This study examines the phenomenon of khuluk, which is normatively the wife’s right to initiate divorce with the obligation of iwadh (compensation), but in some cases initiated by the husband through a counterclaim. The research focuses on Case No. 2664/Pdt.G/2018/PA.Pwt. and Case No. 0815/Pdt.G/2011/PA.Mkd. to assess their legitimacy and conformity with principles of justice. Employing library research and a case study approach, the analysis is based on two judicial decisions from the Religious Courts of Purwokerto and Mungkid, supported by Islamic jurisprudential sources and Rawls’s theory of justice. The findings show that divorce by lawsuit (cerai gugat), which exempts the wife from paying ʿiwadh, opens the possibility for husbands to demand it through khulʿ. In Islamic law, such demands are valid when the wife is proven guilty of misconduct or when her petition lacks sufficient grounds. In the Purwokerto case, ʿiwadh was granted as the wife was held responsible for marital breakdown, while in the Mungkid case the husband’s high demand was intended to preserve the marriage. The judges’ rulings are consistent with Rawls’s concept of justice and resonate with Ibn ‘Āshūr’s contemporary interpretation of Maqāṣid al-Syarīʿah. This highlights a shift in the practice of khulʿ and underscores the need to reform the Compilation of Islamic Law, particularly on ʿiwadh and counterclaim mechanisms.
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