THE CONVERGENCE OF ‘ÂDAT AND ISLAMIC LAW: The Practice of Gala in Aceh

This article attempts to explain the position of the practice of gala in Acehnese society perspective in light of ‘âdat and Islamic law perspective. Theories of ‘âdat show that there are some pillars of gala that should be fulfilled; contract is done in front of chief of village and other village figures additional witnesses. Soon after the debt payment, murtahin (mortgager) must return the mortgaged to râhin (mortgagee) as the local saying goes “ngui pulang utang bayeu” means after use, the goods returned, the debt must be paid. In addition, marhûn cannot be exploited by murtahin as it is solely as security of the debt. These requirements have drawn closer to the Islamic law especially Syâfi‘î’s school. Research showed that the practice of gala (mortgage) in Aceh has contradicted the ‘âdat (customary law) and Islamic law in several points.Abstrak: Artikel ini mencoba menjelaskan posisi praktik gala dalam masyarakat Aceh dengan perspektif ‘âdat dan hukum Islam. Teori ‘âdat menunjukkan bahwa ada beberapa pilar gala yang harus dipenuhi; kontrak dilakukan di depan keuchik (kepala desa) dan tokoh desa lainnya sebagai saksi tambahan. Setelah pembayaran hutang, murtahin (yang berpiutang) harus mengembalikan barang gadaian ke râhin (yang berutang) sesuai dengan pepatah lokal berbunyi “ngui pulang utang bayeu” berarti barang gadaian harus dikembalikan, hutang harus dibayar. Selain itu, marhûn (barang gadaian) tidak dapat dieksploitasi oleh murtahin karena semata-mata sebagai jaminan hutang. Persyaratan ini telah sangat relevan dengan hukum Islam terutama mazhab Syâfi‘î. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa praktik gala di Aceh tidak lagi sejalan dengan hukum ‘âdat dan hukum Islam dalam beberapa hal.Keywords: gala, marhûn, ‘âdat, Islamic law, Aceh