Reformulating Islamic Inheritance Law for Social Media Accounts as Digital Assets: An Empirical Study in Parepare, Indonesia

Nailah Farafizah Poga; Iin Mutmainnah; Nur Mizwary Mustamin; Nurdalia Bate; Rahmawati

doi:10.31332/kalosara.v6i1.14030

Authors

Nailah Farafizah Poga Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare, Indonesia
Iin Mutmainnah Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare, Indonesia
Nur Mizwary Mustamin College of Shariah, Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Nurdalia Bate Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare, Indonesia
Rahmawati Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31332/kalosara.v6i1.14030

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital life has produced a new inheritance dilemma: social media accounts may outlive their owners as economically productive assets, while legal systems remain unprepared to regulate their posthumous transfer and management. This study aims to formulate an Islamic inheritance law framework for social media accounts as digital assets through a case study in Parepare City, Indonesia. It employs an empirical juridical design with a case-study approach involving 17 purposively selected participants, consisting of 15 influencers, one religious court judge, and one legal academic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings reveal that social media accounts have developed into economically valuable digital assets through monetization, endorsements, and online commercial activities, and that most participants regard such accounts as inheritable when they have identifiable ownership, measurable economic value, and lawful benefit. The study further finds that the main challenge lies not in the normative legitimacy of inheriting such assets, but in the lack of clear mechanisms for ownership verification, lawful access, managerial authority, privacy protection, and the distribution of continuing economic benefits after death. The discussion shows that Islamic inheritance law is conceptually flexible enough to accommodate these assets through the concepts of al-māl, qiyās, and maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah, but remains operationally underdeveloped in regulating their posthumous management. This study implies the need for normative-technical reform through explicit recognition of economically valuable social media accounts as inheritance objects, clearer distinction between economic rights and access rights, stronger use of digital wills, and a more defined role for religious courts in digital inheritance disputes.

Keywords: digital assets; islamic inheritance law; social media accounts.

Author Biographies

Iin Mutmainnah, Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare

This means there is no restriction that inherited assets must be tangible. Therefore, intangible digital assets such as social media accounts that have economic, social, or symbolic value can be categorized as inherited assets. Naturally, every individual desires that the transfer of management of assets be given to a reliable person.

Nurdalia Bate, Fakultas Syariah dan Ilmu Hukum Islam, IAIN Parepare

Arkan al-Irts (pillars of inheritance) consist of: 1) Al-Muwarrits (those who leave inheritance), namely a person who dies, where the heirs he has the right to inherit the assets he left behind. 2) Al-Waris (Heirs), namely, people who have the right to receive inheritance from the testator. This right arises due to kinship ties (nasab), marriage ties, or others. 3) Al-Mauruts (Inheritance), namely all types of valuable inheritance from the testator in the form of objects or other ownership in the form of money, land, buildings, shares, jewelry, and so on.