Historically, the Shafi‘i school of thought has long been embraced by the majority of Muslims in Indonesia, even long before the nation’s independence. It is therefore understandable that, in the development of Islamic law in Indonesia, the Shafi‘i school once served as the primary reference for Islamic legal reasoning by judges of the Religious Courts. This is evidenced by the issuance of Circular Letter of the Bureau of Religious Courts No. B/I/735 dated 18 February 1958—an implementation of Government Regulation No. 45 of 1957—which essentially instructed Religious Court judges to rely on classical fiqh books, including al-Bajuri, Fath al-Mu‘in and its commentaries, Sharqawi ‘ala al-Tahrir, and others.
However, several hermeneutical challenges at the time—such as differences of opinion within the Shafi‘i school, the use of Arabic-language texts leading to varying judicial interpretations, the limited ability of some judges to understand Arabic references, and inconsistent use of fiqh opinions—meant that the Circular Letter ultimately failed to ensure clarity on which particular fiqh opinions were authoritative as the legal basis for judicial decision-making.
A concrete step was later taken through the formation of the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), beginning with the Joint Decree of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Religious Affairs dated 21 March 1985, No. 07/KMA/1985 and No. 25 of 1985 on the Appointment of the Implementing Team for the Islamic Law Development Project through Jurisprudence, followed by Presidential Decree No. 191/1985 dated 10 December 1985. The KHI was ultimately established through Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991 on the Dissemination of the Compilation of Islamic Law on 10 June 1991, which was subsequently followed by Ministerial Decree No. 154 of 1991 dated 22 July 1991 concerning the implementation of the said Presidential Instruction. In practice, the KHI represents an independent exercise of legal reasoning (ijtihad) by its drafters, and is not merely a compilation of opinions from the Shafi‘i school.
The spirit of social interaction (mu‘amalah) within the Islamic legal framework—commonly referred to as Sharia—manifests across many aspects of life. In particular, within the economic and financial sectors, the rapid development of Islamic economics and finance in Indonesia has led to the establishment of the National Sharia Board (DSN) under the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). The DSN serves as the leading authority in providing Islamic legal perspectives to realize the aspirations of Indonesian Muslims, guided by the vision: “Mainstreaming Sharia economics and integrating Sharia values into society’s economic practices.”
We have experienced lawyers who provide assistance and dispute resolution services in the fields of Family Law and Islamic Economic/Islamic Finance Law. Each of our lawyers possesses deep understanding and strong capability in legal interpretation based on statutory regulations, MUI Fatwas, DSN-MUI Fatwas, and Islamic legal sources including the Qur’an, Hadith, and classical fiqh literature from the Shafi‘i, Maliki, Hanafi, and Hanbali schools, all of which enrich our legal insights. Our lawyers are available for further communication in Indonesian, Arabic, and English.
We are well-positioned to offer expert and innovative advice on resolving legal disputes, building partnerships, and structuring contracts and transactions in accordance with Sharia principles, providing comprehensive solutions tailored to your needs.