Islamic Theological Approaches to Sustainable Consumption

This article develops an Islamic theological approach to sustainable consumption by examining the Manggadong tradition as a culturally embedded practice of moral sufficiency in Batak society. The problem addressed in this study concerns the tendency to understand sustainable consumption primarily through technical, environmental, or policy-oriented frameworks, while overlooking the role of religious ethics, local food traditions, and communicative value transmission in shaping everyday consumption behaviour. This study argues that sustainable consumption requires not only behavioural adjustment, but also theological reflection, cultural enculturation, and participatory communication. A descriptive qualitative design was employed through literature-based inquiry by analysing Qur’anic verses, prophetic teachings, Islamic exegetical sources, cultural documentation on Manggadong, and scholarly works on sustainable consumption, local wisdom, and the Information, Education, and Communication framework. The textual analysis show that Islamic theology provides a moral grammar of consumption through moderation, gratitude, barakah, restraint, distributive responsibility, and social care. Manggadong embodies these values through the practice of consuming cassava before rice, which functions as an intergenerational lesson in sufficiency, respect for local food, and disciplined consumption. The IEC framework further enables these theological and cultural meanings to be translated into sustainable consumption literacy through household education, community dialogue, religious communication, school-based cultural learning, and digital media. This study concludes that Manggadong can be positioned as a theological-cultural practice through which Islamic ethical values and Batak local wisdom jointly contribute to the formation of responsible and sustainable consumption in contemporary society.