Islamic Family Law in Libya under Social Transformation: A Maqasid-Oriented Socio-Legal Analysis

Abstract

The persistence of classical Islamic family law within modern Muslim legal systems continues to generate tensions between doctrinal authority and evolving demands for procedural justice, gender equity, and institutional coherence. In Libya, family law remains grounded in Maliki jurisprudence and codified through Law No. 10 of 1984 on Marriage and Divorce. Yet existing scholarship remains divided, with doctrinal studies treating the law as a closed normative system and socio-legal approaches often overlooking its internal legal reasoning. Libya itself also remains underrepresented in comparative legal scholarship. This study examines how classical Islamic jurisprudence interacts with contemporary social transformation in shaping family law in Libya. Employing a qualitative doctrinal and socio-legal approach, it analyzes juristic principles, statutory provisions, selected fatwas of Dar al-Ifta Libya, and recent developments in marriage, divorce, guardianship, and maintenance. The findings indicate that while codification preserves core Maliki doctrines, it simultaneously constrains juristic adaptability, producing tensions in divorce regulation, women’s legal agency, and maintenance enforcement. These tensions reflect not merely institutional limitations but deeper disjunctions between inherited legal forms and changing social realities. This study advances a maqasid-oriented socio-legal framework, arguing that meaningful legal reform depends on preserving the ethical objectives of Shariʿah rather than reproducing historical procedural forms. By integrating doctrinal analysis with socio-legal insight, the study contributes to broader debates on Islamic legal reform in contemporary Muslim societies.