Kafa'ah

Kafa'ah or Kafaah (Arabic: الكفاءة‎; al-kafā'aḥ) is an Arabic term, linguistically means equality or equivalence. It is a term used in Islamic doctrin in regard to marriage and defined as the proportionality between a man and his prospective wife in social status, morality, piety, wealth, lineage or custom.[1]

The main goal of Kafa'ah is to make a peaceful and lasting marriage. The argument is that a household built based on the common perceptions, equivalent views, and understandings would make a peaceful and happy marriage. Out of four Madhabs in Sunni schools of thought, only religion is consistently significant across schools of law, although Muslim men are allowed to marry Jewish or Christian women while Muslim women may marry only Muslim men. Similarly, in Shia there is no concept of Kafa'ah on the basis of lineage.[2][3]

Ulema have different opinions and arguments about the Kafa'ah as it is not a clear-cut law based on Koran and Hadith. In traditional Hanafi law, kafa'ah is a special proportionality between a man and a woman in marriage, while according to traditional Maliki, kafa'ah means a proportionality in religion for both man and woman who are not in disgrace so it allows the woman to exercise rights to decide her marriage. In Shafi'i madhab, kafa'ah is a matter in which a man and a woman are not in disgrace, and this is one of the conditions for a valid nikah. Scholars of Hanbali say that kafa'ah is the similarities and proportionality in five cases, namely religion, lineage, independence, jobs and wealth.[1][4]

People of Ba 'Alawi sada, especially of Hadhrami descents, adhere to more stringent law related to Kafa'ah, mainly between a Sayyid woman and a Non-Sayyid man.[5] The Islamic Modernist Rashid Rida considered marriage between a non-sayyid man and a sharifah (sayyid woman) is permissible. According to Habib Umar al-Attas, a prominent Sayyid Scholar in Singapore in his book published in 1905 The Marriage between a Sharifah and a non-Sharif and Esteemed Position of Ahl al-Bayt concluded that it is not permissible to marry the sayyidah to a non-sayyid, even if she accepts it and disregards quality or even with the agreement of her wali, for the right of equality is based on essential honour and not required one.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 عبد الستار ابو غدّه (Abdul Sattaar Abu Ghuddah) (2002). الكفااة في النكاح (Kafa'ah in Marriage) (in Arabic). Beirut: Daarul Basharail Islamiyah.
  2. ↑ الكفاءة في الزواج (in Arabic). Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ الفرق بين الشيعة والسنة في اعتبار كفاءة الزوج (in Arabic). Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ ben Mashhoor, Idrus. "Pengertian Kafa’ah" (in Indonesian). Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ Mobini-Kesheh, Natalie (1999). The Hadrami Awakening: Community and Identity in the Netherlands East Indies, 1900-1942 (illustrated ed.). SEAP Publications. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-8772-7727-9.
  6. ↑ Affandi, Bisri (March 1976). "Ahmad Surkati: His role in al-Irshad movement in Java" (thesis). Montreal: McGill University. pp. 52–54.