The wife’s position in Rujuk: Gender justice, Islamic jurisprudence, and Indonesia’s compilation of Islamic Law

Following a revocable divorce (ṭalāq rajʿī), the husband’s authority to effect rujuk raises questions about the wife’s consent, the certainty of marital status, and the possibility of a fair reconciliation during the waiting period (iddah). This study examines the wife’s position in rujuk under Islamic law and in relation to gender justice in Indonesia. It adopts a qualitative normative legal approach based on library research. Written sources were examined through content analysis, Braun and Clarke’s six phases of thematic analysis, and a comparison of Islamic jurisprudence, Indonesia’s Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), and Amina Wadud’s gender justice framework. The study yields three findings. First, rujuk during iddah offers an opportunity for islāh (repairing the relationship). In the classical jurisprudence examined, the husband primarily holds the authority to declare rujuk, although views differ on how it is declared and the role of witnesses. Second, Wadud’s framework distinguishes equal human dignity from identical legal entitlements, directing attention to the husband’s responsibilities and the wife’s wishes and interests. Third, the KHI provides the former wife with a right to object and regulates consent and registration in the rujuk procedure. The study concludes that the legal opportunity to resume a marriage does not, by itself, establish that reconciliation has occurred. Its contribution is to distinguish the legal validity, evidentiary certainty, and relational fairness of rujuk, while informing clearer procedures for objection, consent, and registration.