Reconstructing Development Success Through the Lens of Maqashid Syariah

For nearly a decade, the global economic development discourse has been trapped in a single dogma that worships Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole indicator of a nation’s development success. When GDP growth figures soar, a country is immediately labelled as successful and advanced. Yet, behind the glitter of these statistical figures, a dark reality often lies hidden, encompassing severe ecosystem damage, the degradation of public morality, and widening social inequality between giant corporations and ordinary citizens. Islamic development economics offers a fundamental deconstruction of this materialistic indicator through the holistic lens of Maqashid Syariah.

Maqashid Syariah, in Islamic scholarly terminology, refers to the intentions, objectives, and secrets behind the establishment of Islamic law, which universally aim to achieve true human welfare (maslahah) and prevent all forms of corruption (mafsadah). The father of classical Islamic economic thought, Imam Al-Ghazali, brilliantly formulated that the welfare of humanity lies in the preservation of five basic elements of life. These five elements are the protection of religion (hifdz ad-din), the protection of life (hifdz an-nafs), the protection of intellect (hifdz al-aql), the protection of progeny (hifdz an-nasl), and the protection of wealth (hifdz al-mal).

If we adopt this thinking into contemporary economic policy, a country cannot be deemed successful in its development if high economic growth is achieved through the collapse of divine values and morality, thus failing in the aspect of hifdz ad-din. Sharia-compliant development must guarantee the freedom of safe worship and the upholding of ethical justice in the public sphere. The second element, hifdz an-nafs (protecting life), demands that the state provide guarantees for public health stability, access to highly nutritious food free from harmful chemicals, and a clean and sustainable living environment. The third aspect, hifdz al-aql (protecting intellect), obliges the government to prioritise development budgets to provide high-quality and inclusive education access for all levels of society without exception. The human mind must be protected from degradation and exposure to harmful content through the provision of a healthy literacy ecosystem. Meanwhile, the element of hifdz an-nasl (protecting progeny) directs development policies towards protecting the institution of the family, the morality of the younger generation from promiscuity and narcotics, and the preparation of decent employment for the future of the nation’s children and grandchildren. Finally, hifdz al-mal (protecting wealth) demands legal certainty over asset ownership, protection from exploitative cartel monopoly practices, and a fair taxation and financial system.

This Maqashid Syariah-based development concept essentially has a very strong intersection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda being promoted by the United Nations (UN). However, the Sharia indicators possess an absolute advantage in the form of a theological and spiritual value foundation that binds human consciousness not only in this world but also to accountability in the hereafter. Secular development often neglects the dimension of spirituality, thereby producing modern humans who are materially wealthy but suffer from spiritual emptiness and an existential crisis.

To ground this grand idea into practical reality, Islamic economics scholars at various universities are now actively formulating an Islamic Human Development Index (I-HDI). This indicator combines material achievements such as per capita income with non-material variables like the level of family resilience, a new legal justice index, and the level of public religious participation. Through the implementation of the I-HDI, the direction of national development planning policies designed by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) is expected to shift towards being more humanist, balanced, and oriented towards long-term public welfare.

In conclusion, the Maqashid Syariah paradigm asserts that humans are both the main subject and object of the development process, not merely a small cog in the industrial capitalism machine. The time has come to end the excessive worship of GDP figures alone. By shifting to this holistic and comprehensive development indicator, Indonesia has a significant opportunity to give birth to a new civilisation that is not only physically and technologically advanced but also morally noble, socially just, and filled with an abundance of divine blessings.