Standarisasi Mahar Minimal dalam Perkawinan Masyarakat Adat Sunda: Tinjauan Hukum Islam di Desa Sibanteng, Kecamatan Leuwisadeng, Kabupaten Bogor

Abstract

This study examines how a minimum mahar standard emerged in marriages among the Sundanese customary community of Sibanteng Village, Leuwisadeng District, Bogor Regency, and how Islamic law assesses it. The study used a qualitative phenomenological approach with a case study design. Data were collected from January to July 2025 through observation, semi-structured interviews with a customary leader, religious leaders, and the head of the local Office of Religious Affairs (KUA), and a review of KUA marriage registers for January to April 2025. The data were analysed descriptively and checked through source triangulation. The findings show that the standard formed culturally as living law. It protects the dignity of the bride and reduces visible gaps between families. In current practice, the threshold that residents actually refer to has shifted to a set of prayer equipment or roughly two grams of gold. Of the 77 mahar records analysed, two grams was the most frequent gold weight, while a cash mahar of exactly IDR 100,000 appeared only twice. From an Islamic law perspective, the standard does not contradict Qur'an 4:4, the hadiths that favour modest mahar, or Articles 30 and 31 of the Compilation of Islamic Law, as long as it rests on the consent of both parties and is not used as a condition that blocks the marriage contract.