Polygamy Without First Wife's Blessing, Is It Legal? Check Out The Explanation Legally Sharia And State

YOGYAKARTA - unregistered marriages are of concern and public discussion as many cases of married men remarrying without the knowledge of their wives or legal partners. Moving on from this phenomenon, do you believe in polygamy without the blessing of your first wife?

There are still many unregistered marriage practices at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) in Indonesia. However, this often invites legal and social issues, especially when done secretly.

In language, the term serial marriage is rooted in the word Arab "sirrun" which means secret. Thus, this marriage is held secretly, in contrast to open marriage as it should be.

In Islamic fiqh, polygamy becomes halal or allowed on the condition that the husband is able to act fairly and is able to properly support his entire wife. The approval of the first wife is not a legal requirement for the contract, so it does not affect the validity of religious marriage.

Islamic law requires five marriage pillars that must be fulfilled, including a husband and wife, a marriage guardian, two witnesses, a dowry, and a consent. As long as these elements exist, religiously marriage is considered legal, even though it is done in a serial manner.

However, the permission from the first wife is still seen as part of household ethics and a form of good treatment (mu'asyrah bil ma'ruf) taught in Islam.

On the other hand, Indonesia is a state of law. Therefore, legal marriage is not automatically legal according to the state.

Article 2 of Law no. 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage, which has been updated through Law no. 16 of 2019, states that every marriage must be recorded in accordance with statutory provisions.

Islamic Law Compilation (KHI) also strengthens these rules by requiring marriage registration to create public order.

Thus, unregistered marriages have the consequence of being considered to have no formal legal force. Thus, rights such as income, inheritance, and administrative status of children can be hampered because the marriage is not legally registered.

In addition, unregistered marriages are at risk of inviting criminal problems if one of the parties is still bound by legal marriage.

Without a partner's permission, this action can be considered an act of adultery with a maximum penalty of nine months in prison in accordance with Article 284 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.

Based on Article 279 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, if the serial marriage is registered in bad faith, the threat of punishment can increase by up to five years.

Reporting from the MUI website, the Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), KH Cholil Nafis, explained that unregistered marriages were religiously valid, but the MUI decision stated that the practice was haram because it caused many harm.

The biggest impact is generally felt by women and children, ranging from unclear rights to legal protection.

MUI requires choosing a marriage that is recorded by the state, considering that marriage registration is part of the improvement of the contract.

This process is carried out to ensure clarity of family legal status, including inheritance rights, livelihoods, and future administration of children.

Therefore, so that legal marriage is religious and legal, if a husband still has a legal wife and wants to remarry, he must obtain permission from his legal wife first and apply for a polygamy permit to a religious court.

Such is the review of polygamy without the blessing of his first wife and law. Hopefully useful. Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.