“Valid but Forbidden”: A Legal Interpretive Analysis of KH. Cholil Nafis’s Paradoxical Statement on Unregistered Marriage

,
Published: 2026-04-30 Pages: 82-102 DOI: 10.66277/mensrea.1.1.206
Abstract How to Cite Copyright References

Abstract

This article analyzes KH. Cholil Nafis's paradoxical statement that unregistered marriage (nikah siri) is “valid but forbidden” within contemporary Indonesian Islamic family law. The study addresses the tension between classical fiqh, which recognizes a marriage contract that fulfills its pillars and conditions, and state law, which requires registration to secure legal certainty and family protection. Using normative legal research and a qualitative-interpretive approach, the article applies Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutic stages of distanciation, explanation, and appropriation to read the statement as a legal text. The analysis shows that the phrase “valid but forbidden” is not a normative contradiction. “Valid” refers to the religious validity of the marriage contract, whereas “forbidden” refers to the harmful legal, administrative, and social consequences of bypassing state registration, especially for women and children. The article argues that the statement reflects a shift in Islamic legal reasoning from a purely legal-formal orientation toward a maqāṣid-based paradigm of social protection. Its contribution lies in demonstrating how paradoxical legal discourse can mediate between classical Islamic norms and the modern state legal system.

[Artikel ini menganalisis pernyataan paradoksal KH. Cholil Nafis bahwa nikah siri “sah tetapi haram” dalam konteks hukum keluarga Islam kontemporer di Indonesia. Kajian ini berangkat dari ketegangan antara fikih klasik, yang mengakui akad nikah apabila rukun dan syaratnya terpenuhi, dan hukum negara, yang mewajibkan pencatatan perkawinan untuk menjamin kepastian hukum dan perlindungan keluarga. Dengan menggunakan penelitian hukum normatif dan pendekatan kualitatif-interpretatif, artikel ini menerapkan tahapan hermeneutika Paul Ricoeur, yaitu distansiasi, eksplanasi, dan apropriasi, untuk membaca pernyataan tersebut sebagai teks hukum. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa frasa “sah tetapi haram” bukan kontradiksi normatif. “Sah” merujuk pada keabsahan agama atas akad nikah, sedangkan “haram” menunjuk pada dampak hukum, administratif, dan sosial yang merugikan akibat perkawinan tanpa pencatatan negara, terutama bagi perempuan dan anak. Artikel ini berargumen bahwa pernyataan tersebut mencerminkan pergeseran nalar hukum Islam dari orientasi legal-formal menuju paradigma perlindungan sosial berbasis maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah. Kontribusinya terletak pada penjelasan bahwa wacana hukum yang tampak paradoksal dapat menjadi mekanisme mediasi antara norma fikih klasik dan sistem hukum negara modern.]

Keywords

Unregistered Marriage Legal Hermeneutics Islamic Family Law Paul Ricoeur Marriage Registration

Copyright

Copyright Holder: Adinda Putri Kartika, Souad Ezzeroual

Copyright Year: 2026

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

Al Munawar, Faishal Agil. “Telaah Fatwa tentang Nikah Siri.” Istidlal: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Hukum Islam 4, no. 1 (2020): 55–63. https://doi.org/10.35316/istidlal.v4i1.210
Akhtar, Rajnaara C. “Modern Traditions in Muslim Marriage Practices, Exploring English Narratives.” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 7, no. 3 (2018): 427–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwy030.
Akmal, Andi Muhammad, et al. “Legal Solutions for Domestic Violence in Unregistered Marriages in Indonesia: Integrating Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah.” El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga 7, no. 2 (2024): 768. https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v7i2.25971.
Arsal, Thriwaty. “Nikah Siri in Demographic Overview.” Sodality: Jurnal Sosiologi Pedesaan 6, no. 2 (2012). https://doi.org/10.22500/sodality.v6i2.6082.
Baihaqi, Baihaqi, Ahmad Musadad, and Tri Pujiati. “Karakteristik Hukum Islam: Fleksibilitas, Keadilan, Dan Kemaslahatan Dalam Perspektif Normatif.” Nuris Journal of Education and Islamic Studies 5, no. 2 (2025): 80–95. https://doi.org/10.52620/jeis.v5i2.110.
Baihaqi, Baihaqi, Titik Triwulan Tutik, Ahmad Musadad, A. Mufti Khazin, and Mahtumridho Ghufron Bin Simun. “Legal Non-Compliance and Kiai Hegemony: The Practice of Unregistered Marriages among the Madurese Muslim Community of Kubu Raya.” Journal of Islamic Law 5, no. 2 (2024): 242–68. https://doi.org/10.24260/jil.v5i2.2819.
Billah, Mu’tashim. “The Maslahah of State Policy in Responding to Unregistered Marriage: Inclusion of Unregistered Marriage on The Family Card.” Ulul Albab: Jurnal Studi Dan Penelitian Hukum Islam 6, no. 2 (2024): 136. https://doi.org/10.30659/jua.v6i2.31138.
Budiono, Muhammad. “Dampak Sosial Nikah Sirri.” Al-Hukama 4, no. 1 (2024): 203–22. https://doi.org/10.15642/al-hukama.2014.4.1.203-222.
Erkoc Baydar, Tuba. “A Secret Marriage and Denied Rights: A Critique from an Islamic Law Perspective.” Religions 14, no. 4 (2023): 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040463.
Fadli, Fadli. “Implikasi Yuridis Terhadap Penerbitan Kartu Keluarga Bagi Pasangan Nikah Siri Di Indonesia.” Jurnal Mediasas: Media Ilmu Syari’ah Dan Ahwal Al-Syakhsiyyah 4, no. 1 (2021): 82. https://doi.org/10.58824/mediasas.v4i1.275.
Fahrol, Muhammad, and Mhd Haikal. “Rukun Nikah Menurut 4 Imam Mazhab: (Studi Pustaka).” Akhlak: Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam Dan Filsafat 2, no. 2 (2025): 19–29. https://doi.org/10.61132/akhlak.v2i2.628.
Fakhria, Sheila. “Menyoal Legalitas Nikah Sirri (Analisis Metode Istislahiyyah).” Al-Ahwal: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 9, no. 2 (2017): 185–200. https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2016.09204.
Firman, Kafka Nafisa, et al. “Analysis of the Validity and Legal Implications of Siri Marriage on the Rights of Wives and Children.” ALSYS 6, no. 1 (2026): 438–50. https://doi.org/10.58578/alsys.v6i1.8647.
Fithri, Widia. “Kekhasan Heremeneutika Paul Ricoeur.” Tajdid: Jurnal Ilmu Keislaman Dan Ushuluddin 17, no. 2 (2019): 187–211. https://doi.org/10.15548/tajdid.v17i2.125.
Gunawan, Edi. “Nikah Siri Dan Akibat Hukumnya Menurut UU Perkawinan.” Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Syir’ah 11, no. 1 (2013). https://doi.org/10.30984/as.v11i1.163.
Haika, Ratu. “Unregistered Marriage (Nikah Sirri) in Tanjung Palas, Indonesia: A Normative-Empirical Analysis Through the Maxim Al-Dhararu Lā Yuzālu Bi Al-Dharari.” International Journal of Islamic Studies Issues 1, no. 2 (2025): 24–28. https://doi.org/10.59966/14scwm85.
Hasbiyalla, Iklil. “Unregistered Marriage in the Study of Indonesian Positive Law and Islamic Law.” VRISPRAAK: International Journal of Law 8, no. 1 (2024): 10–20. https://doi.org/10.59689/vris.v8i1.1162.
Hidayatullah, Muhammad Yunus, et al. “Perkawinan Sirri Menurut Fatwa Majelis Ulama Indonesia.” Ma’mal: Jurnal Laboratorium Syariah Dan Hukum 3, no. 1 (2022): 64–83. https://doi.org/10.15642/mal.v3i1.117.
Ismail, Rifki, and Agil Mustapa. “Juridical Analysis of Unregistered Marriages’ Effects on Children’s Legal Status and Civil Rights.” Estudiante Law Journal 7, no. 3 (2025): 758–71. https://doi.org/10.33756/eslaj.v7i3.32282.
Khusairi, Halil. “Kompleksitas Kawin Siri: Antara Hukum Islam Dan Undang-Undang Perkawinan Di Indonesia.” Istinbath 21, no. 1 (2022): 165–88. https://doi.org/10.20414/ijhi.v21i1.492.
“MUI Tegaskan Nikah Siri Sah Secara Agama Namun Haram Karena Merugikan Perempuan.” MUI Digital, November 25, 2025. https://mui.or.id/baca/berita/mui-tegaskan-nikah-siri-sah-secara-agama-namun-haram-karena-merugikan-perempuan.
Muis, Moch Zulkarnain, Nunuk Hidayati, and Muhammad Trenggono Kusumo. “Unregistered Marriage among University Students: Family Influence, Religious Legitimacy, and the Negotiation of Marriage Law.” Al-Hukama’: The Indonesian Journal of Islamic Family Law 15, no. 2 (2025): 176–203. https://doi.org/10.15642/alhukama.2025.15.2.176-203.
Nawir, Ahmad, et al. “Comparative Analysis of The Family Law Systems in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in The Context of Unregistered Marriage: Maqashid Al-Syari’ah Perspective.” International Journal of Health, Economics, and Social Sciences (IJHESS) 6, no. 4 (2024): 1075–84. https://doi.org/10.56338/ijhess.v6i4.5772.
Nisa, Eva F. “The Bureaucratization of Muslim Marriage in Indonesia.” Journal of Law and Religion 33, no. 2 (2018): 291–309. https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2018.28.
Puteh, Hjh Norhartijah binti Haji, and Cecep Soleh Kurniawan. “Reforming Islamic Family Law in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam.” ASEAN Journal of Islamic Studies and Civilization (AJISC) 2, no. 1 (2025): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.62976/ajisc.v2i1.1367.
Ricoeur, Paul. Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation. 1st ed. Edited by John B. Thompson. Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316534984.
Ricoeur, Paul. “Phenomenology and Hermeneutics.” Noûs 9, no. 1 (1975): 85. https://doi.org/10.2307/2214343.
Ricoeur, Paul, and John B. Thompson, eds. “Studies in the Theory of Interpretation.” In Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation, 91–92. Cambridge Philosophy Classics. Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/2BE702D9DACFACE3D0E051DD28DC52F7.
Rifqi, Muhammad Jazil, et al. “Children’s Legal Identity at Stake: Reconstructing Maqasid al-Syari’ah through Marriage Isbat Applications by the Second Generation in Pasuruan.” El-Mashlahah 15, no. 1 (2025): 125–48. https://doi.org/10.23971/el-mashlahah.v15i1.9068.
Rohmah, Lailiyatur, and Muhammad Hamdi. “Perlindungan Anak Hasil Nikah Siri Melalui Kemudahan Proses Itsbat Nikah Sidang Keliling (Studi PERMA No.1 Tahun 2015).” Mabahits: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 6, no. 01 (2025): 15–28. https://doi.org/10.62097/mabahits.v6i01.2206.
Rohman, Holilur, et al. “Between Law and Faith: Judicial Dilemmas of Unregistered Polygamy and Divorce in Indonesia.” Indonesian Journal of Islamic Law 8, no. 2 (2025): 168–87. https://doi.org/10.35719/5f0dpp36.
Rosyadi, Imron, and Aisyah Kahar. “Analysis of Legal Certainty Aspects in Indonesian Marriage Registration Rule.” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan 12, no. 3 (2023): 469. https://doi.org/10.25216/jhp.12.3.2023.469-488.
Sagita, Fatri, and Dwi Utami Hudaya Nur. “Perbedaan Nikah Di Bawah Tangan Dan Nikah Siri Dalam Perspektif Hukum Islam.” QISTHOSIA: Jurnal Syariah Dan Hukum 3, no. 1 (2022): 31–45. https://doi.org/10.46870/jhki.v3i1.228.
Sheibani, Mariam. “Deceptive Debauchery: Secret Marriage and the Challenge of Legalism in Muslim-Minority Communities.” Religions 15, no. 1 (2023): 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010010.
Sidik, Humar, and Ika Putri Sulistyana. “Hermeneutika Sebuah Metode Interpretasi Dalam Kajian Filsafat Sejarah.” Agastya: Jurnal Sejarah dan Pembelajarannya 11, no. 1 (2021): 19–34. https://doi.org/10.25273/ajsp.v11i1.6224.
Simbolon, Muhammad Iran, and M. Sulaiman Ridwan. “Analisis Hukum Islam Terhadap Praktik Nikah Siri Di Indonesia: Studi Kritis Atas Aspek Legalitas, Perlindungan Hak Perempuan, dan Dampaknya Terhadap Tatanan Sosial.” Journal of Legal Sustainability 2, no. 1 (2025): 31–37. https://doi.org/10.63477/jols.v2i1.239.
Siregar, Erni Sulhati Roudho, and Uswatun Hasanah. “Problematika Nikah Siri Di Indonesia (Tinjauan Hukum Islam Dan Hukum Nasional).” Demokrasi: Jurnal Riset Ilmu Hukum, Sosial Dan Politik 3, no. 1 (2026): 40–51. https://doi.org/10.62383/demokrasi.v3i1.1507.
Sitompul, R., et al. “Legal Protection for Children Born from Unregistered Marriage in Medan City and Its Socialization through Website.” International Journal of Engineering and Technology (UAE) 7, no. 2.14 Special Issue 14 (2018): 246–50. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i2.12.14685.
Spectorsky, Susan A. “Some Ḥanbalī Views on Secret Marriage.” In Arabic Humanities, Islamic Thought, edited by Joseph E. Lowry and Shawkat M. Toorawa. BRILL, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004343290_004.
Syafa’, Nadhifa Salsabilla, and Nur Lailatul Musyafaah. “Isbat Nikah Pernikahan Poligami Secara Siri Dalam Putusan Nomor 3401/Pdt.G/2022/PA.Sby.” Ma’mal: Jurnal Laboratorium Syariah Dan Hukum 5, no. 1 (2024): 50–72. https://doi.org/10.15642/mal.v5i1.325.
Syawqi, Abdul Haq. “Multiparadigma Sosiologi Hukum Keluarga Islam.” Al-Manhaj: Journal of Indonesian Islamic Family Law 4, no. 1 (2022): 66–89. https://doi.org/10.19105/al-manhaj.v4i1.6200.
Voorhoeve, Maaike. “Law and Social Change in Tunisia: The Case of Unregistered Marriage.” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 7, no. 3 (2018): 479–97. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwy027.
Wahyudani, Zulham. “Keabsahan Nikah Siri Dalam Perspektif Maslahah.” Jurisprudensi: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah, Perundang-Undangan dan Ekonomi Islam 12, no. 1 (2020): 44–63. https://doi.org/10.32505/jurisprudensi.v12i1.1508.
Wicaksono, Alfiya. “Implications of Unregistered Marriage for Women: Profitable or Detrimental.” NORMA 18, no. 1 (2021): 26–32. https://doi.org/10.30742/nlj.v18i1.1198.

How to Cite

“Valid but Forbidden”: A Legal Interpretive Analysis of KH. Cholil Nafis’s Paradoxical Statement on Unregistered Marriage. (2026). Mensrea Law Review, 1(1), 82-102. https://doi.org/10.66277/mensrea.1.1.206