Reconstructing the Meaning of Maintenance in Contemporary Islamic Family Law: A Maqᾱṣid Shari'ah Approach
Published 2024-01-04
Copyright (c) 2024 Maimun, Alamsyah, Imam Syafe’i (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
In contemporary Islamic family law, the husband providing maintenance to the wife is an obligation because of the marriage contract. The theoretical-normative level and amount of maintenance that must be given to the wife are not explicitly mentioned. Therefore, based on the maqāṣid shari'ah approach, the meaning of the word "maintenance" must be reconstructed and contextualized to the problem of maintenance in domestic life in this contemporary era, even though husbands and wives have their own duties, obligations, and roles. If the obligation can be implemented consistently, then a harmonious household life, sakinah, mawaddah wa rahmah can be realised properly. The focus of this research is to find out more about the aspects of nafkah levels in the context of benefits that can be measured through the view of the needs of a person's life. The type of research method is qualitative research with a maqasid shari'ah approach. The findings of this study are that providing maintenance to the wife is the husband's obligation, both physical and mental maintenance. Physical nafkah is material, while mental nafkah is immaterial (abstract), but very decisive for the realisation of a harmonious household, sakinah, mawaddah warahmah. The word "nafkah (al-nafqah)" in the context of contemporary Islamic family law needs to be reconstructed to be relevant to the conditions of husband-and-wife relations in a reciprocal (mubādalah), binding (ṡawābit), and flexible (mutagayyirāt) manner so that the main objective of building a harmonious household life is realised lastingly and well. The principle of providing maintenance to the wife by the husband in maqāṣid al-syari'ah can realise the benefit and harmony of the household and can anticipate the "crucial" evil in the life of large (al-'āilah) and small (al- usrah) families.