by Dr Abdelhak Hamiche
Islam cared for the environment and emphasised the importance of maintaining all its elements. The generality and infinity of this message are two qualities that guaranteed Islam’ comprehensiveness of all the aspects of life — both physical and moral — and its comprehensiveness of all that lead to eternal happiness. There is no doubt that the environment in all its elements is included in this comprehensiveness if not being its center, that is because the environment is the place where humans realise the purpose of their lives which Allah brought them on earth for. If the safety conditions are not applied in the environment, humans cannot perform their purposes.
The issue of the safety of the environment has become the interest of individuals, societies and countries. That is due to the persistence and aggression of humans towards the recourses of the environment, the poor utilisation of its resources, the destruction of massive areas of forests, wasting enormous amounts of water, and the pollution of a high percentage of our air.
Multiplied efforts were made in the past few years towards maintaining the elements of the environment and its surroundings. There have been many responses for the calls made for cooperation in order to preserve the environment in its nature to protect it from any harm. There are also many committees, organisations and bodies formed to defend and represent the environment.
The issue of the environment and its problems has become an important topic of discussions among intellectuals and scientists all over the world. It has even become the concern of masses of ordinary people. That due to the actions of humans that caused damages and pollution to the environment, that have now caused symptoms that affect the wellbeing of humans, animals, plants, and the water, which lead to depletion of the natural resources and environmental imbalance in the universe.
It is the Muslims’ duty to thank and praise Allah for the Graces He provided within the environment. Muslims must utilise the environment and use it for their advantage and for the advantage of humanity, without causing any damage, pollution or destruction, because the environment is a grace that must be taken care of.
The Islamic jurisprudence has previously emphasised the need to protect, preserve and develop the environment prior to all the modern legislations and regulations, and international conventions for preserving the environment. Allah has set out in the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his Sunnah, guidelines which constitute a platform in all the affairs of life including the environment. Such as, preserving water and not wasting or polluting it, preserving plants not cutting them unless necessary, sowing the plants to eat as grains, vegetables, and fruits. In addition, these guidelines enjoin us to preserving the animals and the wildlife and caring for them to use for their meat, wool and milk etc.
Everything in the earth is balanced; therefore, if humans violated any element of the environment, it will affect other elements.
Allah Almighty says: And the earth We have spread out like a carpet; set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.” (Al Hijr, verse 19)
“Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.” (Al Qamar, verse 49).
“Do ye not see that Allah has subjected to your use all things in the heavens and on earth, and has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and unseen?”
(Luqman, verse 20.
sanctity of the environment
The environment has great sanctity in Islam protecting it from tampering, pollution, and depletion. This sanctity is derived from verses of the holy Quran which forbade corrupting the earth and abusing its natural resources. The security and safety of the environment derive their strength from the basic rules of Islam which called for respecting the environment and protecting it. That is where we derive the rule of allowing and forbidding which obliges Muslims to commit to the rules of Islam which forbade corrupting the earth. That is why Islam called for rehabilitating the environment and preserving it, exposing its features for it to be the center of humans’ attention and care, and for them to realise their connection with the environment and the importance of protecting it.
Islamic Shariah urges taking care of the agriculture and the livestock. It also calls for respecting the environment and repairing it, and threatens against wasting and destroying it in vein. Islam has set retribution in life and in the afterlife protecting the environment from corruption and it encourages humans to care for the environment through the method of carrot and stick.
After Islam had forbade all manifestations of corruption and abuse of environment it set a base for environmental security which sets the rules for maintaining the nature of the environment and protecting it from corruption which might increase and affect the peoples’ lives and earnings.
Allah Almighty says: Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the deeds) that the hands of men have earned.
(Arrum verse 41).
The issue of environmental security in hand is no stranger to Muslims, yet it is a behavior that they are keen on practicing, since the environment has been the concern of the first of the Muslims.
Islamic jurisprudence books have dealt with the importance of preserving the safety of cities from danger, and everything that may cause danger or harm, as they dealt with controlling bad smells, noise, vibration, pollution, sewage, waste and fumes.
Islamic heritage provided provisions and regulations on organising streets and roads in a way that provides security, prevents harm and makes utilising them possible. Ibn Abdul Ra’oof – mercy be upon his soul – mentioned the importance of preventing the disposal of garbage and carcasses and from the streets, since they cause damage to the homes and to the residents.
The books of scholars have discussed many matters relating to the ethics of the road and its security, anything that may hurt or harm the users of the road is forbidden. The Muslims’ markets had a monitoring system in order to provide environmental security. The Muhtaseb municipal controller was responsible for security in the market, its cleanliness and preventing fraud, pricing and monopolies.
The Muhtaseb played an important role in organising the markets, where he would alot the sellers of one item in a single area, or keep them in a separate market of their own, in order to facilitate monitoring their quality and prices, and to facilitate accessibility for the people. The Muhtaseb prevented any person that would cause harm to the clients of the market, and protected the people from any methods of circumvention that aim at taking people’s money unlawfully.
The books of Islamic heritage discussed the importance of the residence buildings to be strong and fortified, because they are the subject of protecting lives and possessions. Ibn Abdoun – mercy be upon his soul – said: “Buildings are dwelling places”.
The Hesba men and the scholars were keen on removing walls and buildings which were likely to fall, after the building experts give their consent.
Thus, integrating environmental security in its overall concept in the Islamic heritage, where it is not limited to safety from the physical pollution of the environment, such as garbage, gasses smokes, and noise, it also includes behavioral security, intellectual security and cultural security.
The environment cycle is wide and it includes human’s animals, plants, and people’s possessions, decedents, minds and health, which indicate the importance of preserving them because they are part of the goals of Islamic Shariah. Awareness of this goal affects the development of laws for protecting the environment and thus judging in cases of pollution. It is necessary to enact laws that deter people from abusing the environment, by damaging, polluting or wasting it. Allah executes through legal authority of rulers what cannot be executed closer through the Quran. The goals of the Islamic Shariah are closely linked to the protection of the environment and preserving it from attrition, damage or corruption. Quran says:
Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order,” (Al A’araf, verse 56)
The writer is Associate Professor, Academic, at the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
THE PENINSULA
