Divine stewardship: Developing an ecological vision from Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysics

Background: Contemporary Islamic ecological scholarship has increasingly examined the environmental implications of Islamic cosmology and Sufi metaphysics. Although previous studies have explored concepts such as tajallī, khalīfah, and the spiritual significance of nature, the relationships among divine manifestation, human embeddedness in the cosmos, and ethical responsibility warrant further systematic articulation. This study develops divine stewardship as a contemporary analytical framework derived from an ecological interpretation of Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysics. Methods: The study employs a qualitative textual-interpretive design grounded in philosophical hermeneutics. Fifteen purposively selected textual units from al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, drawn from fifteen chapters, were examined through contextual reading, iterative interpretation, and thematic synthesis. The analysis distinguishes concepts expressed in the primary text from the ecological interpretations and theoretical constructs developed by the authors. Findings: The analysis identifies eight textual components concerning divine manifestation, the spiritual character and transformation of the cosmos, human–earth relations, reciprocal influence, balance, vicegerency, and servanthood. These findings are synthesized into a tripartite framework comprising ontological, anthropological, and ethical dimensions. The framework connects the divine grounding and interdependence of existence with humanity’s position within the created order and the ethical implications of human agency. Divine stewardship articulates this relationship as responsible human participation under divine sovereignty, oriented toward kamāl al-ʿubūdiyyah (the perfection of servanthood). Conclusion: The study contributes a parsimonious conceptual framework for interpreting the ecological implications of Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysics. Its contribution lies in systematizing the relationships among divine manifestation, human embeddedness, and ethical responsibility without attributing a modern ecological theory to Ibn ʿArabī. The framework provides a basis for further comparative textual research and critical engagement with contemporary Islamic environmental ethics.