court’ mosque developed into a more structured court by the time. The entry of European colonialism into Indonesia has contributed to the coloring of religious courts in Indonesia. Due to the colonial intervention factor, the court system in Indonesia was required to adapt to the colonial court system.2 This confirms that the Sunni Shāfiʿi’s school of thought has long been rooted in Indonesia. The long history of the journey of Islamic law itself started with courts in the style of mosque verandas, after the arrival of colonialism, where old Islamic law was formulated into more personal law, especially in family matters. This includes Marriage Law. Moreover, Hadi & Hasan (2015) shared the sam (...truncated)