Of late there has been mounting pressure from many quarters regarding the plight of the environment, most dramatically encapsulated by the climate change crisis. Internationally, there is even talk of criminalizing destruction and mismanagement of forests for example, wherein such actions are going to be considered as ecocide which is not yet illegal at the present time. After 50 years of sounding the alarm bell, environmentalists are also hopeful that the moral power of those who are advocates would increase with the interest taken by the International Criminal Court currently.
In parallel to this perhaps there should also be an expansion of the role of religious leaders in the efforts to curb the escalating dangers to mankind as a result of the inadmissible behaviours towards earth’s finite resources. Just as the quarantines imposed due to the pandemic has been a time for reflecting on the meaning of one’s religiosity so too should policy makers, manufacturers, economists, consumers, and the layman alike be able to receive inputs into their thinking from the religious dimension, about the imminent and critical dangers we have put the planet into due to our intended or unintended actions. Morality and ethics or akhlak after all, is the forte of religion.
In Islamic environmental ethics, mankind carries the mission of imarah (to make prosperous) the gift of nature, often synonimised as a trust or amanah. It could be summarized therefore that one of the central missions of humans (that means each and everyone of us if possible) is to preserve or sustain the wellbeing of nature so as to bring peace and wellbeing to its inhabitants (human and non-human) who by the way are all related to one another as the word ecology presumes and science provides the evidence for.
Religious leaders need to embark on ensuring that curricula, policies and practices of their jamaah (their followers) embody the adab or ethics towards the environment or nature which Allah has created for his sustenance and sustained existence on the planet.
Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that (God) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil). (Quran, Surah ar-Rum, 30: 41)
To Muslims for all ranks, reflection on this ayat is critical today if they are to prove that Islam has something to offer in term of arresting ecocide and climate change.
The term the Quran uses to describe the natural environment is khalq (creation) which significantly is mentioned no less than 261 times. In a broader sense, man is part of the totality of the creational process and the Quran is the manual that lays down the foundations of the guideline (shariah) of our conduct in the affairs between man and man, man and nature, and man and the Creator.
Shariah, which derives from the Arabic word shara’a: means the clear path, way, or the road to a watering (nourishing for life) place. This latter idea clearly indicates the relationship between shariah and the environmental elements, notably water (al-ma’), and water for example, is mentioned 63 times in the Quran.
If we take the link between life and water as an analogy, similarly there is no proper life without shariah. The objectives of the shariah (maqasid al-shariah) consist of five essential values namely preservation and protection of faith, life, intellect, property, and lineage.
The Islamic approach vis-à-vis the environment is neither ecocentrism nor anthropocentrism per se. It strives to create a just balance between the rights and obligations of humans and those of his fellow creatures. Indeed, man is given dominance over nature. Yet, nature is not his to do as he pleases without limits.
In short, Islam has underlined many adab (ethics) of human’s relations with the environment. Plants and animals for example are substantial beings that always interact and in total contributes to human life. In the Quran, flora and fauna are given special attention and specific surah or chapters are named after plants and animals, such as Surah at-Tin (the fig tree) and Surah al-Nahl (bee), Surah al-Ankabut (spider) etc. Furthermore, there are numerous verses that explains human interactions with the environment; such as in Al-An’am; 141 (He is the One who has created gardens, trellised and untrellised, and date-palms and crops with a variety of edibles, and the olive and the pomegranate, (some) similar to one another, and (some) dissimilar. Eat of its fruit when it bears fruits, and pay its due on the day of harvest, and do not be extravagant. Surely, Allah does not like the extravagant), and many others that explains about the biodiversity that has been created, which is now being destroyed at a rapid rate.
The separation between science and religion which led to the peripheralisation of values, meanings, purposes as well as the importance of the demarcation of ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ that affect all areas of life is seen to be instrumental for bringing about the currently dominating man-centered worldview (MCW). The MCW also known as the ‘planetary management worldview’ has been the most dominant in the last 70 years in industrial societies of today.
A summary of its values/principles include the ideas:
- We are the planet’s most important species; we live apart from and are in charge of nature;
- There is always more (resources) and it’s all for us;
- All forms of economic growth is good and desirable even if it is leads to ecocide;
- A healthy environment depends on a healthy economy (when it should be the reversed);
- Our success depends on how well we can understand, control and manage the planet for our benefit (only);
- Other species have a mere instrumental value;
- As the most dominant species, man can and should manage the planet for his benefit alone; with no clear guidelines on why the rich should take care of the poor.
From the standpoint of ecological knowledge, it can be argued that the MCW principles are definitely ignorant of the inappropriateness of such a chauvinistic stance towards nature. The Islamic perspective would inevitably not be in line with it, nor will it be supporting the Sustainable Development Goals the world is struggling to achieve.