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

The Prohibition of Israf as an Ethical Framework for Food Waste Reduction: A Comparative Case Study of Sururon and At-Thoriq Islamic Boarding Schools, Garut, West Java

  • Atep Muhammad Lutfi UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

israf; food waste; circular economy; pesantren; Islamic environmental ethics; maqasid al-shariah; eco-theology; comparative case study

Abstract

Food waste constitutes a critical ecological and economic challenge globally, and Islamic educational institutions possess largely untapped ethical and institutional resources to address it. This study examines the Islamic prohibition of israf (extravagance and prodigality) as a theological-ethical framework for reducing food waste across two contrasting Islamic boarding schools in Garut Regency, West Java, Indonesia: Pondok Pesantren Sururon, Pasirwangi (a classical salafiyah institution, ±800 santri) and Pondok Pesantren At-Thoriq, Garut City (a modern-integrated institution, ±650 santri). Employing a qualitative comparative case study design (Yin, 2018), primary data were collected from January to September 2022 through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with 52 informants drawn from both institutions, and systematic document analysis. Findings demonstrate that both pesantren achieved significant food waste reductions despite marked differences in internalization modalities: Sururon reduced waste by 47.0% (from 48.7 to 25.8 kg/day) through theological study of classical kitab kuning texts, institutional portion-regulation, and communal peer monitoring; At-Thoriq achieved a 40.4% reduction (from 41.3 to 24.6 kg/day) through a structured eco-curriculum, formal Student Eco- Council governance, and enrollment-based sustainability pledges. Cross-case synthesis reveals a shared four-layer israf–circular economy (CE) integration model encompassing an ethical-theological foundation, prevention systems, resource recovery and circulation, and a sustainability education layer—with contextual variations shaped by institutional typology. At-Thoriq’s recovery pathway distinctively incorporated urban aquaponics alongside composting, while Sururon deployed biogas generation and sadaqah-driven food redistribution. The study contributes empirical grounding to the theoretical alignment between maqasid al-shariah and CE principles, establishes the transferability of the israf-CE model across pesantren typologies, and advances the understanding of pesantren as contextually adaptive laboratories of Islamic environmental governance with significant replication potential across the Malay-Islamic world.

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