Volume I: Eco-Theology, Spirituality, and Environmental Ethics

Reconstructing the Ecological Tafsir Paradigm Based on Qur’anic Cosmology: A Comparative Study of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb and Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabā’ī’s al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān

  • Nida Husna Abdul Malik Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Riyadul Ulum Condong, Tasikmalaya, Indonesia

Keywords

ecological tafsir, Qur’anic cosmology, al-Rāzī, al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī, Islamic eco-theology.

Abstract

This study aims to reconstruct the ecological tafsir paradigm based on Qur’anic cosmology through a comparative analysis of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb and Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabā’ī’s al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān. The research is motivated by the global ecological crisis, which is not merely a material problem but also an epistemological crisis concerning the relationship between God, humanity, and nature. This study employs a qualitative library research design using philosophical-hermeneutical analysis and interpretative comparative methods applied to Qur’anic cosmological verses as interpreted by both exegetes. The findings reveal that al-Rāzī constructs a rational-theological ecological cosmology in which nature functions as a burhān (proof) of divine existence, whereas Ṭabāṭabā’ī develops a systemic Qur’anic cosmology that views nature as an interconnected network of meanings governed by the principle of balance (mīzān). The synthesis of both approaches results in an integrated Qur’anic ecological paradigm that unifies ontological, epistemological, ethical, and praxeological dimensions within a coherent interpretative framework. This study concludes that ecology in the Qur’anic perspective is not merely an environmental ethical issue but an intrinsic cosmological structure of tafsir itself. Its main contribution is the formulation of the “Qur’anic Ecological Tafsir Model,” which provides a theoretical foundation for contemporary Islamic eco-theology in addressing the global environmental crisis.

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