Islam on Environment

Islam and the Environment

As Allah created man on earth, he decreed that man should preserve this habitat. He gave man the right to invest in it and benefit from it. He enjoined upon man not to cause mischief anywhere. He addresses whoever may think of disturbing the natural balance, the earthly equilibrium, or inflicting injustice. “Seek not mischief in the land, for Allah loves not those who do mischief.”
Islam do not consider nature and cosmic objects as deities, but at the same time, unwarranted tampering or spoiling of nature is prohibited. The relationship between the believer and the universe is one of harmonious benefit and use. When Allah takes an oath by some creatures, he draws attention to the fact that man should recognize their value and take care of them. There is not an animal that lives on the Earth, nor a being that files on its wings, but forms part of communities like you.

We have omitted nothing from the book and they all shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. With such an adjuration and call for revering other creatures and aspects of His creation, Allah urges man to jettison bashfulness towards them because such an attitude does not yield progress or civilization. Removing the beauty of these creatures and failing to draw the benefit from them cause’s man to neither gain in morals nor lead him to progress or civilization.

As befits a faith born in the desert, water is honored as "the secret of life". Islam forbids the wastage of water "and the usage thereof without benefit.... The preservation of water for the drinking of mankind, animal life, bird life and vegetation is a form of worship, which gains the pleasure of Allah. Imam Alhilaly infers from this passage that Islam also forbids "factory outpours to go to waterways or to the ocean, as this would pollute the water and hearten marine life. "Air is the property of Allah the Exalted," the imam states. "Hence, contaminating the air with smoke is an encroachment on nature and a threat to the life of mankind and all other living things.” The Qur'an does, however, endorse the transformation of wilderness into agriculture and cattle pastures. The Qur'an proclaims that it is Allah who "sends down water from the sky, and therewith we bring forth buds of every kind. We bring forth the green blade from which we bring forth the thick-clustered grain; and from the date palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches, and gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate.

“The earth is our first mother,” says Imam Alhilaly. "Therefore it has certain rights over us. One of these rights is making it come alive with green vegetation and other plant life.” The Prophet said that he who is kind and merciful towards animals, Allah will be kind and merciful towards …We must deal with animals with utmost beneficence and compassion and strive to ensure the preservation of the different species,” Imam Alhilaly instructs. "It is forbidden in Islam to kill an animal for mere play. Islam has forbidden wastage of animals and plants in peacetime and in war time.”

The corrupters of the earth, whether those who deny God, practice injustice or go against the universal laws, are referred to by the following Qurainc verses There is the type of man whose speech about this world’s life may dazzle thee, and he calls The God (Allah) to witness about what is in his heart: yet is he the most contentious of enemies? When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loves not mischief…

Mischief has appeared on the land and sea, because of (the need) that the hands of man have earned, that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil). Mischief on the land and sea is inflicted by man’s unwary interference with the natural laws and environmental systems that are ultimately against his own interests. Environment pollution, which is tantamount to the disruption of natural balance, is the main form of corruption on the Earth…

Both Quran and in the Shariah, the legal codes of Islam, the rights of the natural world are strongly expressed and the abuse of them by humanity condemned out of hand.