PERCEPTIONS OF PART-TIME WORKING STUDENTS REGARDING THE CONCEPT OF RIZQ IN THE QUR’AN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY AT UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR

Persepsi Mahasiswa yang Bekerja Paruh Waktu Mengenai Konsep Rezeki dalam Al-Qur'an: Sebuah Studi Fenomenologis di UIN Alauddin Makassar

Abstract

The phenomenon of students engaging in part-time work is often framed as a threat to academic performance. However, within the context of UIN Alauddin Makassar, this phenomenon unfolds as a dynamic intersection between economic necessity and theological consciousness. This study aims to examine the Qur’anic concept of rizq (sustenance) and to analyze how part-time working students perceive, interpret, and internalize this concept amid their lived experiences of balancing study and work. The research addresses how students negotiate the relationship between effort (ikhtiar), divine decree (taqdir), and spiritual practice in their economic activities. This study employs a qualitative field research design using a phenomenological approach combined with thematic Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir maudhu‘i). Normative data were derived from Qur’anic verses on rizq and classical as well as contemporary tafsir works, while empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews with undergraduate and master’s students engaged in various part-time occupations, including online drivers, baristas, mosque imams, tutors, and freelancers. The findings reveal that the Qur’anic concept of rizq is multidimensional, encompassing both material and non-material provisions, such as health, time, knowledge, peace of mind, and social relationships. Students’ perceptions largely align with this Qur’anic framework, redefining rizq not merely as income but as every beneficial gift granted by Allah. They demonstrate a balanced theological stance by rejecting fatalism while affirming that effort is a human obligation and outcomes remain within divine authority. Furthermore, students integrate what they perceive as “spiritual technologies” into their work life, such as hard work, piety, prayer, morning charity (sedekah subuh), helping others, and ḥusnuẓẓan (positive trust in God), which they believe influence the blessing and flow of sustenance. This study concludes that part-time work among students at UIN Alauddin Makassar is not solely driven by economic motives but represents a process of spiritualizing effort and internalizing Qur’anic values of rizq. Part-time employment thus functions as a spiritual laboratory where theology and social reality converge, contributing to the formation of resilient, ethically grounded, and theologically independent student character.