<![CDATA[The comparative study of classical Qur’anic exegesis seeks to trace how methodologically divergent hermeneutical traditions converge, or fail to converge, on shared ecological ethics. How al-Ṭabarī, al-Zamakhsharī, and al-Rāzī read the verses on vicegerency (khalīfah) and the mandate to cultivate the earth (istiʿmār al-arḍ) has not been systematically compared within a single ecotheological framework, nor connected to the practical concerns of urban Muslim communities; this study addresses both gaps. Its novelty lies in comparing three tafsīr chosen to represent three non-redundant currents, transmission-based (riwāyah), rhetorical (balāghah), and theological-philosophical (kalām), and in projecting the resulting principles onto the Minangkabau philosophy of Adat Basandi Syarak, Syarak Basandi Kitabullah (ABS–SBK). Using a qualitative library-based method, the analysis applies close reading of the primary Arabic texts and thematic coding across five interpretive categories, followed by comparative synthesis. The findings reveal, first, that the three exegetes converge on four normative principles, vicegerency, ecological sin, active stewardship, and balance, despite arguing through entirely different paths; second, that this convergence cannot be taken for granted, since divergent theological commitments could plausibly have produced divergent ethics instead; and third, that the principles suggest conceptual pathways for actualization through the adat, syarak, and government institutions of ABS–SBK, not yet empirically tested. Its contribution is normative and conceptual rather than an empirically validated intervention: theoretically, it refines comparative method in Qur’anic eco-theology; practically, it offers conceptual directions for religious leaders, adat institutions, and local government addressing urban ecological challenges in Muslim-majority regions such as West Sumatra.]]>
