HARUN NASUTION'S RATIONAL ISLAM AS AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CONTEXTUALIZATION OF ISLAMIC LAW IN INDONESIA

Abstract

This article examines Harun Nasution's concept of Rational Islam and its implications for the contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia. The study employs a qualitative library research design using intellectual history and normative legal approaches to analyze Harun Nasution's major works and relevant scholarly literature. The findings demonstrate that Rational Islam constitutes an epistemological framework that positions reason and revelation as complementary sources of knowledge while distinguishing between absolute (qaṭʿī) and relative (ẓannī) Islamic teachings. This framework encourages the desacralization of classical fiqh by recognizing it as a historical product of human ijtihād that remains open to reinterpretation in response to changing social realities. The study further finds that Harun Nasution's thought provides an important theoretical foundation for the contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia, as reflected in legal reforms oriented toward maṣlaḥah, including the Compilation of Islamic Law (Kompilasi Hukum Islam), particularly through contextual legal formulations such as substitute heirs and other ijtihād-based legal developments. The novelty of this study lies in positioning Harun Nasution's Rational Islam not merely as a theological paradigm but as an epistemological foundation for the reform and contextualization of Islamic law in Indonesia. By revitalizing the tradition of ijtihād and promoting legal reasoning that is responsive to social transformation, Rational Islam contributes to the development of an adaptive Islamic legal system while remaining firmly grounded in the fundamental principles of the Shari’ah.