Al-Falah (Holistic Success) as A Strategic Management Tool: A Conceptual Framework for Purpose-Driven Strategy in Islamic and Public Sector Organizations

Abstract

Al-Falah, success in this world and the hereafter, is a central Qur’anic concept. Scholarship on it has concentrated on Islamic economics, finance and wellbeing measurement, and to a lesser extent on business and education. It has seldom been examined as an instrument of strategic management. This conceptual paper addresses that gap. An integrative review of 21 studies centred on al-Falah (2017–2026) shows that most treat the concept as an outcome to be measured or as an objective of finance. Only four relate it to strategy or performance, and none follows it across the strategy process. Drawing on the Tawhidic paradigm, maqasid al-shariah and mainstream strategy theory, the paper proposes the Al-Falah Strategic Management (AFSM) framework. In this framework, al-Falah serves as the strategic end (telos), the lens of environmental analysis, the filter of strategic choice, the discipline of implementation and the criterion of evaluation. The framework is illustrated with the case of Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM), a government-linked da’wah foundation, and five propositions are offered for empirical testing. The paper contributes to Islamic management by moving al-Falah from an aspiration to an operational strategic tool. It contributes to strategic management a purpose-based alternative to rivalry-based conceptions of advantage, suited to Islamic and public sector organizations.