PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

One of the areas of primary concern to maqasid al-Shariah (objectives of Islamic law) is protection and advancement of the five essentials (al-dharuriyyah al-khamsah), namely protection of religion, life, progeny or family, intellect and property. In marriage, Shariah guides Muslims in achieving these maqasid. Additionally, there are obligatory procedures and formalities in Malaysia on couples planning to get married. Such procedures and formalities include attending a premarital course, undergoing HIV screening, registration of marriage and others. Unfortunately, some perceive the decreed rules, procedure and formalities as burdensome leading to illegal solemnisation of marriage through syndicates or by eloping. This research attempts to shed some light on the concept of maqasid al Shariah in marriage and to examine the application of maqasid al-Shariah in preventing illegal marriages among Muslims in Malaysia. A combination of library research and semi structured interview is used to highlight the importance of maqasid al Shariah and loopholes in the current practice. Findings of this research show that the theory of maqasid al-Shariah is extremely relevant in addressing the current challenges of Muslim marriage. The study proposes some recommendations to control illegal marriages in the light of maqasid al-Shariah.