The decree was enacted upon the advice of the now-defunct Commission on National Integration since Muslims (along with non-Christian indigenous peoples) would have only been allowed to get married under their customs and traditions until 1980 as originally stipulated in the Civil Code of the Philippines.

The same also allows Muslims to avail of divorce contrary to the Family Code of the Philippines which bares most non-Muslim Filipinos from legally ending their marriage.

[6] Under the Muslim code a husband may seek for a "perpetual divorce" from his wife or invoke li'an to end his marriage if his spouse commits adultery.

[6] While polygamy is allowed under the code, a Muslim man could only marry a second wife with permission of a sharia court and could still be charged with bigamy without satisfying this prerequisite.

[12][13] Under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, five Shari'ah District Courts were established in the Philippines, all of which has territorial jurisdiction over areas in Mindanao.