Volume II: Law, Policy, and Ecological Justice

Reconstructing the Principle of Israf Prohibition in Islamic Economic Law through and Islamic Ecotheological Framework for Sustainable Circular Economy Development in the Multipolar Era

  • Ahmad Rifai UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

israf, Islamic ecotheology, circular economy, Islamic economic law, multipolar era.

Abstract

Within conventional Islamic economic discourse, the prohibition of israf excessive resource use beyond reasonable limits has predominantly been conceptualized as an ethical injunction rather than as a systemic component of legal economic architecture. This study identifies a critical research gap concerning the absence of a legal framework capable of operationalizing the israf prohibition as an instrument of environmental governance and circular economy policy. This study aims to reconstruct the principle of israf prohibition in Islamic economic law by developing an Islamic ecotheological framework that serves as a normative foundation for the development of a sustainable circular economy in the multipolar era. A qualitative approach was employed, comprising content analysis of primary Islamic textual sources (the Qur'an, Hadith, and contemporary ijtihad) and a comparative analysis of the global circular economy literature. Realistic simulation data were utilized to assess the projected effectiveness of the proposed framework. Reconstructing the israf principle through the dimensions of tawhid, khilafah, and mizan yields a holistic Islamic ecotheological framework. Systemic implementation of this framework is projected to improve resource efficiency by 71%, reduce emissions by 47%, and increase circular economy rates by up to 62%. The proposed framework offers a normatively coherent response to multipolar geopolitical pressures that threaten the cultural resilience and resource sovereignty of Muslim-majority nations, and provides a basis for policy formulation in environmental governance and circular economy development. This study demonstrates that Islamic ecotheology constitutes not merely an ethical perspective but a normative legal system, offering an epistemic alternative to the dominant Western linear economic model and addressing a gap left unaddressed by prior research integrating israf, ecotheology, and the circular economy.

References

  1. Abdelgalil, R. I. (2024). A Conceptual And Textual Analysis Of Israf (Excessiveness) In The Qur’an And The
  2. New Testament. Afkar, 26(2), 413–450. https://doi.org/10.22452/afkar.vol26no2.12
  3. Ahmad, N. B. (2026). Militarism, Climate Emissions, and Islamic Environmental Ethics: A Transnational
  4. Perspective on Demilitarization and Ecological Justice. In Cambridge Handbook of Islam and
  5. Environmental Law (bll 74–81). https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009332118.010
  6. Almas, U. (2024). Larangan Berbuat Israf, Tabzir, Fasad Dan Relevansinya Dengan Problematika Sampah
  7. (Studi Analisis Pendekatan Tafsir Maqasidi). digilib.uin-suka.ac.id. https://digilib.uin-
  8. suka.ac.id/id/eprint/68254/
  9. Arafa, M. A. (2026). Environmental Stewardship in Islamic Law: Principles, Institutions, and Ecological
  10. Governance in the Muslim World. In Cambridge Handbook of Islam and Environmental Law (bll 37–47).
  11. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009332118.007
  12. Avdeew, Y. (2022). Optimal selection of multipolar electrode configurations for nerve burst detection. In
  13. Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology
  14. Society EMBS (Vol 2022, bll 4123–4126). https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC48229.2022.9871144
  15. Chen, X. (2022). Rethinking Cultural Creativity and Tourism Resilience in the Post-Pandemic Era in Chinese
  16. Traditional Villages. Sustainability Switzerland, 14(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912371
  17. Clarke, N. J. (2020). Cultural resilience and the Smart and Sustainable City: Exploring changing concepts on built
  18. heritage and urban redevelopment. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 9(2), 144–155.
  19. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-09-2017-0041
  20. Fuadi, F., Zulkarnain, Z., Boihaqi, B., & ... (2024). Israf and Tabzir in Tafsir Al-Misbah: The Understanding of
  21. Pidie Jaya Community Leaders and Its Implications for Consumption in Aceh. TAFSE: Journal of Qur’ ….
  22. https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/tafse/article/view/28851
  23. Gligor, D. (2019). Achieving customer engagement with social media: A qualitative comparative analysis
  24. approach. Journal of Business Research, 101, 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.04.006
  25. Harvey, C., Maclean, M., & Price, M. (2020). Executive remuneration and the limits of disclosure as an instrument
  26. of corporate governanc e. Critical Perspectives on Accounting .
  27. ICON-IMAD XV Proceedings · Volume II · 2026| 149
  28. International Conference on Islam in the Malay World (ICON-IMAD XV), 2026
  29. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235418300418
  30. Hassan, N. H. M., Ahmad, K., & ... (2022). Developing and validating instrument for data integration governance
  31. framework. International Journal of ….
  32. https://search.proquest.com/openview/d9d72dd1b72f456e16af77d2cb36bd22/1?pq-
  33. origsite=gscholar&cbl=5444811
  34. Lestari, A., & Azizah, A. (2025). The prohibition of Israf in QS. Al-A’raf Verse 31 and Its Relevance to
  35. Environmental Conservation. Proceeding ISETH (International … .
  36. https://proceedings.ums.ac.id/iseth/article/view/6886
  37. Najah, M. (2024). Israf Dalam Hadis Nabi Dan Relevansinya Dengan Perilaku Konsumtif. digilib.uin-suka.ac.id.
  38. https://digilib.uin-suka.ac.id/id/eprint/70394/
  39. Ngu, K. (2024). When Indigenous Religious Traditions and Environmentalism Collide in Southeast Asia: Faizah
  40. Zakaria, The Camphor Tree and the Elephant: Religion and Ecological Change in Maritime Southeast Asia.
  41. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2023.: Will Smith, Mountains of Blame: Climate and Culpability
  42. in the Philippine Uplands. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2020.: Teren Sevea, Miracles and
  43. Material Life: Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge
  44. Press, 2020. In Critical Asian Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2024.2416457
  45. Pian, O., & Nadhiran, H. (2025). Pemahaman Hadis Israf Dan Korelasinya Dengan Fanatisme Netizen. Ta’wiluna:
  46. Jurnal Ilmu Al-Qur’an, Tafsir dan …. https://ejournal.iaifa.ac.id/index.php/takwiluna/article/view/1938
  47. Pomeranz, E. F., & Stedman, R. C. (2020). Measuring good governance: piloting an instrument for evaluating
  48. good governance principles. Journal of Environmental Policy & … .
  49. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2020.1753181
  50. Ratna, A. H. F. (2020). Analysis of Islamic Center Planning with Ecological Architecture Approach in Kendari
  51. City. In Iop Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering (Vol 797, Number 1).
  52. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/797/1/012027
  53. Roller, M. R. (2019). A quality approach to qualitative content analysis: Similarities and differences compared to
  54. other qualitative methods. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-
  55. 20.3.3385
  56. Sari, S. K., Kirana, A. P., & Karyono, O. (2025). Overcoming Israf: An Exploration Of Frugal Living Within The
  57. Framework Of Hif dz Al-Mal. ADILLA: Jurnal Ilmiah … . https://e-
  58. jurnal.unisda.ac.id/index.php/adilla/article/view/7322
  59. Shalihin, N. (2025). The Film of Jejak Khilafah di Nusantara (JKDN): Claim of Islamic Caliphate’s History in
  60. Indonesia. Dirasat Human and Social Sciences, 52(2), 337–356. https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v52i2.3076
  61. Singh, R. K. (2020). Evidence that cultural food practices of Adi women in Arunachal Pradesh, India, improve
  62. social-ecological resilience: insights for Sustainable Development Goals. Ecological Processes, 9(1).
  63. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-020-00232-x
  64. Sya’roni, M. (2025). Ecotheological Insights from Prophetic Hadiths: Reframing Islamic Environmental Ethics
  65. Based on SDGs. Pharos Journal of Theology , 106(5), 1–14.
  66. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105027985478&origin=inward
  67. Tavakkoli, S. N. (2024). Considering Futile Treatment as Extravagance and Approving its Illegitimacy: A
  68. Comparative Study of Medical Ethics and Islamic Jurisprudence. Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and
  69. History of Medicine , 17(1).
  70. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85206007632&origin=inward
  71. Tümer, E. İ., Aytop, Y., & Yavuz, K. B. (2019). Ekmek İsraf Etme Durumunun ve İsrafta Etkili Olan Faktörlerin
  72. Belirlenmesi: Kahramanmaraş Kent Merkezi Örneği. Turkish Journal of Agricultural and ….
  73. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/turkjans/article/595223
  74. Warman, A. B. (2026). From Myth to Maṣlaḥah: Customary Prohibitions, Islamic Legal Principles, and
  75. Ecological Sustainability in Minangkab au. Samarah, 10(1), 321–343.
  76. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v10.i1.31920
  77. Zheng, P. (2020). Cultural Variations in Resilience Capacity and Posttraumatic Stress: A Tri-Cultural
  78. Comparison. Cross Cultural Research, 54(2), 273–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397119887669
Scroll to Top