ONLINE MARRIAGE AND CROSS-BORDER ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW: LEGAL CHALLENGES IN MUSLIM DIGITAL SOCIETIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59623/krnanh40Keywords:
Online Marriage, Islamic Family Law, Cross-Border Jurisdiction, Digital NikahAbstract
The rapid expansion of digital communication technologies has fundamentally reconfigured the terrain of Islamic family law, introducing novel and unresolved legal questions about the validity, enforceability, and cross-jurisdictional recognition of online marriage contracts (akad nikah daring). This article undertakes a systematic normative-empirical analysis of online marriage practices across transnational Muslim communities, examining the legal challenges that arise when ijab-qabul (offer and acceptance) is conducted via digital platforms across national borders. Drawing upon a qualitative content analysis of forty peer-reviewed academic sources, fatwa documentation from Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, and a comparative doctrinal review of relevant national marriage legislation, the study evaluates whether the classical Islamic jurisprudential requirement of ittihad al-majlis (unity of session) can be functionally reinterpreted to accommodate synchronous digital communication. The article identifies five principal legal fault lines: (1) jurisdictional ambiguity in cross-border nikah, (2) authentication and identity verification deficits, (3) the doctrinal divergence between Sunni legal schools on the permissibility of remote contracting, (4) the absence of harmonized international legal frameworks for transnational Islamic matrimonial recognition, and (5) emergent risks in metaverse and blockchain-mediated matrimony. The findings demonstrate that while technological adaptation is both jurisprudentially permissible and socially necessary, current national legal architectures remain inadequately equipped to resolve the transnational complications generated by digital nikah. The article proposes a multilateral legal harmonization framework as a normative path forward for Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority jurisdictions alike.
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