Agriculture remains one of the most important sectors supporting food security, employment generation, poverty alleviation, and sustainable economic growth. As the global population continues to rise and climate-related challenges intensify, agricultural firms increasingly face financial constraints that threaten their long-term sustainability. Within Islamic finance, Shariah-compliant firms operate under ethical principles that prohibit excessive uncertainty (gharar), speculation (maysir), and interest-based financing (riba). These principles encourage financial stability, risk sharing, and socially responsible business practices. Nevertheless, even Shariah-compliant firms experience financial distress arising from leverage, declining profitability, liquidity shortages, and macroeconomic shocks.

The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable because of production uncertainty, climate risks, commodity price volatility, and capital-intensive operations. Consequently, understanding how leverage contributes to financial distress and ultimately affects sustainable social development has become an important research issue. Sustainable social development extends beyond profitability and includes employment generation, community welfare, food security, environmental stewardship, stakeholder well-being, and inclusive economic growth. Financially distressed firms often reduce investments in employees, community engagement, innovation, and environmental initiatives, potentially undermining progress toward several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Despite growing research on Islamic finance and corporate sustainability, little evidence exists regarding how leverage and financial distress jointly influence sustainable social development among Shariah-compliant agriculture-linked firms. This issue offers an integrated perspective on how financing decisions influence both financial resilience and sustainable social outcomes in Shariah-compliant agriculture-linked firms. By combining insights from Islamic finance, corporate finance, governance, and sustainability, it aims to provide evidence that supports more resilient agricultural systems while advancing ethical finance and the Sustainable Development Goals.

· Leverage

· Financial Distress

· Capital Structure

· Shariah-Compliant Firms

· Agriculture-Linked Firms

· Sustainable Social Development

· Corporate Sustainability

· Sustainable Finance

· Debt Financing

· Financial Stability

· Bankruptcy Risk

· Corporate Resilience

· Solvency

· Risk Management

· Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

· Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

· Social Sustainability

· Inclusive Growth