nature in islam
Mohammed Khaku (Allentown, USA) is the past president of Al Ahad Islamic Center in Allentown. He is a Social and criminal justice writer and regularly writes for a number of international publications
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slam encourages interactions between people with different faiths and promotes interfaith dialogue that nurtures understanding, promotes tolerance and promotes our confidence to be proud of who we are and the roles we play in our diverse society.
Environmentalism is deeply enshrined in all Abrahamic faiths. People and the environment both form part of the divine creation. Care of the natural environment holds high significance for the world’s major faith traditions. Faith communities must play a key role in shaping policies for protection of the environment. The population growth has increased the pressure on interfaith communities and international organizations (UN) to address proactively the environmental challenges of food shortage. By 2050, estimates forecast the global population will be 9 billion, up from 7 billion today.
One of the leading countries following the Serah of Prophet Muhammad is Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran has an environment department, a cabinet-level position which was headed by a woman. The current president Masoud Pezeshkian appoints Shina Ansari as Iran’s Deputy head of the Department of Environment replacing Ali Salajegheh. Shina Ansari becomes the third woman to join Pezeshkian’s cabinet as the head of the Department of Environmental Protection. Shina Ansari is an environmental activist who holds a PhD in Environmental Management.
Environmental issues such as climate change and global warming pose the most significant threat to Arctic wetlands and melting sea ice which is causing the shoreline to erode by 6 feet to 59 feet per year. Environmental challenges are reaching a crisis point and conscientious Muslims should be concerned and take steps to protect the environment. Countries like Iran have included the concept of “Environmental Protection” (Hefz-e-Mohit-e-Zist) in the constitution. Article fifty deems a “public obligation and forbids all activities, economic or otherwise, which may cause irreversible damage to the environment”.
Severe water and air pollution, deforestation, land degradation, desertification, climate change, and biodiversity loss are only a few of the increasing number of major environmental issues faced by Iran. These issues have become a threat to public health or a source of social and economic hardship.
“Whoever plants a tree and looks after it until it bears fruit…whoever preserves water, vegetation, animal and bird life, it will be like an act of worship. Air is the property of God…whoever contaminates it with smoke is encroaching on nature and threatening the life of mankind and all other living things.” The author of this quote was not a 21st century environmentalist, historian, or Greenpeace activist. It was the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago.
Islam and other Abrahamic faiths have much in common, however one cannot be a Muslim without being fundamentally an environmentalist. Islam teaches us that we are created from dust, and we will return to dust upon death. And this is the reason specially the Shias have a tradition while praying (Salat), they rest their forehead on clay tablets (Turbah or Mohr) linking them with earth – a reminder that we come from dust, and to dust we return. The word “Earth” (Ardh) appears 485 times in the Quran and the earth is not an enemy of man but rather a trust from God.
Islam is an integrated code of behavior, which deals with personal hygiene, at one end of the spectrum, and a relationship with nature at the other end. A cursory reading of the Quran provokes respect, protection, and admiration for the natural world. The descriptions of heaven in the Quran for instance always begin with the phrase ‘’gardens beneath which flow rivers.’’ The Quran constantly alludes to nature, asking man to reflect upon it and ponder as to how such a marvelous system could have arisen and been sustained. Perhaps the verse which best summarizes the respect that Muslims are supposed to accord to nature is: ‘’The creation of heaven and the earth is far greater than the creation of mankind. But most of the mankind do not know it.’’ (Quran 40:56).
For instance, the Quran states: “Eat and drink but waste not by excess. “Imam Ali, the first Shiite Imam, says: “Partake of it gladly, so long as you are a benefactor, not a despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer.” The spirit of moderation, Islamic jurisprudence contains explicit injunctions concerning the conservation and allocation of water resources. It has rules for conservation of land, establishment of protected zones (Hima), preservation of wetlands and green belts, and even protection of wildlife. The protection that Islam accords to nature is extended even during war. Natural resources such as water, vegetation, crops and animals are accorded the same protections as civilians, and it is forbidden to cause destruction.
Perhaps the best illustration of the responsibility man has towards nature is the “treatise on rights” that Imam Sajjad wrote after the tragedy of Karbala. After delineating the rights and responsibilities between humans and his creator, the Imam spelled out the obligations humans have towards his environment.
These commands stem from the idea that nature is a trust from God and must be looked after. The Quran says: “We did not create heaven and earth and everything between them, except with truth” (15:85). Over the centuries, Islamic scholars have approached this matter with great diligence and formulated an ethical base known as pillars of environmental ethics in Islam which is where man is a consumer and beneficiary as well as a guardian and trustee of the environment. Greed for material wealth has made many Muslims abandon the ecological teachings of Islam. Conscientious Muslims should form partnerships with environmental activists to preserve the environment. Muslims must engage in a green jihad in their own communities and countries.
To survive as human beings and as a planet, we must change our behaviors, attitude, and take actions to mitigate or curb environmental damage and adapt to the effects of climate change. Religious communities know no boundaries and see all people as either brother in faith or brother in humanity. We need a collective awakening for environmental challenges. Our scriptures and theology command and instructs us to preserve our environment; religious scholars should be at the forefront leading with a moral voice.
“Laudate Deum”: the Pope’s cry for a response to the climate crisis. Pope Francis has published an Apostolic Exhortation building on his 2015 encyclical. We are not reacting enough, he says, we are close to breaking point. He criticizes climate change deniers, saying that the human origin of global warming is now beyond doubt. And he describes how care for our common home flows from the Christian faith. Second part to his 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si’.
Quran says: God does not change what is within the people, unless they are willing to change what is within themselves. I am proud to say there are organizations like Green Muslims, Green Arbaeen, and Green Hajj who are focusing on promoting environmental stewardship among the Muslim communities and focus on the campaign of “NO WASTE” (Ashraf), reducing consumption and recycling.
The campaign the Boycott, Diversify, and Sanctions (BDS) has many benefits as many of our Nyaz and Tabarrok include beverages and snacks manufactured by Zionist companies or support genocide of Palestinians. Moreover, these beverages/snack contain haram ingredients, and are not good for Muslim Ummah especially our young generations, as these products are the cause of obesity, diabetes, and other health issues.
In conclusion, we should focus on innovation for recycling, alternative energy sources, improving environmental laws, ability to create a cultural change, education and our duty and responsibility of cleaning our beaches, mountain trail, forests, and planting trees rather than cutting.
In the struggle for peace through justice!
Speak Up! Silent No More!
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