Environmental Ethics in Islam, by Syed Mujahid
Ali Shah and Dr Ahmed Jan(PhD), Raja Tariq Abbas
Ever increasing
environmental problems made us to realize that modern and western
approaches are not always applicable in many parts of the world
where societies are shaped up by spiritual and religious values. So
called indigenous knowledge and religious environmentalism is proven to be more
efficient in those societies that is skeptical and reluctant or unaware of
Science, for them ,it is a lot easier to relate their environment to holy
belief rather than mere eco-system. With flow enormous interest,
many religions and indigenous cultures have
looked inward to find out what made
them to have harmonious relations with
nature for centuries ,Islam is no exception.
In Islamic
Environmental ethics and society ,the author started with claiming that
“Islamic environmental ethics, like all other forms of ethics in Islam, is
based on clear cut legal foundations which Muslims hold to be formulated by
God”.This notion is totally compatible with core Islamic ideology that to be
obliged by following Muslims.As it is mentioned in the article ,Muslims
have reluctance to use rigid terms like Islamic law,instead they preferred to
use more religious words with deep literal meaning such as Shari’ ah ,source of
water. He has given accounts for several key terms to introduce basic
categorization of Islamic behavior he stated.
“In Islam, the
conservation of the environment is based on the principle that all the
individual components of the environment were created by God, and that all
living beings were created with differentfunctions, functions carefully
measured and meticulously balanced by the Almighty Creator. Although the
various components Of the natural environment serve humanity as one
of their functions, this does not imply that human use is the sole reason
for their creation. …” .
The author believes that the
foundation for environmental protection in the Islamic faith is based on
religious principle that all aspects of the natural world created by god with
different functions that were determined and balanced by God.Islamic
values considered unalterably accurate, and Muslims obliged to obey what God
has ordered .
He constructed his argument with
following steps ;
“ First, the environment is God’s
creation and to protect it is to preserve its values as a sign of the
Creator.” That is directly come from the Quran about the creation
that resonates with all Muslims similar version of that can be found early
Hebrew bible.
“Second, the
component parts of nature are entities in continuous praise of
their Creator. ” He quoted from the Quran to say that beauty of nature is
accolade for Allah .
“Third, all the laws of nature are
laws made by the Creator and based on the concept of the absolute continuity
of existence.” This religious creed has been considered as cornerstone of
Islamic belief that nature of law is
holy creation so that must be utmost
respected and obliged.Eternal,absolute existence of nature
may not coincide with modern Science ,but it
gives Muslims reason to obey this sacred rule,breaking this rule always seen
rebellion against
god’s might.
god’s might.
“Fourth, the
Qur’an’s acknowledgment that human-kind is not the only community to live in this
world — “There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on
two wings, but they are peoples like unto you” (Surah 6:38) —
means that while humans may currently have
the upper hand over other “peoples,” these
other creatures are beings and, like
us, are worthy of respect and protection.
“Fifth, Islamic environmental ethics
is based on the concept that all human relationships are established
on justice (‘adl) and equity (ihsan): “Lo!
Allah enjoineth justice and kindness” (Surah 16:90).
”According to his quote from Qu’ran ,Human relations should be just ,there for
human nature relation should also be just.That means being too cruel to the
environment and living beings are unjust .Muslims have been followed
this tradition in many ways to create justice of their own.
“Sixth, the balance of the universe
created by God must also be preserved. ….” This is very valuable
argument to apply modern environmental
conservation to preserve Eco-balance of the world which has been
advocated by environmentalist for long that is commonly practiced by Muslims
for centuries without digging deep into scientific ramifications.
“Seventh, the environment is not in
the service of the present generation alone. Rather, it is the gift of God to
all ages, past, present and future. …”
It
reveals that Islam has already forward
looking attitude to nature and resource
unlike exploiting them repeatedly for short term
economic benefits in consumer driven market
economy.Of course this perspective also raised by many western scholars in
modern era, this Biblical context of creed made
more compelling to religious followers with
profound commitment.Future generation has as much as at stake as current generation
in environment, people should not selfishly torn the nature soly for themselves
when there is need for coming ones. This religious thought has cultivated
healthy spirit and habit among many Muslims to less consumptious ,not be
prodigal as it is called in Quran, “Eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo! He
loves not the prodigals.” (The Qur’an, Al-Aaraf7:31) .
“Finally, no other
creature is able to perform the task of
protecting the environment. God entrusted humans with the duty of
viceregency, a duty so onerous and burdensome that no
other creature would accept it”.In this statement, Humans have special
obligation to preserve the environment ,because they are created superior to
the rest that gives legitimacy of human domination that is detrimental
sometimes.
On The Human-Environment Relationship
The author asserts that “
The role of humans, however, is not only to enjoy, use and
benefit from their surroundings. They are
expected to preserve, protect and promote
their fellow creatures.” As author stated The
relationship between human beings and their
environment includes many features In addition
to subjugation and utilization. Construction and
development are primary but our
relationship to nature also includes meditation,
contemplation and enjoyment of its
beauties. He sets forth the Islamic
view that the foundation of environmental protection is found in
the idea that God created the world and set human beings in
it to enjoy and carefully use it. Ecological balance and
sustainable care of nature are promoted by Islam.
On The Sustainable Care of Nature
Islam
permits the utilization of the natural
environment but this utilization should not
involve unnecessary destruction. His quotation from Quran
that “O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of worship, and
eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo! He loveth not the
prodigals” (Surah 7:31) serve to explain
that Muslim are allowed to the utilization
of the sources of life. Of course
Such utilization is not without limit.
The component
elements of life have to be protected so that
their utilization may continue in a sustainable way. Yet even
this preservation must be undertaken in an altruistic fashion, and
not merely for its benefit to human beings. As he
entioned The Prophet Muhammad said:”Act in your life as though you are living
forever and act for the Hereafter as if you are dying tomorrow.”
Even if doomsday were expected imminently,
humans would be expected to continue their good
behavior, for Prophet Muhammad said: “When doomsday comes if someone has a palm
shoot in his hand he should plant it.” This hadith encapsulates the principles
of Islamic environmental ethics. Even with all hope is lost, planting should
continue for planting is good in itself.
On The Practice of Islamic
Environmental Ethics
Environmental Ethics has played
pivotal role in shaping environmental policy in Muslim
countries through out the history .As he pointed out concept
of himil {protection of certain zones) and Rima (involved the ruler or
government’s protection of specific unused areas) are good examples how
Islamic rule established infrastructural system that offers
protection for nature. Both protected area system
has minimum requirement met by modern conservation standards
that made Muslims very nature friendly long before it is practiced in the west.
The concept of himil can still be seen in many Muslim countries, such as Saudi
Arabia, where it is practiced by the government to protect wildlife.The
harim is another ancient institution which
can be traced back to the time
of the Prophet Muhammad. It is an inviolable zone which may not be used
or developed, save with the specific permission of the state. At
present the role of Islam in environmental protection can be
seen in the formation of different
Islamic organizations and the emphasis
given to Islam as a motive for the protection of the environment.
It is found that the author has
failed to describe diversity among Muslim communities around the world
that is critically important how they
enrich Islamic environmental values in their
own culture.Muslims of today include a broad spectrum of people from different
races, ethnicities,culture and so forth, many cultures have
mixed their pre-Islamic traditions with Islam. For
example , for the Muslims in Uighur culture in north western China or
Brusho-Shaman culture in the Karakoram mountains in northern Pakistan, nature
is somewhat regarded as holy which is not prominent in
mainstream Islamic philosophies. The author seems trapped in
prism of Pan Arabic view of looking
into these issues ,instead of embracing diversity of Islamic culture.The
author some times , exaggerated the role Islam in
environment to promote his religion by
giving favorable interpretation to some religious doctrines.
2.Review on “Toward an Islamic
Jurisprudence of the Environment” by Professor Mustafa Abu-Sway
The author has discussed the
following entities of nature in the context of Islamic jurisprudence of
environment.
1) Animals:
Author stated Islam
has enjoined upon Muslims right relationship with
animals. The Qu’ran has a tendency towards anthropecentrism
and assigns a superior status to humans in comparison
with animals. It nevertheless strongly enjoins
Muslims to treat animals with compassion
and not to abuse them.They are asked
to treat animals well, and they are not
allowed to kill animals except for
food. The latter permission has to be
carried out in accordance with the Shari’ah. Only
in limited cases some animals are
allowed to be killed when they endanger the life of the
human.
To
slaughter an animal, one has to use
sharp object that will save the animal
the pain associated with the use of a
blunted object. Shaddad Ibn Aws reported
that the Prophet [S.A.W.S] said: “…and
excel in slaughtering; sharpen your blade
[so you may] relief your slaughtered [animal].” (narrated by Al-Hakim; he stated that it is a sound hadith
according to the methodology of Al-Bukhari).Another area
of prohibition covers the hunting of wild
animals for reasons other than food (e.g. for fur). The author quotes a
Hadith that the Prophet [S.A.W.S] said: “Do not “ride” on silk and tiger fur”(Abu Dawud, # 4129)
Any
unjustified killing of an animal, direct
or indirect is prohibited. There is a
great punishment awaiting those who do so. The author has quoted a Hadith that
the Prophet [S.A.W.S] said: “A woman who tied a cat will go to Hellfire; she
neither fed it, nor allowed it to find food on its own.” (Al-Bukhari).Worthwhile to mention, Although eating animal
meat is allowed in Islam , though one of the sect of Islam Sufis
have practiced vegetarianism
2) Plants:
Islam prohibited the cutting or destruction of trees and plants,
and encouraged people to protect and increase plants for the great reward
associated with that. “He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification],
God will send him to Hellfire.”(Al-Tirmidhi, # 5239). Islam
encourages people to plant trees and
all useful plants. Indeed, similar to
all acts performed in line with the Islamic
world-view, and when done intentionally for
the sake of God, they are considered and rewarded as acts of
worshipping.
3) Land:
Protecting the land from pollution is
indicated in the many Hadiths that demand encourage
people to keep it clean. One Hadith states,
among other things, that God likes goodness,
cleanliness, and generosity. The Hadith ends with a request by the
Prophet asking Muslims to clean their courtyards(quoted by Al-Tirmidhi, # 2799)
4) Water: It is
God’s will that all living beings on earth are dependent for their existence on
water: “…We made from water every living thing…” Qur’an, 21:30. It has provided
religious justification to protect water resources
which is quite rationale given the
fact that water’s utmost value in arid middle east.At the same time
sacredness of water that lied in the creation is one of the key reason why
Muslims developed water saving life style.
5) Another
Hadith aims at protecting the Muslim community from offensive smells that
result from eating garlic or onion. The Prophet [S.A.W.S]
said: “He who eats from this tree meaning garlic
– should not get close to our
mosque.” ( Muslim, Ahmad, and Abu Dawud). Interpretation
of garlic eating from environmental perspective shows
6) Noise protection
Islam took care of the human being and made sure that he should not be
subjected to loud and annoying noises
to prevent harm to him both
physically and psychologically. The Hadith states that
loud noise is foolish and harmful. In
the Qur’anic, Luqman advised his son saying: “…and lower thy voice;
for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the
braying of the ass.” Qur’an, 31:19. The
Islamic Shari’ah does not allow loud voices in
the mosques, even if it is Qur’an that is recited.
This section mainly dealt with how
Islam views several environmental components to show how Islamic environmental
ethics rooted in daily Muslim life
In conclusion,
combination of two paper has provided
unique perspective to Islamic Environmental
Ethics which shed light on opportunity to see these
issues from a non western style.
No comments:
Post a Comment