Children Born Out of Adultery and Guardianship: The Bahtsul Masail Perspective on Old Marriage Cases

Marriage is a sacred institution in Islam whose validity is determined by fulfilling the conditions and pillars that the Sharia has set. One of the main pillars is the presence of a marriage guardian. In Islamic law, children resulting from adultery do not have a nasab relationship with their biological father, so the father does not have guardianship rights. However, cases of marriages where the biological father is the guardian often pose a legal dilemma, especially if the marriage has been going on for a long time. This study aims to analyze the legal status of biological paternity guardianship in the context of children resulting from adultery based on a cross-sect approach, focusing on the view of the Maliki School that provides flexible space for certain situations. This research uses a normative approach with a content analysis method on fiqh literature, Bahtsul Masail fatwa, and other sources of Islamic law. The results of the study show that according to the Shafi'i School, the guardianship of the biological father is not valid, so the marriage must be repeated with a legal guardian, namely the guardian of the judge. On the other hand, the Maliki school allows the guardianship of the biological father if it is openly recognized, with consideration for maintaining family benefits and social stability. This approach is relevant in certain situations and is supported by the principles of Maqashid Sharia, which include safeguarding religion (hifz al-din), heredity (hifz al-nasl), and avoiding social and economic damage (mafsadah). This study concludes that the adaptive application of ijtihad is needed to provide legal solutions that are relevant to the conditions of contemporary society, without ignoring the principles of Islamic law.