nikah gantung - Association of Muslim Professionals

Making Sense
KARYAWAN
NIKAH GANTUNG:
A ‘Halal’ Alternative to
‘Unlawful’ Dating?
31
Hasanul Arifin
NIKAH GANTUNG has been a known
practice by members of the Malay/
Muslim community for quite some
time. In fact, it was one the topics raised
during a discussion session on gender
interactions organised by Young AMP
under its Muslim Youth Intelligentsia
Series for Malay/Muslim undergraduates
in February this year. In my personal
experience, many of my friends have
commented that they feel nikah
gantung may be a solution to romance
and relationship woes among youths.
Despite this, there has been very few
academic studies or publications that
have been conducted or written on
the particular subject matter, although
it has been briefly mentioned in the
book “Malay Kinship and Marriage in
Singapore” by Judith Djamour.
What is Nikah Gantung?
According to the anthropological
study by Djamour, nikah gantung is
a suspended marriage contract that
is practised by the Javanese and
Boyanese communities. This practice,
although not widespread or prevalent
enough to be considered a social
phenomenon, cannot be considered
to be uncommon either, especially
within these two communities. The
suspension or gantung mentioned
here is the suspension of the rights
to consummate the marriage. In
other words, the couple that is going
through such a marriage contract is still
registered and legally bounded to one
another by a state-appointed kadi in a
solemnisation or akad nikah ceremony.
The only difference is that the right
to consummate the marriage is
temporarily suspended for a stipulated
amount of time. This altered clause is
based on the reason that it is a marriage
with a girl who has yet to attain
puberty, hence is deemed unfit for
consummation, until she has attained
puberty. As such, the girl continues
to live in her parents’ household,
separate from her husband, until she
has attained puberty. This is based on
the account of Aisyah’s marriage to
the Prophet. According to Djamour,
when this is achieved, the suspension
or gantung is then lifted, and the girl is
then handed over to her husband for
consummation and starts the life of a
wife in her husband’s household from
that point onwards.
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“ This point of view can be seen as the ‘Islamic solution’ for students in love
who are concerned with the halal and haram aspects of gender interactions
and are already set in committing their lives to one another. Increasingly, we
notice this growing practice amongst students who are in love and want to
preserve the “islamicity” of their relationships with the opposite sex. ”
This definition of nikah gantung,
however, differs from the personal
studies conducted for the purpose of
this article. Nikah gantung still remains,
although it is practised in a different way,
possibly because it has evolved over
time to adapt and suit the changing
needs of the community as well as
to suit the changes in marital laws in
Singapore where child marriages are no
longer legal.
32
The Differing Concepts of Nikah
Gantung
Mr Zawawi Buang, a 47-year-old
Javanese Workshop Instructor who
went through nikah gantung at the
age of 21 is still happily married
with 4 children. He shares that the
temporary suspension does not only
involve the temporary suspension
of the rights to consummation but
also the temporary suspension of
a proper marriage ceremony for a
stipulated period of time. This means
that his concept of nikah gantung also
involves postponing of the wedding
or bersanding ceremony to a later date,
usually for up to 2 years from the akad
nikah ceremony. The reason for doing
so is mainly to save up enough money
to pay for the marriage ceremony
as well as the financial liabilities that
would be incurred in living together,
which may include the purchase of
a HDB apartment. As such, after the
akad nikah ceremony, the married
couple will live in separate households,
restricting their engagements with
one another to that of a social, nonsexual relationship. The husband is
still required to contribute part of his
income to support the livelihood of the
wife in accordance with the Syariah,
although they may be living separately
from one another. This act of living
separately comes to an end once the
bersanding ceremony is conducted. As
such, the relationship after that evolves
to that of a typical husband and wife’s,
where the husband is then allowed to
consummate the marriage.
This concept of nikah gantung differs
from the one held by Madam Mariam
Alias, a 46–year-old private tutor of
mixed Indian-Malay descent who went
through nikah gantung at the age of
19 and remains happily married with
7 children. Madam Mariam’s concept
of nikah gantung extends beyond
working adults saving up for the
bersanding ceremony and the financial
liabilities that would be incurred for a
married couple living together. In fact,
Madam Mariam views nikah gantung
as the ideal alternative to the dating
culture prevalent among youths today
which may be a slippery path towards
premarital sex, modelling her ideas
based on the marriage trends of youths
in Saudi Arabia. As such, her concept
of nikah gantung revolves around
the idea of parents taking up the
responsibility to support the married
couple financially temporarily until the
husband is financially ready and the
couple is independent enough to live
on their own.
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Nikah gantung is a
tricky subject that
has not been studied
in great detail and its
definitions vary from
one individual to
33
another.
This point of view can be seen as the
‘Islamic solution’ for students in love
who are concerned with the halal and
haram aspects of gender interactions
and are already set in committing their
lives to one another. Increasingly, we
notice this growing practice amongst
students who are in love and want
to preserve the “islamicity” of their
relationships with the opposite sex.
The Potential Problems of Nikah
Gantung
On the other hand, it may be argued
that this proposed solution may open
doors to even more problems, which
may include the loss in the sacredness
of the marriage contract, as immature
youths may abuse the circumstances
they are offered and treat the marriage
contract lightly, resulting in the
possible increase in divorce rates.
According to Ustaz Abdul Rahman
Shariff, a deputy kadi who has handled
several cases of nikah gantung, it
is often performed among youths
whom he feels have not yet achieved
the maturity required to carry out the
roles of husbands and wives. It is also
sometimes practised among youths to
cover up unwanted pregnancies.
Besides the potential problems of
immaturity and divorce, there are
moral and ethical considerations in the
practice of nikah gantung. Ustaz Abdul
Rahman says such a concept is foreign
to the spirit of Muslim marriages,
whereupon the signing of the marriage
contract, the husband is obliged to
fulfil his obligations towards his wife,
especially financially. He disagrees with
the notion that parents should bear
the financial burden of their children’s
marriage as this is contrary to the
fundamental clauses of a marriage
contract, forcing the parents to perform
roles that are not supposed to be
theirs. This view is shared by Mr Zawawi,
who argues that the suspension of the
financial responsibilities of a husband
would reduce the marriage institution
to that of a ‘legalised’ boyfriendgirlfriend relationship. This shaky affair
would be made more complicated
should the couple disrespect the
mutual agreement of restricting their
relationship to that which is non-sexual
in nature. This circumstance may lead to
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unwanted pregnancies, which would
further add to the financial burden that
is borne by the parents. In addition, the
young husband may not be matured
or responsible enough to anticipate his
new role as a father to his children.
Madam Mariam defends her idea
of nikah gantung, asserting that the
prevention of sin is greater in value than
that of divorce. In fact, divorce is never
considered a sin, whereas unlawful
gender interaction is. She further
adds that the usage of contraceptives,
common in today’s world, would help
to prevent unwanted pregnancies as
discussed previously.
34
A ‘Halal’ Alternative?
Nikah gantung is a tricky subject that
has not been studied in great detail and
its definitions vary from one individual
to another. I am more inclined towards
the arguments against nikah gantung
as an alternative solution to unlawful
dating practices. This is because
marriage should be guided by the
ethical principles of mutual love and
compassion, as stated in the Holy Quran,
Surah A-Rum verse 30.
relationships lawful via nikah gantung
may be to prevent the occurrences of
sin and premarital sex. However, to carry
out this approach without considering
the guiding principles of love and
compassion towards our parents would
not make our good intentions fully
aligned with the spirit of Islam. I am
not saying this is wrong. But the idea of
formulating a practical way out seems
in contrast to the spirit of jihadun-nafs
(the struggle against one’s desires) and
the Prophet S.A.W’s advice to perform
the fast to quell the sexual urges if one
cannot afford to marry.
Nonetheless, nikah gantung remains
a debatable subject that is open to
further scrutiny and analysis.
The guiding principles of love and
compassion mentioned in this verse,
in my opinion, are not only between
the couple, but extend towards their
parents as well. And how would love
and compassion be extended to our
parents if we are to burden them
financially with our marriage? Indeed,
the intentions of making our love
The writer is a first year bioengineering undergraduate in the National University of
Singapore (NUS). He is also a member of the NUS Muslim Society.
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