Page 676 - Proceedings Collega2023

ELEMENTS OF LOCAL WISDOM IN THE PRESERVATION OF

MUSLIM WOMEN'S PROPERTY

1
Muhammad Hisyam MOHAMAD *
2
Wan Roslili MAJID
1,2 Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1 hisyam@ikim.gov.my
2 wanros@ikim.gov.my

ABSTRACT
The concept of matrimonial property is a concept of division of property that has no substantive
evidence from the Quran or the Hadith. This concept was also not practiced by the Arab community at the
time of the Prophet SAW or during pre-Islamic period. However, in the Malay Archipelago, it is accepted
and recognized by Islamic jurists as a method to divide the property between spouses whenever their
marriage ended, either through death or divorce; or when the husband chooses to practice polygamy. By
using the method of document analysis, this article seeks to identify how Muslim scholars of the past
exercise the ijtihad or independent reasoning to find solutions to problems related to matrimonial
property – such as its concept and the quantum received by each spouse. The study found that the
ingenuity of Nusantara Muslim scholars in observing the entire social life setting of the community at that
time had successfully justified that this local wisdom has Islamic legal basis and thus established the right
of women to the ownership of the property that resulted during their marriage. From another point of
view, the use of local customs or local practice by the scholars as a legal basis to justify the validity of
matrimonial property also helps achieve the objective of preservation of wealth contained in the doctrine
of Maqasid al-Syariah.

Keywords: local customs; local jurisprudence; local wisdom; matrimonial property;

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