From Revelation to Sustainability: Al-Rāzī And Muhammad Quraish Shihab’s Ecological Exegesis on Global Environmental Issues

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how two exegetical works from different eras, Mafātiḥ al-Ghayb by Fakhruddin al-Rāzī and Tafsir al-Mishbah by M. Quraish Shihab, interpret Quranic verses regarding the natural environment, while exploring their intersections with maqāṣidī perspectives, ecotheological dimensions, and green economy principles. This study employs a library research method with a thematic-comparative exegesis approach, utilizing a descriptive-analytical framework applied to both tafsīr works as primary sources, supported by secondary literature on contemporary ecological exegesis. The findings demonstrate that al-Rāzī interprets environmental verses through a rational-philosophical approach, framing environmental degradation as a consequence of deviations from tawḥīd. Meanwhile, Shihab articulates it through a contextual-ethical lens based on the principles of balance, the mandate of stewardship, and the prohibition of extravagance. These two approaches are found to complement each other within a multi-layered normative derivation structure, originating from an ecotheological foundation, elevated into legal objectives, and operationalized into green economy principles. This research contributes an integrative conceptual framework that bridges classical and contemporary exegesis in responding to the global ecological crisis, while enriching the discourses on Islamic environmental ethics and Quranic value-based green economy.