Islam and the Environment

Fazlun M Khalid

Volume 5, Social and economic dimensions of global environmental change, pp 332–339

Edited by

Mr Peter Timmerman

in

Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change

(ISBN 0-471-97796-9)

Editor-in-Chief

Ted Munn

 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, 2002

Islam and the Environment the intractable problems that the human race is creating
for itself by overexploiting and degrading the planet beyond
repair. Credit is due to Seyyed Hossein Nasr for almost
Fazlun M Khalid single handedly rekindling the consciousness of not only
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Muslims, but of adherents of other traditions, to the dimen-
Sciences, Birmingham, UK sion we have come to describe as faith and nature. His
first exposition on this subject was a series of lectures in
May 1966, delivered at the invitation of the University of
It has often been observed that Islam cannot ordinarily Chicago, which was eventually published (Hossein, 1968).
be described as a religion and that it prescribes a way He has written voluminously on this theme since then; see,
of life that goes beyond the performance of rituals. The for example, Hossein, 1996. For Muslims this crisis calls for
word for religion (dın) is found in the Qur’an (anglicized a fresh evaluation of the teachings of Islam and its practice
spelling: Koran; this is Islam’s sacred text on which much in the present globalized order.
of this essay is based). The word dın, which appears in 90
different places, often in contexts that place it outside the
purely ritual. Dın in essence describes an integrated code A GLANCE AT THE BASICS
of behavior which deals with personal hygiene, at one end
of the spectrum, to our relationships with the natural order Islam is the name of the religion discussed in this contribu-
at the other. It provides a holistic approach to existence, it tion. A Muslim (called a Musselman in the 18th century) is
does not differentiate between the sacred and the secular a follower of Islam. The word Islam literally means submis-
and neither does it place a distinction between the world of sion or surrender, and a Muslim is one who surrenders his
mankind and the world of nature. will to the will of God. A Muslim country is one in which
However, this Islamic mode of expression is now severely the majority of people are Muslims – there are about 60
attenuated, having been swept aside by the forces of history, such countries in the world.
like the other older traditions, into a domain which treats The roots of Islamic environmental practice are to be
the natural world exclusively as an exploitable resource. As found in the Qur’an and the guidance (sunnah) of Prophet
what we now understand by modernity advanced, as the sec- Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad is the Prophet of Islam
ular ethic progressively seeped into the Muslim psyche and and is usually referred to by Muslims as the Messenger
as industrial development, economic indicators and con- of God (Rasulullah). He was born in 570 AD in Mecca
sumerism became the governing parameters of society, there and died in 632 in Medina, in what is now Saudi Arabia.
has been a corresponding erosion of the Muslim perception Over the centuries, Islamic practice has been elaborated by
of the holistic and a withering of its understanding of the a succession of scholars and jurists responding to real prob-
sacred nexus between the human community and the rest lems experienced by the growing community of Muslims
of the natural order: “The creation of the heavens and the in various parts of the world.
earth is far greater than the creation of mankind. But most The Islamic worldview is based on the belief in the
of mankind do not know it” (Qur’an 40:56). existence of an all powerful creator who is the same God
For these and other reasons, Muslims in various parts (Allah in Arabic) of the other monotheistic faiths, Judaism
of the world have in recent times sought the reversal of and Christianity. Muslims learn from the Qur’an that God
these trends through the re-establishment of Islamic gov- created the universe and every single atom and molecule it
ernance based on the Islamic code known as the Sharı’ah. contains and that the laws of creation include the elements
Deeply embedded in its matrix are detailed and sometimes of order, balance and proportion: “He created everything
complex rules, which lay down the basis for Islamic environ- and determined it most exactly” (25:2) and “It is He Who
mental practice. Islamic jurisprudence contains regulations appointed the sun to give radiance and the moon to give
concerning the conservation and allocation of scarce water light, assigning it in phases . . . Allah did not create these
resources; it has rules for the conservation of land with things except with truth. We make the signs clear for people
special zones of graded use; it has special rules for the who know” (10:5).
establishment of rangelands, wetlands, green belts and also What may be described as the Islamic creed has three
wildlife protection and conservation. Much of the traditional aspects. The first is the core value system that Islam
institutions and laws associated with sound environmental establishes, which is islam itself and in this context is taken
practice in Islam have now fallen into disuse. to mean submission. The second is faith (iman) and the third
Although the re-establishment of Islamic governance is an is good personal conduct (ihsan) traditionally described as
aspiration held by an increasing number of Muslims, there righteousness or piety.
is now a growing movement amongst them, led by thinkers Islam, in its verb context, is elaborated in what is com-
like Seyyed Hossein Nasr (see Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Vol- monly described as the five pillars. The first of these is
ume 5), who place an immediate priority in dealing with a two-part declaration (shahada) bearing witness that there
2 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

is no God but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger caliphs did was to set a pattern that would evolve into
of God; the second is the performance of the five daily the matrix that formed the basis of the Islamic legal sys-
prayers (salat); the third is the annual payment of a spe- tem known as the Sharıah and which very soon came to
cific tax (zakat); the fourth is to fast during the month of circumscribe Muslim life. The word Sharıah has an inter-
Ramadhan (sawm); the fifth is to make the pilgrimage (haj) esting etymology with strong environmental connotations.
to Mecca at least once in a lifetime for those who have the It means a way or path in Arabic and “its derivation
means to do it. refers to the beaten track by which wild animals come to
Iman was described by the Prophet Muhammad as know- drink at their watering places. It is the road that leads to
ing with the heart, voicing with the tongue and expressing where the waters of life flow inexhaustibly” (Eaton, 1994;
with the body. This requires the profession of faith in God, 180).
His angels, His books, His messengers, the final day and As Muslim populations grew and expanded territori-
acceptance that life in all its expressions emanates from the ally, their requirements in government became increasingly
divine source. complex and the Sharıah accordingly became more sophis-
Ihsan is described as the act of worshipping Allah as if ticated. To the Qur’an and Sunnah were added two other
you see Him, knowing that even if you do not see Him, He elements: the consensus (ijma) of scholar jurists and the
sees you. This goes much beyond the ritual prayers; and process of reasoning by analogy (qiyas). Islamic law (fiqh)
every good action performed by a believer is seen as an evolved out of this process and there are two other tradi-
act of worship. This is commonly expressed by Muslims as tional instruments which were incorporated into this system
doing what is pleasing to Allah, who is ever present, ever and which could usefully serve the purpose of formulating
watchful. environmental law in the Muslim world today. The first of
Taken as a whole as it is intended to be, caring for planet these is interpretation in context (ijtihad) and the second is
Earth, our only home, is integrated within the framework custom and practice (‘urf wa adat).
of this value system. This is then an everyday concern for The Sharıah expanded and evolved within this frame-
the Muslim, which the Qur’an reminds him by saying, “We work to set defining standards for Muslim behavior within
have not omitted anything from the Book” (6:39) and “He the divine decrees of the Qur’an, including inter alia
said ‘Our Lord is He Who gives each thing its created form family law, civil law, commercial law and environmen-
and then guides it’ ” (20:49). We will now look at how this tal law. From the time of the Prophet, law has taken
is reflected in daily life. precedence over theology; this is stated to be the case
because Islam’s concern is about humankind and its rela-
tionship with the rest of creation, beginning, of course,
THE ETHICAL DIMENSION with itself. The law is about defining these relationships
and the following are examples of how the Qur’an sees it
One of the stories often told by Muslims concerning the
(4:134).
environment is the instruction by Abu Bakr, the first Caliph
(Khalif) of Islam to his armies. In addition to telling them You who have iman (faith); be upholders of justice, bearing
not to harm women, children and the infirm, he ordered witness for Allah alone, even against yourselves or your parents
them not to harm animals, destroy crops or cut down trees. and relatives. Whether they are rich or poor, Allah is able to
There were two elements present in this decree: the first, look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate
from the truth. If you twist and turn away, Allah is aware of
to establish justice even as the Muslim armies fought, and what you do
the second, to recognize the value of nature. It should also
be noted that the environment was not an issue or subject Truth takes precedence over love, even love for one’s
for separate treatment in life as it flowed onwards in both parents, and love is known habitually to conceal the truth.
war and peace. The human condition was never separated There is no compromise with truth and justice,
from the natural order. It was a matter to be reckoned with
at every moment of existence like the very air we take into so call and go straight as you have been ordered to. Do not
follow their whims and desires but say, I have iman (faith), in
our lungs.
a book sent down by Allah and I am ordered to be just between
Abu Bakr was the first of four rightly guided caliphs you . . . (42:13)
who succeeded the Prophet after his death. They were
known as such because of the lengths to which they The Qur’an also asks us to be just to our natural
went to incorporate the instructions in the Qur’an and the surroundings, “We did not create the heavens and earth
Prophet’s example into their rule. The rule of the rightly and everything between them, except with truth” (15:85).
guided caliphs lasted from 632 to 661 (AD) and became Like the Muslims who had succeeded the Prophet and
the time, including the time of the Prophet, which all had attempted to give expression to the divine decree, the
Muslims to this day seek to emulate. In attempting to scholar jurists approached this matter with great diligence
reproduce the Prophetic model what the rightly guided and formulated an ethical base derived from the imperatives
 ISLAM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 3

laid down in the Qur’an. These imperatives come under As the Qur’an is proof of Allah so likewise is His creation.
numerous headings but they could be distilled into just three The Qur’an also speaks of signs within the self and as Nasr
categories for our purposes, bearing in mind that public (1993) explains,
good (al masalih al mursalah) is the ultimate objective
(Doi, 1984). Muslims are to do what is right, forbid what . . . Muslim sages referred to the cosmic or ontological Qur’an
. . . they saw upon the face of every creature letters and words
is wrong and act with moderation at all times: “let there be from the cosmic Qur’an . . . they remained fully aware of the
a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin fact that the Qur’an refers to phenomena of nature and events
the right and forbid wrong. They are the ones who have within the soul of man as ayat . . . for them forms of nature
success” (3:104). The Qur’an again uses an environmental were literally ayat Allah.
theme in exhorting humankind to be moderate; (6:142):
As the Qur’an says, “there are certainly signs in the earth
it is He who produces gardens, both cultivated and wild, for people with certainty; and in yourselves. Do you not
and palm trees and crops of diverse kinds and olives and then see?” (51:20, 21).
pomegranates both similar and dissimilar. Eat of their fruits Writing from another perspective, Faruqi and Faruqi
when they bear fruit and pay their dues on the day of their har-
vest, and do not be profligate. He does not love the profligate. (1986) say:

Its (nature’s) goodness is derived from that of the divine

The Sharıah also evolved within the guidelines set by purpose. For the Muslim, nature is ni’mah, a blessed gift of
three principles agreed upon by scholar jurists over the Allah’s bounty . . . to transform in any way with the aim of
centuries. They are: achieving ethical value . . . Since nature is Allah’s work, His
ayat or signs, and the instrument of His purpose which is
1. the interest of the community takes precedence over absolute good, nature enjoys in the Muslim’s eye a tremendous
the interests of the individual; dignity.
2. relieving hardship takes precedence over promoting
benefit; The Qur’an says about these matters (16:65–69):
3. a bigger loss cannot be prescribed to alleviate a smaller Allah sends down water from the sky and by it brings the
loss and a bigger benefit takes precedence over a dead earth back to life. There is certainly a Sign in that for
smaller one. Conversely a smaller harm can be pre- people who hear. There is instruction for you in cattle. From
scribed to avoid a bigger harm and a smaller benefit the contents of their bellies, from between dung and blood, We
can be dispensed with in preference to a bigger one. give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. And
from the fruit of the date palm and the grapevine you derive
both intoxicants and wholesome provision. There is certainly
a Sign in that for people who use their intellect. Your Lord
THE NATURAL ORDER IN ISLAM revealed to the bees: ‘Build dwellings in the mountains and
the trees, and also in the structures which men erect. Then eat
As the Islamic tapestry unfolded in its expression over from every kind of fruit and travel the paths of your Lord,
the centuries, we discover that there are no references to which have been made easy for you to follow’. From inside
the environment, as we understand it today. The word them comes a drink of varying colours, containing healing for
mankind. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who
nature, which is an abstraction, cannot be found in the reflect.
Qur’an and the closest modern Arabic usage is the word
bı’a which connotes a habitat or a surrounding. The word The universe we inhabit is a sign of God’s creation
nature will continue to be used in this essay for linguistic as is the environment of our innermost selves. They both
convenience. For a further explanation on terminology, see emanate from the One Source and are bonded by only one
Khalid (1999). The Qur’an speaks of creation (khalq) and it purpose, which is to serve the divine will. This bonding of
contains two hundred and sixty one verses where this word the cosmic to the subatomic is the deep ecology of Islam
is used in its various grammatical forms derived from the but it is not a relationship of equals as we can see in the
root kh l q. These verses contain references to the human hierarchy of the food chain dominated by Man. Whilst
world; to the natural world of the Earth, from trees to turtles, the primary relationship is that between the Creator and
from fish to fowl; and to the sun, stars and skies. The very the rest of His creation, the Creator Himself determined
first revelation of the Qur’an to the Messenger used this a subsidiary one, that between Man and the rest of His
word in its verb form to dramatic effect, “Recite in the creation which the Qur’an defines as follows: “It is He Who
name of your Lord who created, created man from clots of created everything on the earth for you . . .” (2:28); “We did
blood” (96:1). Creation is the fabric into which the tapestry not create heaven and earth and everything between them
of life is worked. as a game . . .” (21:16); “We did not create heaven and earth
Creation or nature is referred to as the signs (ayat) of and everything between them to no purpose” (38:26); “. . .
Allah and this is also the name given to the verses of the He wanted to test you regarding what has come to you . . .”
Qur’an. ‘Ayat’ means signs, symbols or proof of the divine. (5:48).
4 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

The Qur’anic view holds that everything on the earth was 7. Charitable endowments (awqaf) may be established
created for humankind. It was God’s gift (ni’mah) to us, but with specific conservation objectives.
a gift with conditions nevertheless and it is decidedly not
something that one runs and plays with. The earth then Enforcement
is a testing ground of the human species. The tests are a
measure of our acts of worship (ihsan) in its broadest sense. The primary duty of the Islamic state is to promote the
That is living in a way that is pleasing to Allah, striving good and forbid wrong doing. As part of these functions,
in everything we do to maintain the harmony of our inner it has the mandate to protect land and natural resources
and outer environments. from abuse and misuse. From its earliest years the Islamic
As our interaction with the environment evolved, it state established an agency known as the hisba whose
manifested itself in a range of rules and institutions. As specific task was to protect the people through promoting
the Muslim community expanded out of its sparse desert the establishment of good and forbidding wrong-doing. This
environment, it was confronted by many challenges, one agency was headed by a learned jurist (muhtasib) who
of which was relative abundance. This brought about other functioned like a chief inspector of weights and measures
problems like over exploitation and waste. Muslims applied and chief public health officer rolled into one. He was
themselves to these problems assiduously and it would be also responsible, among other similar duties, for the proper
salutary to look at this legacy. For more information on functioning of the hıma and al harım zones and he acted as
this subject see Bagader et al. (1994); Llewellyn (1992); what one might describe as an environmental inspectorate.
Dien (2000). The following is a brief summary of how the The development and application of these principles and
Shari’ah developed in this area over the past 1400 years. institutions have seen a decline over the past two centuries,
as another worldview based on the exploitation of natural
Legislative Principles resources for profit gradually overtook this model. We are
experiencing the consequences of this now. However, there
1. Allah is the sole owner of the earth and everything in are clear indications as to how this Islamic heritage has
it. People hold land on usufruct – that is, for its utility been and could again be put to good use in the modern
value only. There is a restricted right to public property. context.
2. Abuse of rights is prohibited and penalized.
3. There are rights to the benefits derived from natural
resources held in common. AN EMERGING RESPONSE
4. Scarce resource utilization is controlled.
5. The common welfare is protected. The Muslim world was gradually co-opted into the new
6. Benefits are protected and detriments are either reduced world order by force of arms and by force of economics.
or eliminated. The first is history and the second present day reality and
what the Muslims lost in between these twin processes was
Institutions the sap of Islam and their unique way of perceiving the
universe. For Muslims, their dın is a whole, an organic
1. People who reclaim or revive land (ihya’al mawat) reality, where every element has a function as a part of
have a right to its ownership. this whole. For example, Islam law does not make sense
2. Land grants (iqta’) may be made by the state for without the ethical dimension of the divine revelation.
reclamation and development. Law in the West is amoral. It deals with human ends for
3. Land may be leased (ijara) for its usufruct by the state human purposes. The Muslim idea of the highest form
for its reclamation and development. of civilization is that it is the one that is pleasing to
4. Special reserves (hıma) may be established by the state Allah. In today’s Western-dominated global order of which
for use as conservation zones. Muslims are a part, conspicuous consumption has become
5. The state may establish inviolable zones (al-harım) the highest imperative. Muslim nation states of which there
where use is prohibited or restricted. Every settlement are now about 60, are willing co-optees to this consumer
has a right to create such zones managed by the people ethic.
and where use is severely restricted. Additionally, it is These are however, superficial considerations; and deep
permitted to establish these zones adjacent to sources in the interface between Islam and the West are two irrec-
of water and other utilities like roads and places of oncilable factors that call for some examination. The first
public resort. is the matter of existence itself and how it is to be defined
6. Makkah and Madınah are known as the two inviolable and the second is the matter concerning money and how it
sanctuaries (al-haramain) where trees cannot be cut is to be used.
down and animals are protected from harm within their The traditional worldview, which includes that of the
boundaries. They serve as examples of best practice. West, was challenged by what we have come to know
 ISLAM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 5

as the Enlightenment (see Enlightenment Project, Vol- the gold standard. This is not the place to go into the
ume 5), having its origins in 16th century Europe. These background of this event, suffice it to say that, “by aban-
events are usually seen as a time in which science began its doning the gold standard . . . he also moved the world into a
ascendancy over religion. Tarnas (1996) observes that this new standard: the interest standard”. (Kurtzman, 1993). It is
movement achieved its maturity in the 19th century, finally generally known that Islam prohibits usury or the taking of
resulting in a radical shift of psychological alliance from interest and the term used in the Qur’an for this is riba. (For
the divine to humankind. Descartes (the French philoso- an appraisal on interest see Diwaney, 1997) This term has
pher, mathematician) finally breached the floodgates of the wide connotations and simply put, it means one cannot have
old order by splitting mind from body and proclaiming a something out of nothing. Thus, riba is also seen as pro-
dualistic worldview in his well known statement “I think, hibiting the free creation of credit. The Qur’an denounces
therefore I am” (cogito ergo sum). One result of the Enlight- these practices vehemently and we can see why from the
enment was science, including the scientific capacity for foregoing discussion: “those who practise riba will not rise
rendering intelligible certain aspects of the material world from the grave except as someone driven mad by shaytan’s
and for making mankind (in Descarte’s own words) “Master (satan’s) touch” (2:274); also, “you who have iman (faith)!
and possessor of Nature”. have taqwa (awe) of Allah and forgo any remaining riba
This view is on a collision course with how Islam teaches if you are muminun (believers). If you do not, know that
the Muslim to view the world. There is only one master it means war from Allah and his Messenger” (2:277, 278).
and possessor of nature and that is the One Who created No other proclamation in the Qur’an matches this degree
it, Allah. This is unequivocally expressed in the very first of trenchancy.
line of the Qur’an “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the The Muslim world today is comprised of nation states
worlds” (1:1) and the last verse in the Qur’an “Say: ‘I seek (not an Islamic concept) that are wholly or mostly Muslim
refuge with the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the and Muslim minorities, from the very large to the very
God of mankind’ ” (114:1–3) and repeatedly in between. small, living in non-Muslim countries. Muslim countries
After Descartes, Isaac Newton’s “world view led to the well may be divided into two categories. The first, into those
known mechanistic conception of the universe and totally that describe themselves as Islamic states but who will
away from the holistic and organic interpretation of things. freely admit that the way they run their affairs is a far
The result was after the 17th century science and religion cry from the example laid down by the Prophet, the Right
became totally divorced” (Nasr, 1990). Guided Caliphs and the paradigm of the Qur’an. The second
People would find it impossible to live in today’s world group consists of secular Muslim states where Islam plays
without money, but one increasingly comes across interest- a ritualistic role in varying degrees of intensity. However,
ing appraisals of it like the following for example: “. . . in both these groups, as willing or unwilling co-optees to the
spite of all its fervid activity, money remains a naked sym- new world order, resort to the methods and institutions
bol with no intrinsic value of its own and no direct linkage that are part of it, in order to trade for instance. One such
to anything specific” (Kurtzman, 1993). Money has come institution is the banking system, and every Muslim state,
to be recognized as mere tokens and: Islamic or secular has banks with or without the approval
there is something quite magical about the way money is of the scholar jurists who did much to build the Sharı’ah
created. No other commodity works quite the same way. The over the centuries into a potent force for just government.
money supply grows through use; it expands through debt. The It should be obvious from this that it becomes almost
more we lend, the more we have. The more debt there is, the impossible for Muslims whether individuals or nation
more there is. states, to give expression to a normative Islam under the
(Kurtzman, 1993)
present globalized system. A system that is in direct conflict
These tokens of value that we create from nothing and with two fundamentals that are part of the Islamic world-
use everyday grow exponentially ad infinitum. But we know view. There now prevails a schizoid tendency in Muslim
that the natural world, which is subject to drastic resource society whereby it strives to maintain its deep attachment
depletion, has limits and is finite. This equation is lopsided to Islam while it persists in tasting the fruits of the current
and the question is for how long can we continue to create order.
this infinite amount of token finance to exploit the real and However, people are increasingly taking a serious look
tangible resources of a finite world. Looked at from this at the current model of endless growth that supplies a con-
perspective, money, as the modern world has contrived it, trived demand for consumer goods, which appears to be
assumes the characteristics of a virus that eats into the fabric insatiable and which is, in the end, impacting on the bio-
of the planet. The consequences of this become visible as sphere with drastic consequences. This concern is reflected
global environmental degradation. in the West by the growth of activism and protest organi-
This magical system underwent a metamorphosis in 1971 zations. These same trends (differently expressed) appear
when President Nixon of the US unilaterally abandoned in the Muslim world. The form this usually takes is the
6 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

demand for the establishment of the just order under the 5. The nation state model, which all Muslim countries
Sharı’ah to replace the socialist and capitalist models, which have adopted, has economic development as its highest
are now seen as failures. It is difficult to see where these priority. Coping with environmental change is much
demands for change will take Muslims but it is increasingly lower on the scale.
felt that the current order is untenable in terms of keeping
The following is a crystallization of what we consider to
the planet in good repair.
be the essentials which will bring into focus the dimensions
Muslim minorities, particularly those living in the West,
of change that are needed today from an Islamic perspec-
have an important role to play. Living in the belly of
tive. These ideas have been developed by us over the
the beast gives them the advantage of perspective and
past decade and discussed at various international forums.
their understanding of events could lead to an unique
However, we are at a disadvantage because the principles
contribution to the melting pot of ideas that could lead
we are discussing have been plucked out of the Islamic
us out of this impasse. For example, Muslim groups in
tapestry so assiduously woven over the past 14 centuries.
the West are re-examining alternative currencies and ways
They work best as part of the whole, but how they fit
of trading that are based on the fiqh of Islam and not on together in today’s context and how the whole can be
falsehood (Douthwaite, 1996). “Corruption has appeared in improved, applied and made sense of are matters for open
both land and sea because of what people’s own hands have discussion.
brought about so that they may taste something of what they The planetary system, the earth and its ecosystems,
have done, so that hopefully they will turn back” (30:40). all work within their own limits and tolerances. Islamic
In other words learn from your mistakes. teaching likewise sets limits to human behavior as a control
One could say with a reasonable degree of certainty that against excess and it could be said that the limits to
the environmental problems we see today would not have the human condition are set within four principles. They
happened in a society ordered in accord with Islamic prin- are the unity principle (Tawhıd); the creation principle
ciples because its world view “defined limits to human (Fitra); the balance principle (Mizan); and the responsibility
behaviour and contained excess” (Khalid, 2000). We have principle (Khalıfa).
seen how this was done in the realm of environmental pro-
tection although its stated aim was not precisely that. Rather
The Unity Principle
it came about in the course of establishing public good, one
of the basic principles of the Sharı’ah. Safeguarding against Tawhıd is the foundation of Islamic monotheism and its
human excess had the effect of protecting the natural world. essence is contained in the declaration (Shahada) which
The Sharı’ah evolved holistically and new situations were every Muslim makes and is a constant reminder of faith.
dealt with through the processes we have discussed above. It is “there is no God but God” (lailaha illa-llah) and
However, there is nothing to stop this from continuing. is the foundational statement of the Unity of the Creator
However there are important impediments to its proper from which everything else flows. The second half of this
application today: declaration is “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”
(Muhammadur Rasulullah). “He is Allah, Absolute oneness,
1. The Sharı’ah is no longer supreme even in Islamic Allah the Everlasting Sustainer of all” (112:1, 2). It is the
states because of the dominance of the global system testimony to the unity of all creation and to the fabric
now in place. The influence of international trade and of the natural order of which humankind is an intrinsic
finance is a case in point. part: “what is in the heavens and the earth belong to
2. The Hisbah which was once the environmental enforce- Allah. Allah encompasses everything” (4:125). This is the
ment agency is now virtually non existent. bedrock of the holistic approach in Islam as this affirms the
3. Increasingly civil administration is separating itself interconnectedness of the natural order.
from the body of the people who are coming to be
known as the religious authorities, i.e., a clergy, which The Creation Principle
is not recognized in Islam. This is the case in the Sunni
tradition of Islam, which accounts for about 85% of the The Fitra principle describes the primordial nature of cre-
world’s Muslim population. The Shia tradition has an ation: “Allah’s natural pattern on which He made mankind”
established clergy. The concept of dın is wearing thin (30:29). Mankind was created within the natural pattern of
and as a consequence the holistic approach suffers. nature and being of it, its role is defined by this pattern-
4. Following the Western model, Muslim states increas- ing itself. For a discussion on Fitra, see Yasien Mohammed
ingly function in watertight compartments. As a mirror (1996). Fitra is the pure state, a state of intrinsic goodness
of what is happening in the West, Muslim economists and points to the possibility that everything in creation has
and environmentalists are two separate species with a potential for goodness and the conscious expression of
opposing perspectives. this rests with humankind.
 ISLAM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 7

The Balance Principle outlook. Although it may be possible to incorporate the

principles of Islamic environmental law into the legislative
In one of its more popular passages, the Qur’an describes programs of Muslim countries, the problem will remain one
creation thus (55:1–5): of implementation unless appropriate institutional arrange-
ments are made to replace the old and now virtually defunct
The All-Merciful taught the Qur’an, He created man and
taught him clear expression. The sun and moon both run with
ones. It is also interesting that efforts to meet the challenge
precision. The stars and the trees all bow down in prostration. of environmental change in Muslim countries are made
He erected heaven and established the balance by secular agencies; this is only to be expected, as this
is generally not seen as a Muslim problem. The role of the
Allah has singled out humankind and taught it clear Muslim scholar jurists has been redefined into a religious
expression – the capacity to reason. All creation has an one as the nature of the Muslim state has changed in its
order and a purpose and is in a state of dynamic balance. attempt to cope with modernity. The Muslim scholar jurists
If the sun, the moon, the stars did not bow themselves, i.e., were unwilling partners to this change and were replaced
serve the purpose of their design, it would be impossible by a secularized administration, which gradually weakened
for life to function on earth. This is another way of saying the scholar jurists’ influence as it began to take charge.
that the natural order works because it is in submission to However, there is an awakening amongst Muslims to the
the Creator. It is Muslim in the original, primordial sense. realities of environmental change and therein lies a para-
dox. There is just an off chance that this may lead Muslims
The Responsibility Principle to the discovery that they may be on the wrong side of the
tracks.
This principle establishes the tripartite relationship between
the Creator, humankind and creation. God created every- Note
thing for humankind and appointed it the vice-regent
(Khalif) on this earth: “it is He Who appointed you Khal- The translation of the Qur’an used is that by Bewley and
ifs on this earth” (6:167). This role was one of trustee- Bewley (1999). In subsequent references to the Qur’an in
ship (amanah) which imposed a moral responsibility, “We this essay, a quotation is followed by the chapter and verse
offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth and the moun- numbers in parentheses. The actual names of the chapters
tains but they refused to take it on and shrank from it. have been left out for convenience.
But man took it on.” (33:72). This assumption of respon-
sibility made humankind accountable for their actions, Transliteration of Arabic vowels
“Will the reward for doing good be anything but good?”
(55:59). a pronounced as a in cattle, a pronounced as a in father,
We can deduce in outline from these four principles i pronounced as i as in fin, ı pronounced as ee as in
that creation that is both complex and finite is yet exact. sheep, u pronounced as oo in foot, u pronounced as oo
It emerged from one source and was designed to func- in soon.
tion as a whole. Humankind, like the rest of the natural
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