Environmental Protection-Part Two
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Environmental Protection in Islam: The Conservation of Basic Natural Elements - Plants and Animals (2) |
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The Prophet Muhammad was sent by God as: “…a mercy to all beings.” (Quran 21:107) He has shown us through his commandments and teachings, how to tend and care for these creatures. He said: “The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth, and He Who is above the heavens will show mercy unto you.” (Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi) He commanded mankind to provide for the needs of any animals under their care, and he warned that a person who causes an animal to die of starvation or thirst is punished by God in the fire of hell.[1] Furthermore, he directed human beings to provide for needy animals in general, telling of a person whose sins God pardoned for the act of giving water to a dog in desperate thirst. Then, when the people asked: “O Messenger of God, is there a reward in doing good to these animals?”Al He said:“There is a reward in doing good to every living thing.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim) Hunting and fishing for food is permitted in Islam; however, the Prophet cursed anyone who uses a living creature as a target, taking a life for mere sport.[2] Likewise he forbade that one prolong an animal’s slaughter.[3] He declared, “God has prescribed the doing of good toward every thing: so, when you kill, kill with goodness and when you slaughter, slaughter with goodness. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him give ease to the animal he is slaughtering.”[4] The Prophet Muhammad forbade that a fire be lit upon an anthill, and related that an ant once stung one of the prophets, who then ordered that the whole colony of ants be burned. God revealed to him in rebuke: “Because an ant stung you, you have destroyed a whole nation that celebrates God’s glory.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim) He once ordered a man who had taken the nestlings of a bird from their nest to return them whence he got them, to their mother which was trying to protect them.”[5] He forbade that one needlessly and wrongfully cut down any tree which provides valuable shelter to humans or animals in the desert,[6] and the aim of this prohibition may be understood as prevention of the destruction of valuable habitat for God’ s creatures. On the basis of the Prophetic commands and prohibitions, Muslim legal scholars have ruled that God’s creatures possess inviolability (hurmah) which pertains even in war. The Prophet of God forbade the killing of bees and any captured livestock, for killing them is a form of corruption included in what God has prohibited in His saying, “And when he turns away, he hastens through the land to cause corruption therein and to destroy the crops and cattle: And God loves not corruption.” (Quran 2:205) “And they are animals possessing inviolability just as do women and children.”[7] It is a distinctive characteristic of Islamic law that all animals have certain legal rights, enforceable by the courts and by the office of the hisbah. Muslim jurists have written: “The rights of livestock and animals with regard to their treatment by man: These are that he spend on them the provision that their kinds require, even if they have aged or sickened such that no benefit comes from them; that he not burden them beyond what they can bear; that he not put them together with anything by which they would be injured, whether of their own kind or other species, and whether by breaking their bones or butting or wounding; that he slaughter them with kindness if he slaughters them, and neither flay their skins nor break their bones until their bodies have become cold and their lives have passed away; that he not slaughter their young within their sight; that he set them apart individually; that he make comfortable their resting places and watering places; that he put their males and females together during their mating seasons; that he not discard those which he takes in hunting; and neither shoot them with anything that breaks their bones nor bring about their destruction by any means that renders their meat unlawful to eat.”[8] Islam looks upon these created beings, both animals and plants, in two ways: 1. As living beings in their own right, glorifying God and attesting to His power and wisdom; 2. As creatures subjected in the service of man and other created beings, fulfilling vital roles in the development of this world. Hence the binding obligation to conserve and develop them, both for their own sake and for their value as unique and irreplaceable living resources for the benefit of one another and of mankind.
Footnotes: [1] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim [2] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim [3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim [4] Saheeh Muslim, Abu-Dawud [5] Abu Daud [6] Abu Daud [7] Muwaffaq ad-Din ibn Qudamah in al-Mughni. [8] ‘Izz ad-Din ibn ‘Abdas-Salam, in Qawa ‘id al-Ahkamfi Masalih al-Anam. This passage falls within a discussion of huquq al-’ibad, the rights or legal and moral claims of human beings and other creatures upon each legally responsible person. The rights or legal claims of animals are less comprehensive than those of man, and are subject to limitations such as the defense of human life and property and the requirements of human beings for food. It is, however, significant that in Islam the concept of rights or legal claims enforceable by law applies to animals as well as human beings. |
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Environmental Protection in Islam: Protection of Man and Environment from Harm |
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Damage of all forms and kinds is forbidden in Islam. One of the fundamental principles of Islamic law is the Prophetic declaration: “There shall be no damage and no infliction of damage.” (Al-Hakim)[1] Prevention of damage and corruption before it occurs is better than later treatment. Another important juristic rule in Islamic Law states, “The averting of harm takes precedence over the acquisition of benefits.” Accordingly, all activities which aim at achieving good and securing benefits by way of satisfying human needs, providing services and developing agriculture, industry, and means of communication should be carried out without causing significant damage, injury, or corruption. It is therefore imperative that precautions be taken in the processes of envisaging, planning, and implementing such activities so that, as far as possible, they may not be accompanied by, or result in, any form of damage or corruption. 1. Wastes, Exhausts, Cleansing Materials, and Other Toxic and Harmful Substances Waste products and exhaust fumes, resulting from ordinary human or industrial activities and the uses of modern and advanced technology, should be carefully disposed of or eliminated in order to protect the environment against corruption and distortion. It is also vital to protect man from the effects of the harmful impact of these on the environment, and its beauty and vitality, and to ensure the protection of other environmental parameters. The accumulation of waste is largely a result of our wastefulness. Islam’s prohibition of wastefulness, however, requires the re-use of goods and recycling of materials and waste products in so far as is possible, instead of their disposal as trash. The Prophet forbade that a person relieve himself in a water source or on a path, or in a place of shade, or in the burrow of a living creature.[2] The values underlying these prohibitions should be understood as applicable to the pollution of critical resources and habitats in general. Waste products, exhaust fumes, and similar pollutants should be treated at their sources with the best feasible means of treatment, and care should be taken in their disposal to avoid adverse side effects that lead to similar or greater damage or injury. The juristic principle in this connection is, “Damage shall not be eliminated by means of similar or greater damage.” This is also true of the harmful effects of cleansing agents, and other toxic or harmful materials, used in homes, factories, farms, and other public or private premises. It is absolutely necessary to take all possible measures to avoid and prevent their harmful effects before they occur, and to eliminate or remove such effects if they do occur in order to protect man and his natural and social environment. Indeed, if the damage resulting from these materials proves greater than their benefits, they should be prohibited. In this case, we should look for effective and harmless, or at least less harmful, alternatives. 2. Pesticides These same principles apply equally to all pesticides, including insecticides and herbicides. The use of such materials should not lead to any harm or damage to human beings or the environment in the present or the future. Consequently, control and prohibition of whatever leads to harm or damage, to people or to ecosystems, is required, even though this control or prohibition may affect the personal interests of some individuals. This is in accordance with the principle that “A private injury is accepted to avert a general injury to the public.” All legitimate and lawful means should be used to avoid and prevent damage or harm, provided that such means do not lead to, or cause similar, or greater, damage. The juristic rule in this connection is “The lesser of two evils should be chosen.” If the use of such pesticides is unavoidable, then “Dire necessity renders prohibited things permissible.” However, “Every necessity shall be assessed according to its value,” and “That which is permitted on account of an excuse ceases to be permissible with the cessation of that excuse.” The most selective and least destructive means of pest control are required by these values and principles of Islam. Preventive measures, biological controls, non-poisonous repellents, biodegradable substances, and narrow-spectrum pesticides should be favored whenever possible over their more destructive alternatives. Furthermore, their application should be carefully calculated to protect human life, crops, and livestock with utmost efficiency and effectiveness, and with an eye to make the minimum overall impact on God’s creation. 3. Radioactive Substances The principles mentioned above apply to radioactive substances as well, which are not only extremely toxic, but also remain so over extremely long periods of time. We should prevent and avoid the harmful effects of their use on people and ecosystems. It is also imperative that we satisfactorily dispose of all radioactive wastes. Special precautions are required to prevent the discharge of such wastes from nuclear facilities, whether due to carelessness or malfunction, and to avoid all harmful effects from the testing of nuclear explosives. 4. Noise Since industries, mass communication and transport tend to be accompanied by, and associated with, noise, it is necessary to look for all possible ways and means of avoiding and minimizing this noise. Noise has a harmful impact on man and the living elements of the environment - hence the necessity of reducing and preventing this harm as far as possible and by every means, according to the rules and injunctions of Islamic Law. 5. Intoxicants and Other Drugs It is also clear that intoxicants and narcotics have a harmful effect on the physical and mental health of human beings and, as a consequence, on his life and reason; his offspring, work, properties, honor, and righteousness. It has been proven, without doubt, that intoxicants and other drugs cause considerable physical, social, and psychological disorders. Therefore, all kinds of intoxicants and mind-affecting drugs have been prohibited in Islam. Their production and marketing as well as of anything that is associated with them or assists in their production is forbidden. This shows the concern of Islamic legislation over fourteen centuries for the protection of human life and the conservation of the social and physical environment against all forms of corruption, harm, damage and pollution. 6. Natural Catastrophes All necessary precautions should be taken to minimize the effects of catastrophes which befall man and the environment, such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, natural conflagrations, desertification, infestations, and epidemics. It must be recognized that natural disasters are sometimes caused, at least in part, by acts of man, and that the consequences of their occurrence by way of loss of life and property are, in many cases, aggravated by inappropriate settlement, building, and land use practices. Accordingly, their impact can be largely mitigated by planning with foresight, based on the understanding of natural processes. Unsuitable land use practices and activities should not be permitted in areas inherently, or potentially, hazardous to human life and health or in areas vulnerable to the disruption of natural processes. Protection of human life, property, and interests is essential and necessary and “Whatever is indispensable to fulfill an imperative obligation is, in itself, obligatory.” Islamic law maintains that “Damage should be eliminated,” and “Damage should be removed to the extent that is possible.” However, the protective measures that are taken should not lead to other adverse effects in accordance with the principle, “Damage shall not be eliminated by means of similar damage.”
Footnotes: [1] This, and the subsequent legal principles are well known, and unless otherwise referenced, are found in the books of al-Ashbah wa ‘n-Naza ‘ir by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti and Zayn al-Abidin ibn Nujaym, and in the Majalat al- Ahkam al-’Adliyah. [2] Abu Dawud |
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The Creation of an Environmental Conscience: The Nature of Nature |
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“To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and to God is the return (of all).” (Quran 39:44) Islam teaches that everything in the universe, all ecological-systems and the life-forms they support, are created by and dependant upon their Lord-God, the One True God, God. As such, human beings actually have more in common with the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and the beasts that crawl upon the earth than they do with God Himself. “There is not a moving creature on earth, or a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like you (humans). We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they shall (all) be gathered.” (Quran 6:38) Although man may be at the top of the food-chain, he is still part of a food-chain all the same; whilst his Creator is not constrained by the need to feed, or for that matter, to seek shelter or reproduce. Those who fail to see this reality and who instead take their fellow human beings as objects of worship would do well to consider the following verse: “The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother (Mary) was a truthful, righteous Believer. And they both ate food! Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are (still) deluded (from the truth)!” (Quran 5:75) Implicit in this verse is the point that if one is in need of food, he or she is also in need of defecating and urinating in order to relieve themselves of their food’s waste products. Far removed is God from such physiological needs. “And We never sent before you (O Muhammad) any of the Messengers but verily, they (like you, also) ate food and walked in the markets...” (Quran 25:20) In other words, although the Prophets, their followers and the believing members of their households truly were the best and most righteous of God’s creatures ever to walk the face of the earth, they were, nevertheless, still His creatures, sent by and wholly dependant upon Him for life, sustenance and salvation. Therefore, before one can truly appreciate the relationship between man and his environment, one must first appreciate the relationship between man and God. Ubudiyya - Servitude to the One God Muslims believe that all of creation is created in a natural state of submission to its Creator. That is, in so far as all things inherently submit to the One God, the natural state of all things is Islam – in a manner of speaking. The cheetah chasing down the gazelle and the gazelle fleeing from the cheetah are behaving not just as God decreed but more so, as He ordered. “To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are obedient to Him.” (Quran 30:26) It is only because creation follows precisely the course that God sets out for it that we have balance and harmony throughout the universe, what is more commonly known as “the laws of nature” or “the natural order of the universe”. This obedience of the world around us to the Divine through its acting according to its imbued nature is, in and of itself, a state of perpetual servitude and worship. Numerous passages of the Qur’an point to this reality. “See you not that it is God Whose praises are celebrated by all beings in the heavens and on earth, and by the birds with extended wings? Each one knows its prayer and glorification; And God is aware of what they do.” (Quran 24:41) “The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him and there is not a thing but that it glorifies His Praise - but you do not understand their glorification. Truly, He is Ever Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.” (Quran 17:44) “There is nothing in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (God) as a slave.” (Quran 19:93) Fitra – The Primordial Nature of Man Humans too are created upon a natural Islamic disposition, known as the fitra. If left alone to follow their fitra or “nature”, all human beings would be believers in Tawheed (Islamic monotheism), instinctively recognising their Creator and inclined towards worshipping Him and towards performing good deeds in general. God says in the Quran: “So set you your face towards to the religion of monotheism, the fitra (natural religion) of God according to which He created mankind. Let there be no change in the creation of God (i.e. do not reject your Islamic nature): this is the upright religion, but most among mankind do not understand.” (Quran 30:30) Thus, it can be justifiably argued that Islam and, by extension, all that is deemed good, including environmental consciousness, is not something that necessarily needs indoctrinating, but simply awakened from deep within the conscious of man. Only then would humanity be in sync with the rest of the universe. After all, every human soul that has ever lived and that ever will live has at least once already sworn to have recognised its Creator. “And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (i.e. his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes! We testify,’ - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Verily, we have been unaware of this.’” (Quran 7:172) |
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The Creation of an Environmental Conscience: Man - God’s Steward on the Earth |
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“Behold thy Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a khalifa on earth.’ They (the angels) said ‘Will You place therein one who will make mischief and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Your praises and glorify You with praises and sanctify Your (Name)?’ He (God) said: ‘I know what you know not.’” (Quran 2:30) Mankind, through the father, Adam, was sent to earth as its khalifah – a term which simultaneously means: successor, steward, trustee, viceroy, and guardian. That is, man was made responsible for utilising the earth’s resources with due consideration; resources which God has subjected to his every need. “God is He Who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down (rain) water from the sky, and thereby brought forth fruits as provision for you; and He has made the ships to be of service to you, that they may sail through the sea by His Command; as (likewise) He has made rivers to be of service to you. And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you; and He has made the night and the day, to be of service to you.” (Quran 14:32-33) “See you not (O humanity!) that God has subjected for you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, (both) apparent and hidden? Yet of mankind is he who disputes about God without knowledge nor guidance nor an illuminating Book!” (Quran 31:20) Thus, the earth has been created with a definite cause and affect: to facilitate humans in fulfilling the purpose with which they were themselves created: to worship and serve their Creator. “And I (God) created not the jinn (spirit-like creatures) and humans except they should worship Me (alone).” (Quran 51:56) Although the creation of the heavens and the earth is actually greater than the creation of humanity in the Sight of God [see Quran 40:57], humans bear a responsibility that the heavens and earth do not. In fact, God did offer to entrust to the heavens and the earth moral responsibility. However, they understood the weightiness of what was being asked and so respectfully declined. Adam, however, accepted to bear moral responsibility on behalf of humanity. Alas! unlike their father, many of Adam’s descendants were and are unfaithful, incompetent and unwilling to remain true to their obligations. “Truly, We did offer the trust and moral responsibility to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of (failing to discharge) it. But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of the results).” (Quran 33:72) When man does faithfully discharge his trust by obeying and worshipping God in accordance with his primordial nature, he attains God’s Pleasure and reward; when he does not, he is in need of His Forgiveness. Incidentally, the only reason a person does succumb to false and oppressive desires is because that person is allowing himself to be misled from his nature; straying away from the straight path and onto the crooked road taken by the enemy of God and man alike: Satan. “He (Satan) said: ‘See! This one (man, Adam) whom You have honored above me, if You give me respite till the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize and mislead his offspring - all but a few!” (Quran 17:62) “And he (Satan) said: ‘I will take an appointed portion of your slaves; I will surely mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and I will surely order them to slit the ears of cattle, and surely, I will order them to change the nature created by God.’ And whoever takes Satan as a protector instead of God has surely suffered a manifest loss. He (Satan) makes promises to them and arouses in them false desires; and Satan’s promises are nothing but deceptions.” (Quran 4:118-120) So, after learning a most important reality about the natural environment and our place in it, which is that, other than mankind (and the jinn), all the creation, animate and inanimate, is inherently obedient to God and in harmony with itself, we also learn how man can reclaim his innocent natural state: by serving and obeying God. And from the great many and praiseworthy acts of obedience is our behaving responsibly with the world around us. A world that, for the purpose of this discourse, can be divided into two principle realms or resources: the subjects of the animal kingdom and their natural habitats. “God is the One Who has subjected to you the sea, that ships may sail through it by His Command, and that you may seek of His Bounty and be thankful. And (just like) He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favor and kindness from Him. Verily, in it are signs for a people who think deeply.” (Quran 45:12-13) |