Post-Divorce Spirituality and the Renewal of Tawḥīd Among Muslim Women in Pekanbaru, Indonesia: A Path to a Contextual Theology of Islamic Family Law

This study explores the contextual interpretation of tawḥīd as an epistemological and ethical framework within the post-divorce experiences of Muslim women in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. It does so by uncovering the theological and practical dimensions that are often overlooked in Islamic family law discourse. The study begins with the understanding that divorce is an existential moment that demands a profound reconstruction of the meaning of faith, not merely a legal or social event. Using a qualitative, phenomenological, and hermeneutic approach, the study involved six purposely selected key informants. Data analysis integrated the lived religion framework, tawḥīd as a structure of meaning, and the theory of spiritual agency. Epistemologically, the study positions tawḥīd as an ethical and practical lens through which to interpret life crises, grounded in the Kalām

tradition. The findings reveal that core tawḥīd concepts, such as qadar (divine decree), ṣabr (patience), tawakkul (dependence on God), and riḍā (willingness), undergo a renewal of meaning, actively and contextually interpreted by the informants. These concepts are no longer merely understood as theological doctrines; rather, they are envisioned as ethical sources, spiritual mechanisms, and expressions of moral agency that help people reconstruct their lives, heal wounds, and make decisions after divorce. In this context, tawḥīd serves as a living epistemology that shapes women’s spiritual resilience and religious autonomy. This study paves the way for developing a more ethical, empathetic, and experience-based theology of Islamic family law by positioning women’s spirituality as an epistemic subject that actively interprets religious law to achieve substantive justice.