Volume II: Law, Policy, and Ecological Justice

Toward an Eco-Theological Jurisprudence of Cultivated Meat: Jaser Auda’s Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah as Framework for Sustainable Food Ethics

  • Mualim UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

Cultivated Meat; Islamic Law; Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah; Jasser Auda; Eco-Theology; Sustainable Food Governance; Islamic Bioethics; Food Security.

Abstract

The emergence of cultivated meat represents one of the most significant biotechnological innovations reshaping global food systems, while simultaneously challenging the epistemological foundations of classical Islamic jurisprudence governing food ethics. Existing Islamic legal discourse has predominantly evaluated cultivated meat through a narrow framework of ritual permissibility (ḥalāl) and purity (ṭahārah), paying comparatively limited attention to broader objectives of Islamic law concerning environmental sustainability, food security, public welfare, and ecological responsibility. This article proposes an eco-theological reconstruction of Jasser Auda's systems-based Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah as an integrative framework for evaluating cultivated meat within contemporary Islamic legal thought. Employing a qualitative doctrinal-philosophical approach, the study critically synthesizes classical and contemporary Islamic legal scholarship, literature on cellular agriculture, Islamic environmental ethics (fiqh al-bī'ah), and sustainable food governance. The analysis applies Auda's multidimensional systems approach—particularly its cognitive, holistic, openness, and purposefulness features— to reinterpret the five essential objectives of the Sharī'ah in relation to emerging food biotechnology. The findings demonstrate that cultivated meat cannot be adequately assessed solely through conventional legal categories of lawful and unlawful consumption. Instead, its legitimacy depends upon a multidimensional evaluation encompassing the protection of religion (ḥifẓ al-dīn), human life (ḥifẓ al-nafs), intellect (ḥifẓ al-'aql), progeny (ḥifẓ al-nasl), wealth (ḥifẓ al-māl), environmental stewardship, and intergenerational justice. Integrating eco- theological principles of khilāfah, amānah, and mīzān further strengthens the argument that Islamic jurisprudence possesses sufficient methodological flexibility to respond constructively to emerging food technologies while maintaining fidelity to its ethical foundations. This study contributes to contemporary Islamic bioethics by proposing an integrated Eco-Theological Maqāṣid Framework capable of informing halal governance, sustainable food policy, and future regulatory development for Muslim-majority societies confronting global food security challenges.

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