Protection of Families Affected by the Mount Semeru Eruption: A Disaster Fiqh Perspective on the MDMC Lumajang Response

The 2021 eruption of Mount Semeru not only destroyed homes but also severed the social and economic networks of thousands of families in Lumajang Regency, demanding a disaster response grounded in Islamic normative principles alongside technical capacity. Muhammadiyah, through the Himpunan Putusan Tarjih (HPT), has formulated Disaster Fiqh as an ethical framework to safeguard the rights of disaster victims, yet studies examining how far humanitarian organizations’ field practices align with this framework at the family level remain scarce. This study analyzes the forms of family protection provided to Mount Semeru eruption survivors by the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC) of PDM Lumajang and their conformity with the six disaster-victim rights articulated in the HPT. Using a qualitative normative-empirical approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with MDMC officials, volunteers, and affected families, supported by field observations and documentation studies, and analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman. The findings show that family protection encompassed preparedness and mitigation, protection of vulnerable family members, fulfillment of basic needs, socio-economic recovery, family involvement in disaster governance, and resilience-building. From the perspective of Disaster Fiqh, conformity was rated compliant for the rights to manage vulnerabilities and to emergency assistance; partially compliant for the rights to manage disaster risk, to rehabilitation and reconstruction, and to implement the disaster management system; and not yet compliant for the right to resilience. The most significant gaps trace back to two interrelated problems: the long-term economic recovery of land-dependent families and the absence of family involvement in decisions on assistance and relocation. This study underscores the importance of collaboration among the government, MDMC, and Lazismu in realizing participatory and sustainable family protection in accordance with the principles of Disaster Fiqh.