Integrating Classical Islamic Scholarship with the Sustainable Development Goals: A Narrative and Thematic Review

Abstract

This investigation examines the Sustainable Development Goals and their alignment with classical Muslim scholarship, like Ibn Khaldun, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, and Ibn Sina. The contemporary academic discourse is largely secular, with strands focusing decades on Islamic finance, for example, or maqāsid al-sharīʿah. However, the literature on Islamic classical thought and modern development is very rare. Using the narrative review, the author has engaged in primary and secondary social justice, human development, economic and finance ethics, governance, and the environment from the classical manuscripts and from Scopus and Google Scholar to social justice, human development, and the environment that is secondary in the literature. The results of classical social scholars in their discourse have emphasized the social development goals of justice, equity, education, public welfare, balanced governance, and environmental moral governance. Ibn Khaldun’s concepts of ‘umran and ‘asabiyyah, Al-Farabi’s vision of the virtuous city, the political theodemocracy of Al-Ghazali, ethical economics, and the holistic health of Ibn Sina with the environment offer an ethical vision for inclusive and sustainable development. The mapping of these themes has signified that classical Islamic thought is congruent with the contemporary development of public policies in the rest of the Muslim world, especially with those pillars of social development. This research enhances the conversation regarding development by detailing the historical perspectives of Islam and distilling actionable lessons for modern governance, education, social welfare, and sustainability.