The Marriage of Siri between Private Piety and Public Legal Order: The Dialectic of Islamic Law and the New Indonesian Criminal Code

Ahmad Nurozi

doi:10.55681/armada.v4i7.3082

Authors

Ahmad Nurozi Department of Islamic Family Law, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55681/armada.v4i7.3082

Keywords:

Siri Marriage, Islamic Law, The New Criminal Code and Criminal Code, Private Piety, Public Law Order

Abstract

Siri marriage is considered valid under Islamic law but lacks state recognition because it is not officially registered. Although often viewed as an expression of private religious observance, this practice may create significant legal consequences, particularly for the protection of women’s and children’s rights. This article examines siri marriage through the dialectical relationship between Islamic law and Indonesian positive law, with reference to recent criminal law reforms. Using a normative juridical approach supported by conceptual and socio-legal analysis, the study applies maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah and ta‘zīr to assess the legitimacy of state intervention. The findings indicate that siri marriage cannot be understood solely as religious freedom because it may generate legal vulnerability and structural injustice. Consequently, compulsory marriage registration and victim-oriented legal measures may be justified constitutionally and within Islamic legal principles. Regulating siri marriage should therefore be understood not as the criminalisation of religion, but as an effort to harmonise private piety with justice, public welfare, legal protection, and certainty.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abubakar, F. (2019). Islamic family law reform: Early marriage and criminalization (a comparative study of legal law in Indonesia and Pakistan). Al-Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syari'ah Dan Hukum, 4(2), 97–118. https://doi.org/10.22515/al-ahkam.v4i2.1667

An-Na'im, A. A. (2008). Islam and the secular state: Negotiating the future of Shari'a. Harvard University Press.

An-Na'im, A. A. (2010). Muslims and global justice. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Arsyad, A. (2020). Evolusi problem sosial nikah siri: Rekonseptualisasi hukum perkawinan dalam Islam. Jurnal Sipakalebbi, 4(1), 306–331. https://doi.org/10.24252/jsipakallebbi.v4i1.14600

Broyde, M. J., & Peltzer, R. M. (2020). Rethinking religious marriages when done without any civil marriage: Non-marriage, neo-marriage, marriage, or something else?. Family Court Review, 59(4), 992–1021. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12532

Fauzan, M., & Ulya, Z. (2024). Regulasi marital rape perspektif maslahah Abu Zahra. Al-Jinayah : Jurnal Hukum Pidana Islam, 10(2), 198–218. https://doi.org/10.15642/aj.2024.10.2.198-218

Firdaus, M. R., & Maskur, A. (2024). Pernikahan sirri dalam perspektif hukum Islam dan pencatatan perkawinan menurut ketentuan yang berlaku di Indonesia (hukum positif). Isti`dal : Jurnal Studi Hukum Islam, 11(1), 52-72. https://doi.org/10.34001/ijshi.v11i1.6418

Friedman, L. M. (1975). The legal system: A social science perspective. Russell Sage Foundation.

Habermas, J. (2008). Between naturalism and religion. Polity Press.

Habermas, J. (2011). The theory of communicative action (Vol. 1). Beacon Press.

Hasbiyalla, I. (2024). Unregistered marriage in the study of Indonesian positive law and Islamic law. VRISPRAAK: International Journal of Law, 8(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.59689/vris.v8i1.1162

Herlina, R., Rifa’I, M., Fhirley, & Noviani, D. (2024). Pernikahan siri dan implikasinya terhadap hak dan identitas anak. Student Research Journal, 2(3), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.55606/srjyappi.v2i3.1286

Ilina, O. Y., Levushkin, A. N., Serebryakova, A. A., & Zamriy, O. N. (2021). Marriage as institution of family law: Disharmony of private and public interests. In International Conference on Social and Cultural Transformations in the Context of Modern Globalism. European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2021.11.299

Kamba, S. N. M., & Kasim, N. M. (2023). Dampak kebijakan surat pernyataan tanggung jawab mutlak Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri Nomor 9 Tahun 2016 terhadap pencatatan perkawinan. Jurnal Hukum PRIORIS, 11(1), 15–34. https://doi.org/10.25105/prio.v11i1.18354

Marzuki, P. M. (2017). Penelitian hukum (Edisi Revisi). Kencana Prenadamedia.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Mudzakkir. (2023). Kriminalisasi perkawinan tidak tercatat dalam KUHP Baru: Telaah kritis atas Pasal 402 Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2023. Jurnal Legislasi Indonesia, 20(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.54629/jli.v20i1.1234

Ningrum, F. W. (2025). Nikah siri dan dampaknya terhadap hak perempuan dan anak dalam itsbat nikah. Tadhkirah: Jurnal Terapan Hukum Islam dan Kajian Filsafat Syariah, 2(1), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.59841/tadhkirah.v2i1.85

Raharso, A. T., & Barak, A. (2022). Marriage in secret according to Islam and Catholic: A comparative study on religious laws. Religió Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama, 12(2), 145–169. https://doi.org/10.15642/religio.v12i2.1817

Ramadan, T. (2009). Radical reform: Islamic ethics and liberation. Oxford University Press.

Ritonga, I. N., & Firmansyah, H. (2026). Rukun dan syarat nikah dalam perspektif mazhab fikih dan praktik KUA di Indonesia. Jurnal Multidisiplin Ilmu Akademik (JMIA), 3(4), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.61722/jmia.v3i4.11078

Rosyadi, I., & Kahar, A. (2023). Analysis of legal certainty aspects in Indonesian marriage registration rule. Jurnal Hukum Dan Peradilan, 12(3), 469–488. https://doi.org/10.25216/jhp.12.3.2023.469-488

Soekanto, S., & Mamudji, S. (2001). Penelitian hukum normatif: Suatu tinjauan singkat. RajaGrafindo Persada.

Wahid, A. (2023). Nikah siri dan tantangan maqasid al-syariah: Studi komparatif kebijakan hukum di Indonesia dan Malaysia. Mazahib: Jurnal Pemikiran Hukum Islam, 22(1), 67–94. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v22i1.5567

Wulandari, W., Prasetyo, G., & Windasari, A. (2025). Dinamika hukum perkawinan dalam perspektif hukum Islam dan hukum positif di Indonesia. Journal Central Publisher, 1(12), 1383–1387. https://doi.org/10.60145/jcp.v1i12.313

Zuhri, S., & Arifin, Z. (2023). Ta'zir and the limits of state authority in regulating Islamic marriage practices: Lessons from Indonesia's new criminal code. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Law, 5(2), 88–115. https://doi.org/10.15408/ijil.v5i2.2023