From Divine Trust to Sustainable Civilization: Reconstructing Consumption Ethics Through Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in the Anthropocene

Abstract

The Anthropocene has intensified scholarly concern regarding unsustainable consumption, ecological degradation, and growing inequalities within global food systems. Sustainability discourse has generated significant theoretical and policy responses, yet much of it emphasizes technology and regulation and pays comparatively less attention to the moral dimensions of consumption. This article proposes that Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah can inform the reconstruction of consumption ethics by framing consumption as a moral responsibility grounded in stewardship, accountability, gratitude, and justice. Drawing on qualitative and conceptual methods, the study undertakes textual analysis of the Qur’an, Prophetic traditions, and maqāṣid scholarship, complemented by comparative engagement with sustainability theory and environmental ethics. It examines the ethical significance of resource use, moderation, and human responsibility in relation to ecological challenges, with attention to food waste as an illustrative case of the wider consumption-ethics problem. The study finds that the Qur’anic moral economy and the objectives of Islamic law offer an integrated vision linking individual behavior, social welfare, environmental stewardship, and civilizational flourishing. Building on these insights, the article proposes the Maqāṣid-Based Sustainable Consumption Framework (MSCF), a conceptual model connecting divine trust, gratitude, moderation, responsible consumption, social justice, and ecological responsibility. The sequence and relationships within this framework are conceptual and remain to be tested empirically. The article concludes that sustainability requires ethical transformation alongside technological adaptation, and that Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah offers a relevant conceptual resource for thinking about sustainable civilization in an age of ecological crisis.