Situating classical legal methodology in a modern context : tracing patterns of talfīq in Indonesia’s compilation of Islamic law (khi)

Abstract

This thesis examines the historical development of the concept of talfīq in premodern Islamic legal thought and analyzes how its meaning, function, and significance have been transformed in modern Islamic legal codification projects, particularly in Indonesia. It focuses on the influence of talfīq on legal reform in Indonesia through the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), investigating the extent to which the KHI aligns with the traditional Shāfiʿī madhhab, Indonesia’s predominant school of law, in some cases, while deviating from it or even departing from the four canonical Sunni madhhabs in others. Employing a literature-based qualitative method and applying historical and normative legal analysis, this thesis advances three main arguments. Discussions of talfīq have existed since the formative and classical periods of Islamic law. However, in the modern era, reformists have significantly expanded its use in ways not always found in premodern discourse. The increasing complexity of modern life has led some reformists to apply talfīq even beyond the framework of the four madhhabs. More importantly, this study demonstrates that the Indonesian case presents a distinct pattern of adopting talfīq compared to pre-modern usage. While earlier applications were primarily motivated by legal convenience and facilitation, the Indonesian context reveals the influence of both modernization and cultural factors in shaping the selective adoption and modification of legal opinions in the KHI. Hence, instead of the pre-modern practice that sought the most lenient opinions across schools (commonly referred to as tatabbuʿ al-rukhaṣ, or “following the easiest”), this study identifies a triple pattern of talfīq in the Indonesian context: cultural-adoptive, modernity-oriented, and facilitative. These three tendencies negotiate together to produce a complex and distinctive legal synthesis within the KHI. Thus, the study demonstrates how the concept of talfīq has undergone transformations in modern Indonesia that depart from its classical understanding. This thesis further argues that, in the context of the modern nation-state, Islamic law adopts a different approach to achieving flexibility namely more inter-madhhab.