<![CDATA[The increase in requests for marriage dispensation after the enactment of Law Number 16 of 2019, which raised the minimum age for marriage to 19 years, encouraged the panel of judges in the Religious Courts to optimize legal discovery (rechtvinding) contextually, rather than simply focusing on literal interpretation of the legislation. This study aims to analyze the form of ijtihad of judges in granting requests for marriage dispensation at the Jombang Religious Court in 2025 and examine it from the perspective of Maqāṣid al-Usrah Jamāluddīn al-'Aṭhiyah. This study is a field study with an empirical juridical approach, using primary data in the form of interviews with judges and analysis of five marriage dispensation decisions granted in 2025, supported by secondary data in the form of laws and related literature. Data were analyzed through an interactive model that includes reduction, presentation, and concluding. The results of the study indicate that the judge's ijtihad is carried out through a balancing process between legal certainty and public interest, with the maqāṣidī form of ijtihad being the most dominant. In cases motivated by pregnancy outside of marriage, the judge's ijtihad is directed at protecting the child's status, certainty of lineage, and parental responsibility, while the reason for a long-standing relationship is considered not to automatically fulfill the criteria of "very urgent reasons" in Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law Number 16 of 2019. Viewed from the perspective of Maqāṣid al-Usrah, the judge's ijtihad is more dominant in realizing the dimension of Ḥifẓ al-Nasl, while the dimensions of Tanẓīm al-'Alāqah bayna al-Jinsayn and Taḥqīq al-Sakīnah wa al-Mawaddah wa al-Raḥmah have not been optimally realized. This study concludes that the judge's ijtihad is a process of balancing legal certainty and public interest that is oriented towards the best interests of children and families.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
