Environmental Ethics Based on Akhlaq Tasawwuf: The Perspective of Majelis Tarjih dan Tajdid Muhammadiyah
Keywords:
environmental ethics, akhlaq tasawwuf, Muhammadiyah, Majelis Tarjih, Islamic ecologyAbstract
The ecological crisis confronting contemporary Muslim societies demands a theological response that goes beyond legal prescription. This article examines how the Majelis Tarjih dan Tajdid of Muhammadiyah the principal jurisprudential body of one of the world's largest Islamic organizations constructs an environmental ethics grounded in the Sufi moral tradition (akhlaq tasawwuf). Drawing on qualitative content analysis of primary fatwa documents, official Muhammadiyah resolutions (putusan), and secondary scholarly literature, the study identifies three interlocking ethical pillars: (1) tawadu' (humility toward creation), (2) zuhd (ascetic restraint from over consumption), and (3) amanah (trusteeship of the earth). The findings reveal that Muhammadiyah's ecotheological framework integrates classical Sufi virtues with the Quranic concept of khalifah fi al-ardh (vicegerency on earth), thereby producing a distinctively Islamic environmental virtue ethics. Unlike legalistic approaches that reduce ecological duty to a set of prohibitions, the Sufi ethical approach fosters an interior disposition of care and responsibility toward the natural world. The article contributes to growing literature on Islamic environmentalism by demonstrating how a modernist-reformist movement can appropriate mystical ethics without abandoning its rationalist commitments. Practical implications for environmental education and Islamic organizational policy are discussed.
Downloads
References
[1] Nasr, S. H. (1996). Religion and the Order of Nature. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195361353.001.0001
[2] Burhani, A. N. (2010). Al-Tawassul wa al-Wasilah: Muhammadiyah's Attack on Sufi Practices in Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Studies, 21(2), 198–226. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etq002
[3] Ozdemir, I. (2003). Towards an Understanding of Environmental Ethics from a Quranic Perspective. In R. C. Foltz, F. M. Denny, & A. Baharuddin (Eds.), Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust (pp. 3–37). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674042940-002
[4] Khalid, F. (2019). Islam and the Environment: Ethics and Practice An Assessment. Religion Compass, 13(7), e12323. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12323
[5] Mas'ud, A. (2021). Muhammadiyah dan Etika Lingkungan: Antara Normatifitas dan Realitas Sosial. Jurnal Studi Agama dan Masyarakat, 17(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.23971/jsam.v17i1.2453
[6] Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
[7] Majelis Tarjih dan Tajdid PP Muhammadiyah. (2015). Fikih Air: Menuju Pengelolaan Air yang Berkeadilan. Suara Muhammadiyah.
[8] Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
[9] Murata, S., & Chittick, W. C. (1994). The Vision of Islam. Paragon House.
[10] Jamhari, & Jahroni, J. (Eds.). (2004). Gerakan Salafi Radikal di Indonesia. RajaGrafindo Persada.
[11] Syamsuddin, M. (2020). Etika Islam dan Krisis Ekologi: Kajian atas Dokumen Fikih Lingkungan Muhammadiyah. Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 58(1), 151–182. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2020.581.151-182
[12] van Bruinessen, M. (2013). Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam: Explaining the "Conservative Turn." ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814414722
[13] Fealy, G., & White, S. (Eds.). (2008). Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia. ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789812308498
[14] [14] Al-Ghazali, A. H. M. (2011). Ihya' Ulum al-Din [Revival of the Religious Sciences] (A. N. Kholeif, Trans., Vol. 3). Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah. (Original work published c. 1097)
[15] White, L., Jr. (1967). The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis. Science, 155(3767), 1203–1207. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203
[16] Foltz, R. C. (2006). Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust. Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, 10(1), 104–125. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853506775973957
[17] Chittick, W. C. (2007). Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul: The Pertinence of Islamic Cosmology in the Modern World. Oneworld Publications.
[18] Haq, S. N. (2001). Islam and Ecology: Toward Retrieval and Reconstruction. Daedalus, 130(4), 141–177. https://doi.org/10.1162/001152601753310575
[19] Sandler, R. L. (2012). Character and Environment: A Virtue-Oriented Approach to Environmental Ethics. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/sand14914
[20] Ramadhan, M. F., & Utami, D. R. (2022). Religiusitas dan Perilaku Lingkungan pada Komunitas Muslim di Jawa: Sebuah Kajian Empiris. Jurnal Psikologi Islam dan Budaya, 5(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpib.v5i1.14520
[21] Izzi Dien, M. (2000). The Environmental Dimensions of Islam. Lutterworth Press.
[22] Nasr, S. H. (2007). The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity. HarperOne.
[23] Hossain, I. (2012). Islam and the Environment: A Bibliographical Survey. Journal of Islamic Studies, 23(1), 60–99. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etr071
