Ahmad Dahlan’s Vision of Social Justice: A Systematic Literature Review of the Theology of Al-Ma‘un

Abstract

This article examines how scholarship published up to 2020 constructs Ahmad Dahlan’s vision of social justice through the theology of Al-Ma‘un. Using a qualitative systematic literature review and thematic synthesis, it analyzes a verified core corpus of 15 peer-reviewed studies on Ahmad Dahlan, Muhammadiyah, Qur’anic social ethics, education, philanthropy, healthcare, and community empowerment. The review identifies four interconnected themes: Al-Ma‘un as a critique of socially detached religiosity; religious learning as transformative praxis; compassion institutionalized through schooling, healing, and feeding; and the expansion from charitable relief toward empowerment, advocacy, and structural justice. The synthesis shows that Ahmad Dahlan did not leave a formal theological treatise entitled the theology of Al-Ma‘un. The expression is better understood as a later interpretative category that systematizes his Qur’anic pedagogy and Muhammadiyah’s subsequent social institutions. The article proposes an integrative framework linking Qur’anic moral criticism, ethical consciousness, transformative pedagogy, institutionalized compassion, capability development, and critical accountability. It further argues that institutional expansion cannot be equated automatically with social justice; accessibility, participation, dignity, and the agency of vulnerable communities are necessary evaluative criteria. The study contributes to Muhammadiyah studies by distinguishing Dahlan’s documented practical legacy from later conceptual elaborations and by repositioning Al-Ma‘un as both a foundation for organized service and a critical standard for evaluating Muhammadiyah institutions.