Coastal Reclamation in the Frame of Islamic Perspective of Maqāṣid Sharī'ah to Preserve Environmental Sustainability

One way of procuring new land in Indonesia is through the reclamation of coastal areas in several regions in order to increase the benefits of land resources and to answer the needs for land due to the high population,especially in coastal areas, by landfilling and draining. This raises a number of crucial problems, including the biodiversity extinction of various mangrove species, seagrass beds, species of fish, shellfish, crabs, birds, and various other living things; the increased potential for flooding and rob coupled with rising sea levels due to global warming; the changes of the level of slope, the composition of river sediments, patterns of tidal and ocean currents along the coast; the damage of water management area; and the changes of landscape (geomorphology) and water flow (hydrology) in the reclamation area and its surroundings. Disruption of the ecosystem's balance on a large scale can ultimately lead to the total destruction of our planet. The reclamation that causes large scale damages to the planet does not only contradict to Islamic law’s objective in taking care of the environment (maqāṣid sharī’ah fi ri'āyah al-bī'ah) but also contrary with Islamic law’s objectives in preserving one’s soul, lineage, intelligence, wealth, and honor (maqāṣid sharī’ah fi hifẓ al-nafs wa al-nasl wa al-‘aql wa al-māl wa al-‘irḍ)