A Benefit-Based Reconstruction of Contemporary Copyright Inheritance in Indonesian Islamic Law

Abstract

The emergence of intellectual property as an economically productive asset has challenged the traditional conception of inheritance in Islamic law, particularly regarding the transfer of copyright after the author's death. Although the Kompilasi Hukum Islam (KHI) serves as the primary legal framework for inheritance adjudication in Indonesia's Religious Courts, its provisions remain predominantly oriented toward tangible property, generating normative uncertainty regarding contemporary intangible assets. This study aims to examine the legal status of copyright inheritance within Indonesian Islamic law through the case of the copyrighted Al-Barqy Qur'anic learning method and to formulate a benefit-based reconstruction of inheritance norms capable of accommodating productive intellectual assets. Employing an empirical socio-legal approach, the research integrates qualitative fieldwork through semi-structured interviews with the heirs responsible for managing the Al-Barqy copyright and doctrinal analysis of Articles 171(e) and 189 of the KHI in conjunction with Indonesian copyright legislation. The collected data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, while the normative reconstruction was developed through Fazlur Rahman's Double Movement theory and Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism. The findings demonstrate that the heirs have implemented a hybrid inheritance model combining farā'iḍ-based allocation of economic rights with collective copyright governance, thereby preserving both Islamic distributive justice and the long-term economic productivity of the inherited asset. Nevertheless, the absence of explicit legal recognition within the KHI creates uncertainty regarding the inheritance and management of productive intangible property. This study proposes a benefit-based reconstruction of Islamic inheritance law by reformulating Article 171(e) to recognize intangible economic rights as inheritable assets explicitly, and by reconstructing Article 189 to expand the concept of productive inheritance beyond agricultural land to encompass all assets requiring collective and sustainable management. The study contributes to contemporary Islamic inheritance scholarship by demonstrating the adaptive capacity of Islamic law to respond to evolving economic realities while maintaining its foundational objectives of justice, legal certainty, and public welfare.