ALIGNING MAQASID AND SDGS: A NEW METRIC FOR MEASURING ECOLOGICAL BALANCE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES
Article Sidebar
-
Ecological Balance, Socio-Economic Justice, Sustainability Metrics
Abstract
The accelerating crises of environmental degradation and social inequality demand development frameworks that integrate ethical, ecological, and socio-economic dimensions. In Muslim-majority countries, conventional development metrics often fail to reflect Islamic commitments to justice, balance, and collective welfare. The maqasid al-shari‘ah framework, which emphasizes the protection of faith, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth, offers a holistic ethical foundation that aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study responds to the need for a measurement tool that integrates these two paradigms in assessing sustainable development. The research develops a Maqasid–SDG Alignment Index (MSAI) to evaluate ecological balance and socio-economic justice at the national level. Its objectives include identifying conceptual convergence between maqasid principles and SDG targets, constructing composite indicators, and testing the index’s analytical robustness. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining conceptual mapping, statistical modeling, and expert validation. Content analysis is used to determine thematic overlaps between maqasid domains and SDG pillars, while quantitative techniques such as normalization, weighting, and factor analysis are applied to build the index. Expert input from Islamic scholars, policymakers, and sustainability specialists refines both ethical and operational dimensions. The results reveal strong structural compatibility between maqasid values and SDG goals, especially in poverty reduction, education, environmental protection, and social justice. The MSAI also demonstrates greater capacity than conventional economic indicators to capture multidimensional sustainability patterns.
Full text article
References
Al-Mamary, Y. H., & Alshallaqi, M. (2025). Exploring the impact of economic, social, and environmental factors on sustainable entrepreneurial intentions and behavior: Insights for advancing sustainable development. Journal of Strategy & Innovation, 36(2), 200550. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsinno.2025.200550
Alemany, M. P. de A., MacLennan, M. L. F., & Gabriel, M. L. D. da S. (2025). Socio-Environmental and financial drivers of sustainable IT and E-waste management. Sustainable Futures, 10, 101263. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.101263
Amankwaa, E. F., & Danquah, M. (2025). Balancing the ban: Navigating the economic and environmental trade-offs of single-use plastics in Ghana. Journal of Environmental Management, 388, 126020. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126020
Anser, M. K., Akhtar, M. Z., Ahmad, I., Abro, M. M. Q., Naseem, I., & Zaman, K. (2025). Addressing environmental degradation and socioeconomic inequities through sustainable urban planning in Pakistan. Urban Governance, 5(2), 266–277. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ugj.2025.05.006
Bian, H., Zhao, Y., Gao, J., Shiya wen, & Sun, J. (2024). Sustainability under policy transitions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China: Historical and the shared socio-economic pathways. Habitat International, 148, 103091. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103091
Burnstine, A., & Camargo, A. (2025). Fashioning the future: Bio-based textiles, circular innovation, and sustainability in emerging markets. Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, 12, 100194. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clcb.2025.100194
Chen, M., & Xu, Z. (2024). Assessing socio-ecological fit of international environmental agreements and trade-embodied carbon flows. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 106, 107534. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2024.107534
Cirella, G. T. (2025). Visual scenario preferences as social–ecological indicators of urban rewilding support: Evidence from six Pennsylvania cities. Human Settlements and Sustainability, 1(3), 227–236. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hssust.2025.08.003
Dai, Y., Ding, Y., Fu, S., Zhang, L., Cheng, J., & Zhu, D. (2024). Analyzing the impact of natural capital on socio- economic objectives under the framework of sustainable development goals. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 104, 107322. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107322
Dillman, K. J., Heinonen, J., & Davíðsdóttir, B. (2024). Safe and just housing for all–Towards establishing a sustainable consumption corridor for housing. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 51, 79–91. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.09.002
Gong, M., Yu, K., Zhou, C., Liu, Z., Xu, Z., Xu, M., & Qu, S. (2025). SDG space: Revealing the structure and complementarities among sustainable development goals in China. Fundamental Research, 5(1), 360–369. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fmre.2024.01.005
Hegazy, B., Khodeir, L., & Fathy, F. (2025). Achieving socio-economic resilience in neighborhood through nature-based solutions: A systematic review. Results in Engineering, 25, 104266. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.104266
Narayan, M., Kumar, N., Parida, V. K., & Kumari, P. (2025). Sustainable finance in emerging markets: Adaptive governance and environmental, social, and governance innovation for equitable climate resilience. Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance, 8, 100101. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsef.2025.100101
Qiao, Z., Xu, X., Zou, W., & Huang, Y. (2024). Urban sustainable development goals and ecosystem services: Pathways to achieving coordination. Land Use Policy, 146, 107317. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107317
Rios-Ocampo, M. A., Romero, J. C., Centeno, E., & Mora, S. (2025). A just energy transition is not just a transition: Framing energy justice for a quantitative assessment. Energy Research & Social Science, 119, 103900. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103900
Sessa, E., Guarino, F., Cellura, M., & Riva Sanseverino, E. (2025). Climate neutral cities in the landscape of sustainability, climate justice, and decarbonization: a literature review. Energy Reports, 14, 3657–3672. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2025.10.025
Shahzad, U., Tiwari, S., Si Mohammed, K., & Zenchenko, S. (2024). Asymmetric nexus between renewable energy, economic progress, and ecological issues: Testing the LCC hypothesis in the context of sustainability perspective. Gondwana Research, 129, 465–475. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2023.07.008
Shimhanda, M. N., Mogomotsi, P. K., Rutina, L. P., & Thakadu, O. T. (2025). Exploring Stakeholder Perceptions of Wildlife Tourism in the Mudumu North Complex, Namibia, Zambezi region, Namibia: Implications for Sustainable Community-Based Conservation. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 100268. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2025.100268
Shiri, Z., Le, Q. B., Ouerghemmi, H., & Rejeb, H. (2025). Landscape approaches for sustainable land systems: A critical systematic review of frameworks, governance, and socio-ecological outcomes. Landscape Architecture and Sustainability, 2, 100007. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.las.2025.100007
Terra dos Santos, L. C., Giannetti, B. F., Agostinho, F., & Almeida, C. M. V. B. (2025). Modeling a comprehensive multi-criteria, multi-period framework for assessing global sustainability performance: Insights from 164 selected countries. Ecological Modelling, 507, 111167. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111167
Ullah, A., & Khan, S. (2025). The interplay of energy justice, fossil fuel energy, and financial development with the moderating role of green investment funding on crude oil price fluctuations in G20 countries. Energy, 339, 138945. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.138945
Wang, L., Pal, S., Mahalik, M. K., & Gozgor, G. (2025). Empowering sustainable development in emerging economies: The role of renewable energy and domestic investment. Energy Economics, 148, 108631. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108631
Wang, W., & Yang, G. (2025). Sustainable carrying capacity: Integrating SDGs to assess evidence of sustainable development: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 486, 144569. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144569
Wang, Y., Wang, W., Wang, J., & Zhao, X. (2025). Wealth inequality induces an inverted U-shaped pattern in China’s ecological footprint. Journal of Cleaner Production, 533, 147031. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.147031
Xu, H., Su, G., He, G., Wang, M., Bai, Y., Chen, J., Ren, M., & Long, T. (2025). Exploring the ecological potential of SDGSAT-1 MII and TIS data: Methods, applications, and comparisons. Remote Sensing of Environment, 330, 114976. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.114976
Yasmin, F., Saleem, M. A., Low, D., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M., & Dahl, S. (2025). Measuring sustainability in social enterprises: Development and validation of a multi-dimensional framework. Acta Psychologica, 254, 104807. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104807
Yeboah, S. D., Gatsi, J. G., Appiah, M. O., & Fumey, M. P. (2024). Examining the drivers of inclusive growth: A study of economic performance, environmental sustainability, and life expectancy in BRICS economies. Research in Globalization, 9, 100267. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2024.100267
Yu, D., Mu, H., & Chen, S. (2025). The “Production-Living-Ecological Spaces” and human-land relationship in poverty alleviation and relocation areas——An example of Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Ecological Indicators, 178, 114034. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114034
Yu, H., Zahidi, I., Fai, C. M., & Liang, D. (2025). From devastation to restoration: Charting the course towards sustainable mining practices. Journal of Environmental Management, 391, 126660. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126660
Zaidan, E., Truby, J., Ibrahim, I. A., & Hoppe, T. (2025). Hybrid Global Governance for Responsible and Inclusive Artificial Intelligence: Proposing a New Sustainable Development Goal 18. Technology in Society, 103159. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103159
Zhao, C., Kong, L., Zhong, C., & Ying, N. (2025). Equality in the water: How does water ecological civilization city policy enhance inclusive development in China? Cities, 156, 105555. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105555
Zhou, Q., Fang, Z., Xue, S., Cheng, C., Zhao, Q., Geng, N., Zhang, C., Jin, W., & Zhang, H. (2025). Translating planetary boundaries into city systems: Ecosystem services as metrics for safe and just production-consumption space. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 56, 66–79. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.03.013
Zhu, Y., Chen, M., Pan, M., & Ren, Z. (2025). Beyond funding: How income inequality shapes international clean energy finance’s influence on ecological carrying capacity in 114 developing countries. Journal of Environmental Management, 393, 127045. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127045
Zisopoulos, F. K., Fath, B. D., de Oliveira, B. M., Toboso-Chavero, S., D’Assenza-David, H., de Souza, V. M., Huang, H., Scrieciu, S. S., Clark, O. G., Noll, D., Singh, S., Stefanakis, A., Boyd, G., Schraven, D., & de Jong, M. (2025). Towards an ecological metaphor for regenerative circular economies. Ecological Economics, 231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108545
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Yassine Belhassen, Rania Al-Bake, Nomsa Zulu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
