<![CDATA[This study examines the customary sanction imposed on a younger sibling who marries before an elder, unmarried sibling in Jorong V Sungai Jariang, Lubuk Basung, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, and evaluates its standing under the Islamic legal concept of maslahah mursalah. The problem stems from the absence of explicit Qur'anic or hadith rulings on marriage order between siblings, which creates a gap between living customary practice and normative Islamic law. Using a qualitative, socio-legal (yuridis-empiris) approach combined with a normative maslahah mursalah framework, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with three customary leaders (a Datuk/ninik mamak, a Bundo Kanduang, and a Mamak Sako), three religious leaders, three siblings who married first, two elder siblings who were "stepped over," and parents, supported by direct observation. Findings show that the sanction, minimally a cap (peci/songkok) for men and a shawl for women, with gold or batik clothing as negotiated additions, functions to preserve the elder sibling's honor, maintain family harmony, and deter recurrence, without imposing undue hardship. Applying the six conditions for maslahah mursalah formulated by Imam Malik and Al-Buthi, namely genuineness, generality, conformity with revealed texts and maqasid al-shari'ah, a daruriyyah/hajiyyah standing, a favorable balance between benefit and harm, and assessment by competent authorities, the sanction is found to satisfy all six conditions and to serve hifz al-'irdh and hifz al-nasl, positioning it as a hajiyat-level maslahah, while the accompanying folk belief that omitting the sanction delays the elder sibling's marriage is analytically distinguished as a mere hikmah (accompanying motive) rather than the sabab (operative cause) of the sanction's validity, and requires correction through religious education.]]>
