NAFKAH IN DUAL-EARNER MUSLIM FAMILIES: DISTORTION OF OBLIGATIONS AND THE NORMATIVE VACUUM IN CLASSICAL FIQH

Abstract

The transformation of Muslim family structures into dual-earner arrangements has challenged the classical fiqh concept of nafkah, which traditionally assigns financial responsibility exclusively to the husband. In modern contexts, wives increasingly contribute significantly to household income, creating tension between normative doctrine and social reality. This study aims to analyze the construction of nafkah in classical fiqh, examine its practice in dual-earner Muslim families, identify the normative gap in regulating economic roles, and explore its implications for Islamic family law. The research employs a normative juridical method with a socio-legal approach, utilizing conceptual, historical, and Islamic legal sociology perspectives. Primary sources include the Qur’an, Hadith, and classical fiqh texts, while secondary sources consist of reputable academic literature. The findings reveal that classical fiqh was built upon a single-breadwinner assumption and does not provide an explicit framework for shared economic responsibility. This absence creates a normative vacuum, leading to the distortion of nafkah obligations into informal and negotiable arrangements. The study concludes that such distortion is structural rather than moral, indicating the need for a contextual reconstruction of nafkah based on justice and maqāṣid al-syarīʿah. The main contribution of this article lies in proposing a reconstruction of nafkah based on relational justice, proportionality, and maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah as a more adaptive framework for regulating economic responsibilities in contemporary Muslim families.

Keywords : Nafkah; Dual-Earner Muslim Family; Classical Fiqh; Normative Vacuum; Islamic Family Law