Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Mas Said Surakarta
International Seminar on Sharia, Law and Muslim Society

Financial Considerations in Spouse Selection: Women's Rights, Materialism Stigma, and the Reconstruction of Kafā'ah Māl

Date Published : 16 October 2026

Contributors

Suaidah

Author

Cahya Alifya

Author

Hertina Sahara

Author

Azima Amalia

Author

Keywords

Financial Considerations Spouse Selection Kafā'ah Māl Women's Rights Islamic Family Law Maqāsid al-Sharī'ah Mubādalah

Proceeding

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): 3rd International Seminar on Sharia, Law and Muslim Society

Track

General Track

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Suaidah; Cahya Alifya; Hertina Sahara; Azima Amalia;

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Financial considerations in spouse selection remain a contested issue in contemporary Islamic family law. Muslim women who prioritize economic stability are frequently stigmatized as materialistic, despite the classical concept of kafā'ah recognizing financial capacity as a legitimate component of marital compatibility. Existing scholarship has not adequately integrated women's normative right to financial considerations with the stigma attached to it, particularly through the combined frameworks of maqāṣid al-sharī'ah and mubādalah. This study analyzes the legal status of financial considerations in spouse selection, their relationship with women's autonomy and stigma, and the reconstruction of kafā'ah māl through these frameworks. Employing a normative-doctrinal method with comparative and analytical dimensions, data were drawn from the Qur'an, authenticated hadith, classical texts of the four Sunni schools, Indonesian legislation, and contemporary scholarship, analyzed through content analysis and maqāṣid-based interpretive reasoning. The findings show that all four Sunni schools acknowledge financial capacity as a legitimate kafā'ah criterion, but historically reserve the authority to invoke it for the male guardian (walī). Applying mubādalah's principle of equal and reciprocal relations between men and women reframes this authority as belonging equally to women, entitling them to evaluate a prospective husband's financial capacity rather than only being assessed themselves, while maqāṣid al-sharī'ah grounds this entitlement in the preservation of life (ḥifẓ al-nafs) and progeny (ḥifẓ al-nasl). The study concludes that such considerations do not constitute materialistic conduct contrary to Islamic teachings, but a normatively grounded right warranting recognition in a gender-just reform of Indonesia's Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI).

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How to Cite

Suaidah, S., Cahya Alifya, C. A., Hertina Sahara, H. S., & Azima Amalia, A. A. (2026). Financial Considerations in Spouse Selection: Women’s Rights, Materialism Stigma, and the Reconstruction of Kafā’ah Māl. International Seminar on Sharia, Law and Muslim Society, 1(1), 187-202. https://conferences.uinsaid.ac.id/ISSLaMS/paper/view/899