<![CDATA[Women’s participation in hilal observation has expanded alongside developments in astronomical education and observation technology, yet their legal authority as witnesses remains contested in classical and contemporary Islamic law. This study examines how Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali fiqh texts construct the evidentiary status of women’s hilal reports and how these constructions may be reconsidered through Marion Holmes Katz’s Textual Study of Gender. Using qualitative library research and comparative textual analysis, eight representative fiqh works are reconstructed and interpreted, then triangulated with contemporary Indonesian hilal practices and astronomical verification. The findings show that the four madhhabs do not apply a single gender rule. Women’s admissibility depends on the classification of the report as khabar, riwayah, or shahadah, as well as on the month, witness requirements, and evidentiary context. Katz’s framework reveals that gender operates relationally through knowledge authority and legal procedure rather than as a uniform indicator of reliability. Contemporary astronomy strengthens verifiable observation but does not automatically replace juridical testimony. The study concludes that a gender-neutral, competency-based evidentiary model can integrate ‘adalah, observational reliability, astronomical literacy, documentation, and institutional legal validation.]]>
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