Isbat nikah for marriages conducted without a legitimate wali nasab or wali hakim remains an issue in Islamic family law, particularly when converts to Islam face specific circumstances in fulfilling guardianship requirements. However, studies on judges’ considerations in validating marriages involving a wali muhakkam and their conformity with Islamic family law remain limited. This study aimed to analyze the considerations of the judges of the Lubuk Basung Religious Court in granting an application for isbat nikah through Ruling Number 44/Pdt.P/2025/PA.LB and to examine the ruling from the perspective of Islamic family law. The study employed a qualitative approach using library research and a document study design. The primary data source was Ruling Number 44/Pdt.P/2025/PA.LB of the Lubuk Basung Religious Court, while the secondary data sources included relevant classical and contemporary Islamic jurisprudential literature. Data were collected through documentary and literature studies and subsequently analyzed descriptively, deductively, inductively, and comparatively. The results showed that the judges granted the application for isbat nikah based on the fulfillment of the pillars and requirements of marriage, documentary evidence, and witness testimony. The judges also considered the circumstances of Petitioner II as a convert to Islam who encountered difficulties in obtaining a wali hakim by applying considerations of maslahah and the legal maxim dar’u al-mafasid muqaddamun ‘ala jalbi al-masalih. Nevertheless, the use of a wali muhakkam was considered inappropriate from the perspective of Indonesian positive law because the applicable provisions recognize only a wali nasab and a wali hakim. This study enriches the literature on isbat nikah by demonstrating the normative tension among Islamic jurisprudential considerations, public interest, and legal certainty in religious court practice. Future research is recommended to compare several similar rulings and examine them from the perspective of maqasid al-shari’ah.
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