MODERNIZATION, ECLECTICISM, AND SAUDI ARABIA VISION 2030 ON FAMILY LAW: Positivization of Talaq Divorce in Niẓam Al-Aḥwāl 1443 H

Abstract

Not bereft of the vision of 2030, Saudi Arabia reformed its Islamic family law, which resulted in the issuance of Niẓam al-Aḥwāl al-Syakhṣiyyah 1443 H. However, this modernization attempt is shadowed by the long-term preference for the established madhab. By focusing on the talaq issue, this article aims to investigate to what extent this Niẓam articulated with Hanbali madhab in managing divorce. As a normative study, data were collected by examining the primary resource, Niẓam al-Aḥwāl 1443. The result indicates that the positivization of divorce is primarily attributable to the Hanbali’s source of law. This (intra-doctrinal) positivization is intended to ensure legal certainty for the sake of this nation's modernization efforts. It affirms that the attempt in the private sector is in fact a manifestation of the 2030 political vision.