Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and Sustainable Development Goals in the MUI Fatwa on Zakat Investment

Background/Introduction: The growing significance of Islamic social finance in promoting socioeconomic welfare calls for a rigorous examination of the legal framework governing productive zakat investment. MUI Fatwa No. 4/2003 on istiṯmār provides a normative basis for examining this practice in relation to distributive justice, Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research Objectives: This study examines the normative construction of productive zakat in MUI Fatwa No. 4/2003 and its conceptual convergence with Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah and selected SDG priorities. Methodology: This study employs a qualitative document-based design through close reading and content analysis of the fatwa’s considerations, legal bases, and operative dictums, supported by relevant secondary literature. Results: The fatwa constructs productive zakat as a regulated policy model organized around six themes: the permissibility of istiṯmār, the balance between immediate and delayed distribution, the centrality of maṣlaḥah shar‘īyah, the role of the state and amil, the protection of mustaḥiq, and time limits with risk controls. The findings reveal selective and conditional convergence with SDGs 1, 2, 8, 10, 16, and 17, mediated by strict institutional safeguards. Unique Contribution: This study identifies how the fatwa’s legal construction connects classical fiqh al-zakāh with contemporary development priorities through a conditional framework grounded in Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah and beneficiary protection. Conclusion: MUI Fatwa No. 4/2003 provides a legal-policy bridge between zakat jurisprudence and sustainable development, offering potential pathways for social transformation under appropriate institutional discipline. Recommendations: Zakat institutions should strengthen professional management, accountability, beneficiary protection, investment risk controls, and compliance with distribution priorities and time limits