Guardians of the Earth: Climate Action Through the Lens of Maqasid al-Shariah

Observations from Ar. (Dr.) Serina Hijjas, CGM Council member

This Year’s Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Roundtable, themed Guardians of the Earth: Climate Action Through the Lens of Maqasid al-Shariah convened in Kuala Lumpur on the 30 September with leading global scholars, thought leaders, and policymakers & financial stewards to explore ethical and moral imperatives in addressing the climate crisis and advancing sustainable development through the Len’s of the Maqasid al -Shariah. The roundtable was centered on the discussions aligning fiduciary duties with Islamic principles to drive impact investing, with an emphasis on embedding climate and sustainability factors into capital market structures and investment evaluation. This comes at a pivotal point at the very tipping point of climate change.

The Patron of OCIS, His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, opened the roundtable with an formidable speech, amongst leaders in attendance was His Excellency President Abdullah Gul and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah who had travelled from Turkey and Kuwait, Council members of Oxford Islamic Studies, the Governor of Bank Negara Dato’ Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Alderman Kawsar Zaman, Alderman for Bishopsgate, City of London and many many distinguished heads within the Malaysian financial markets.

As Vice Chair of OCIS, His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Shah, the Sultan of Perak and Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of OCIS’s speech centered around our collective role as Guardian’s of the Earth, the significance of Collective Action to turn the climate tide. Islamic Finance can play a leading role and His Royal Highness delivered an inspirational and imperative keynote. The Securities Commission's pioneering work here in Malaysia, in creating a Sustainable and Responsible Investment Sukuk framework has led to a proliferation of Green Sukuk bonds for Environmental Projects. 

A Special Talk on the agenda for this 16^th Roundtable was the delivery on Designing for Divine Stewardship: Architecture, Ethic and Environmental Responsibility by Architect Dr. Serina Hijjas, Principal at Hijjas Architects and council member at Climate Governance Malaysia & president of the Malaysia Green Building Council. This talk was envisioned to set an inspiring tone to the roundtable discussions bridging the principles of sustainable design with the spiritual and ethical dimensions of environmental guardianship. The environment is an Amānah and humanity's role is Khilāfah as vicegerency or stewardship on earth. From Planetry Boundaries, Climate effects, designing to climate responsiveness and ecological design, the talk provided solutions to address climate effects with ecologically responsive architecture. The roundtable explores Bridging Fiduciary Duty & Islamic Ethics.

How can regulators, capital market participants, and asset managers reconceive fiduciary duty in a way consistent with Islamic values—especially when sustainability, climate risk , and long-term stewardship are involved?, and long-term stewardship are involved?

Embedding ESG & Climate into Capital Market StructuresThe dialogues probed how market instruments (e.g., sukuk, green bonds, linked instruments) can be designed to embed climate risk, decarbonisation pathways, and accountability mechanisms, while remaining Shariah-compliant sustainability-linked instruments) can be designed to embed climate risk, decarbonisation pathways, and accountability mechanisms, while remaining Shariah-compliant.

The overall sentiments  of the16^th SC-OCIS Roundtable expresses a strong desire for innovative, Shariah-compliant financial frameworks to fund climate resilience and adaptation, emphasizing the need for action beyond typical sustainability investments. This aligns with the Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) broader efforts, which include introducing its Maqasid Al-Shariah Guidance to integrate Islamic principles into finance and address societal and planetary needs. The call highlights a critical need to develop and implement financial tools that truly serve as “Guardians of the Earth”. 

View the full script here.