A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE MEANING OF PIETY IN BUILDING MARITAL SATISFACTION IN CHILDLESS COUPLES

Reswari Adaninggar, Iriani Indri Hapsari

Abstract


A successful marriage is primarily defined by the presence of children in Indonesia's pronatalist culture. As a result, Muslim married couples who have been childless for over five years frequently face social, psychological, and spiritual pressures that might lower their happiness with their union. Despite these difficulties, some couples are able to maintain positive and fulfilling marriage ties. The goal of this research was to examine the meaning of taqwa (God-consciousness) in raising marital happiness among Muslim married couples who had been together for more than five years and did not have children.A descriptive phenomenological design was utilized in this qualitative study.Based on predetermined inclusion criteria, participants were chosen using purposive sampling. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews, member checking, source triangulation with important others, and an audit trail, data were gathered to guarantee the study's trustworthiness, dependability, and confirmability. Descriptive phenomenological methods such as epoche (bracketing), horizontalization, the formulation of meaning units, thematic clustering, textural description, structural description, and the synthesis of the essence of the phenomenon were used to analyze the data.According to the findings, taqwa was seen as a life orientation in which childlessness was viewed as part of Allah's divine decree, which had both purpose and wisdom. Forgiveness, empathetic communication, equitable role sharing, patience, thankfulness, trust in Allah (tawakkul), and a shared commitment to considering marriage as an act of worship were all examples of taqwa. The core of the occurrence showed how taqwa converted the social stresses related to childlessness into a process of spiritual development that increased marital contentment through emotional and spiritual intimacy, mutual commitment, acceptance of Allah's divine decree, and the shared interpretation of married life.

Keywords


taqwa (God-consciousness); marital satisfaction; Muslim married couples; childless couples; lived experience

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30829/jai.v15i4.31606

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