The environment and Islam

Everything in this world was created by Almighty Allah with a specific size and measurement, both qualitatively and qualitatively. It is stated in the Holy Quran: "We have created everything with a specific measure and proportion." (54:49) "We have produced everything in a balanced way." (15:19)
Apparently it seems that the things in this world are different in nature, kind, size, colour and function. But in reality, there is a strong natural link binding these things together. By the natural and instinctive mechanism, Almighty Allah maintains a balance among His creation. Since everything in this universe is created by Him, so it must obey his orders -  natural or social. When this order is violated, there arises a disorder or imbalance leading to natural disaster or environmental degradation in modern terminology. The instinctive or built in urge in the creation to obey the Creator has been described in the Holy Quran as "Tasbih". The verse No 44 of Surah No 17 says, "There is nothing in this universe which does not sing the glory of Allah, but you cannot understand this." Due to this, there does not occur any disturbance in the natural balance except as a result of intervention from man who is not always in good term with natural balance. Having been adorned with the quality of free will and eagerness to dominate the universe, he always tries to shape it according to his own will and necessity. Here comes the main reason for natural imbalance causing all kinds of natural disasters, distortions and degradations. The Holy Quran says, "All disturbances in the land and sea are but due to misdeeds of mankind." (30:41)
Man is an important organ of this universal body enjoying a special position and power. His relation with other organs is determined by using those for the sake of performing the duties which he is entrusted with. Almighty Allah made him 'Khalifa' or vicegerent to execute his natural and social orders. He is, therefore, a custodian and manager of this universe but not owner of it. He is to administer it as per instructions given by Almighty Allah. So, man is to look into the affairs of this world from three points of view.
First: Everything in this world has been created for a particular purpose and with a specific measurement.
Second: All men have equal rights in the management of the affairs of this world. Here men mean present generation and future generation.
Third: Man should utilise the creations of Allah in such a way that will not disturb the natural balance maintained by a very strong invisible bond.
It is, therefore, forbidden in Islam to disturb environmental balance by destroying any unit or by displacing it from its original place. Islamic injunctions regarding protection of environment are of two kinds -  positive and negative. By positive approach, we mean doing something for protection of the environment and by negative approach we mean not to do something for the sake of its protection.
Positive Approach
The basic idea in this regard is that the Almighty Allah created this world to be a peaceful habitat for mankind. The Holy Quran states "He created you from the earth and then made it habitable for you." (4:61) It is the sacred duty of every person to keep this world in its destined position. Islam describes that every known and unknown creation of this world has got two functions:
l  The social function of being beneficial for mankind and serve as a symbol of wisdom of the Creator.
l The natural function of being an instrument in fulfilling the desire of Almighty Allah.
This approach can be explained by discussing the attitude of Islam towards some basic units --water, wind, flora and fauna.
Water: Almighty Allah made water a basic factor of life. He says, "We crated every living thing from water." (21:30) So, the existence of every living thing depends on water. In the holy Quran it is stated, "Almighty Allah sends down water from the sky and gives life through it to an earth that is dead." (2:164) In addition, in its physical and biological functions water also serves as a basic unit for cleanliness and the Holy Quran declares: "He causes rain to descend on you to clean and purify you by it." (8:11) "We have brought down water from the sky as a unit of purification." (25:48) Besides, water also serves as a living place for many creatures who play an important role in making this world worthy of living.
There is no doubt that this basic unit of life must be protected for the sake of continuation of life -  biological and social. There is a basic rule of Islamic Jurisprudence that "The necessary element of essential is also essential." So, anything that destroys water by polluting or making it unusable is forbidden in Islam. Because what leads to 'Haram' is also 'Haram'. In this way, Islam cleared the way for environmental protection.
On the other hand as this is a basic unit for the survival of life, the utilisation of water has been made free for all. The Holy Quran says, "The water is equally distributed among all." (54:28) The Holy Prophet (SM) said, "Men are equally entitled to three basic things: Water, Pasture and Fire." (Abu Daud)
Air: Air is the most important factor in protection and sustenance of life. It is also the main instrument for environmental pollution. It plays an invisible role in protection and destruction of life. The Holy Quran describes it as a blessing from Allah and a basic instrument to production, reproduction and fecundation. "We have sent air as an instrument of fecundation." (15:22) In several verses, the Holy Quran narrates how air is used to direct the clouds from one place to another according to natural needs of different places.
If air is considered to be such an important factor of life, the preservation and protection of its purity and cleanliness is a sacred duty of every human being. Any attempt to pollute it or make it impure, is to be considered as an act directed against the Will of Allah. It will also be an attempt to destroy some human functions and to create an obstacle in his way to play his due role in making this world habitable.
Flora and Fauna: Islam attaches great importance to preservation and protection of greeneries and animals. It indicated in different ways that trees and animals are created to serve the purpose of maintaining natural balance by obeying natural laws. In the terminology of the Holy Quran, it is called 'Tasbih'. "You don't see that the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the hills, the trees, the animals and all other things in the heavens and in the earth bow down before Almighty Allah." (22:18) Apart from this, Islam considers the animals and other creations as important as human being. "There is no animal in this earth nor a bird flying by its two wings but community like you." (6:38) So, it is clear that Islam wants to preserve and protect all kinds of trees and animals unless these are badly required to serve a definite purpose. The Prophet (SM) prohibited destruction of flora and fauna even during war. There are many stories authenticated by various jourers about his love for the animals. In doing so, Islam contributed a
lot for the greenies and protection of the environment. Because indiscriminate killing of animals and destruction of greeneries is a big threat to the preservation of environment.
Negative Approach
From this approach, we can see that Islam forbids everything that is harmful for man as it attaches great importance to maintaining peace, discipline and order in the biological and social environs. There is a saying of the Prophet (SM) that "There should not be any harmful element in society." (Muatta and Musthdrak) Besides this, Islam also prescribes "Protection / prevention is better that cure." So, it recommends that all sectors of life should be managed in such a way that keeps it far away from harmful things.
From this point of view, we can safely ascertain that the use of harmful insecticides, chemicals and other materials that destroy the natural purity and lead to environmental pollution are forbidden in Islam. In this connection, the following steps should be considered very seriously:
1. Protection and preservation of the environment is a religious and social responsibility of every individual as well as every corporate body like municipalities and public enterprises.
2. There should be a strong campaign to convince the people that they must be aware of this responsibility and to encourage them by citing relevant verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith. One should consider environmental pollution as a disorder which is condemned in the Holy Quran. "Do not create disorder in the earth after there was peace and discipline." (7:56) There is a saying of the Prophet (SM) which states "True Muslim is a man from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe." So, a Muslim cannot cause harm to others by polluting nature and environment.
3. The state is allowed to interfere in the affairs connected with the protection of environment. Because it is the duty of the state to protect greater interests of the people. This is accepted in the Islamic Jurisprudence. The limits of this interference will be determined by the relevant context.
4. Where personal interest and national interests conflict, the national interests should be given priority. In this way, there may arise conflict between necessary interests and casual interests. In that case necessary interests will be given priority. So, if somebody is producing something by pouring smoke into the air, or tries to pollute water by using poisonous substance to kill something, then the state should take steps to prevent it.
In this connection, the state should take two kinds of steps -- preventive and curative.
If a project is presumed to produce something harmful to society, then the Government has the right to impose a ban on it. Likewise the state can punish a man or a corporate body for polluting the environment and make appropriate law for this purpose.
In fine, it can be said that the issue of environmental protections is a humanitarian and Islamic issue at the same time. Because Islam considers mankind as the ultimate goal of this creation. As the pollution of environment is detrimental to the existence of mankind, Islam treats its protection as a sacred duty of every Muslim. It should be kept in our minds that we cannot consider achievement of technological or economic development by making this world unworthy of living for the next generation. At least Islam cannot allow it. As a complete and comprehensive code of life, it always emphasises harmonious development of material and spiritual, temporal and perpetual, present and future life. It is, therefore, our duty not to formulate such policies   technological and economic   which do not ensure this kind of comprehensive development but lead to promote one kind of lie at the cost of other kinds.
We should also bear in our thoughts that we cannot take such programmes that lead to the harming of neighbouring countries. Because Islam does not allow benefit of one person or group destroying benefits of others. So, Islam welcomes any local, regional and international initiative for saving mankind from any kind of disaster environmental pollution being one of the most devastating of them. It supports any efforts to establish a balanced system aimed at protection of man, his environs, and to ensure a peaceful life for the present and future generations.
The writer is a former Diplomat & Pro VC of a private university. He can be reached on his e mail: nafaznoor@hotmaii.com