NUST COLLEGE OF

ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL

Engineering
Islamic Studies
Topic: Islam and Ecology
Assignment Number: 01
Mechanical Engineering - (B)
Degree – 38

Submitted To: Lec Pakeeza

Tabbussum

Submitted By: PC Umer Bin Sajjad

PC Kanwar
Danish
PC Adeel
Ahmed Asim
 Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed
Trust
Inviting Balanced Stewardship

"Praise be to Allah who created

the heavens and the earth and
made light and darkness"

Introduction:
Ecology is basically the study of interactions
among organisms and their environment.
Relations of animals, plants, micro-organisms,
natural resources and humans in this world
contributes to the ecosystem. Talking about
the Islamic perspective, in the Qur’an, Islam in
all matters weather individual or communal
tells of a trusteeship that was presented by
God to Man. The holy Quran tells us about this
as “Humankind seized the opportunity and bore
the “trust” (amana), but they were ‘unjust and
very ignorant.’”
Even so, God through mercy has guided and
enabled humankind in bearing the
responsibility of this amana, although they
have in the process also been subjected to
punishment for their hypocrisy and unbelief.
The Qur’an, however, is clear that God is the
ultimate holder of dominion over the creation
and that all things return to Him and are thus
accountable each in their own ways.
There is, in the Qur’an and in the teachings of
the prophet of Allah authentic Islamic
environmental ethic that both sustains what
Muslims have achieved traditionally in this
direction and guides us for creative and
innovative solutions in the contemporary
context.
Islam talks a lot about the umma (global
community of believers); some interpretations
give the term a broader meaning, embracing
humanity as a whole. As eco-Muslims often
recall, the Quran also ) that other species
constitute umma-like communities, which are
correspondingly worthy of respect. The Holy
Quran describes the flight of birds where they
fly In a specific pattern exhibiting perfection in
Allah’s creation:
 “Do you not see that Allah is exalted by
whoever is within the heavens and on the
earth, and by the birds with wings
spread? Each of them has known his
means of prayer and exalting..”.

“There is no creature on earth or any bird

that flies with its wing, except [they they
are] a community (umma) like you.”
Allah has perfect knowledge of his creation
and that knowledge is given in the Holy Quran
for us to read and ponder upon:

“With Him are the keys (to the

treasures) of the Unseen that no one
knows but Him. He knows whatever
there is on the earth and in the sea.
Not a leaf falls but with His
knowledge: there is not a grain in
the earth’s shadows, not a thing,
freshly green or withered, but it is
(inscribed) in a clear record”

6,000 verses in the Holy Qur'an, some 750

hadith, one eighth of the Book of Allah, exhort
believers to reflect on nature and to study the
relationship between living organisms and their
environment.

NATURAL RESOURCES:
Water:
“..and We created from water every
living thing”(Surah Al-Anbiyah).
Water is the basic essence of life and a
requirement for all the living in this world. It is
by water that life exists on the planet and so
its importance is manifest compared to other
natural resources. The Holy Quran and Hadith
tell us about its importance and that we must
care for this bounty of Allah that has been
given to us. The protection of this natural
resource is paramount to the natural order of
the Earth.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)

codified in his hadees four categories of water
and what rights humans had in relation to
each. They were categorized as:
  Ocean and sea water: No one’s private
property, belonging to all on earth like the
moon, air, and sun.

 Rivers: No one’s property, should not be

restricted to an owner.

 Shared water(e.g. wells) : property of those

who share it and must be fairly shared by
the parties who have a shared ownership.

 Preserved water (e. g vessels, pots) :

property of a sole individual, but may be
taken if no other water exists and life is in
danger.

In the holy Quran several verses tell about the

hydrological cycle and the fundamental role
water plays in sustaining life on earth. Soil
fertility, properties of fresh and sea water, flow
of rivers, the presence of underground springs
and aquifers and most importantly to the origin
of life.The Qur'an places water at the top of all
the natural phenomena on earth:

“you can see the earth dry and

lifeless and suddenly when we send
down waters upon it, it stirs and
swells and puts forth every kind of
lovely plant!”

At another place the Holy Quran says:

“Behold! In the creation of the heavens
and the earth; in the alternation of the
night and
the day; in the sailing of the ships
through the ocean for the profit of
mankind; in the rain
which Allah Sends down from the skies,
and the life which He gives therewith to
an earth
that is dead…”

So basically the importance of water is

described here as a mode of transport and
more importantly a bringer and sustainer of
life. It can bring life to lifeless Earth and also
confirms that hypothesis that life can only be
there where water is present. Scientific
studies also say so hence one can understand
the importance of this bounty of Allah, clearly
explained in the book of the truth.

Air:
Air is another part of the natural world and a
gift of God Almighty. Air is needed to breath ,
which is an necessary part of our living .Air is
used by the birds to fly and now even humans
use it to fly using aero planes. The Holy Quran
describes this as:

“Do they not look at the birds, held

poised in the midst of (the air and)
the sky? Nothing
holds them up but (the power of)
Allah. Verily in this are signs for
those who believe.”

The signs of the Almighty are infinite in the

world and it is only for us to look them up and
ponder upon the truth. At another place the
Holy Quran describes that prophet Isa(R.A) was
given the miracle of life ,after permission of
Allah:

"And (appoint him) an apostle to the

Children of Israel, (with this
message): "'I have
come to you, with a Sign from your
Lord, in that I make for you out of
clay, as it were, the
figure of a bird, and breathe into it,
and it becomes a bird by Allah’s
leave: And I heal
those born blind, and the lepers, and
I quicken the dead, by Allah’s leave;
and I declare
to you what you eat, and what you
store in your houses. Surely therein
is a Sign for you if
you did believe.”
The power of breath was given to Isa (R.A) by
which life was “blown into” the dead figure.
This further confirms that air is needed for life
to sustain and exist.

Land:
The gift of land is also the bounty of Allah. The
world on which we live, on which we walk, on
which we plant and from which we eat given by
Allah onto us. The Holy Quran describes that
Allah made humans from clay, contrary to the
angels made of a delicate fire, humans were
made out of a common piece of earth:

“I am going to create a human being

out of clay. When I have formed him
and breathed My Spirit into him, fall
down in prostration to him.” (Qur'an,
38:71-72)
At another place:

“We created man from an extract of

clay” (Qur'an, 23:12)
Allah says that we should not ascribe anyone
to Him as the earth was formed by Allah where
the foods and fruits for our subsistence are
there:

“Who has made the earth your couch,

and the heavens your canopy; and sent
down rain
from the heavens; and brought forth
therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then
set not up
rivals unto Allah when ye know”
[Qur’an 2:22]

Thus the gift of land is another thing which we

must cater for in this world.

What does Islam teach about

ecology?

Islamic doctrine basically tells us about

the Tawhid (unity), khilafat (trusteeship),
and akhirah (accountability, or literally, the
hereafter).

Khalifat – trusteeship:
Islam teaches that Allah created humans to be
guardians of His creation. In other words,
nature does not belong to us to do with as we
wish, but is entrusted by Allah to our safe-
keeping.

The prophet of Allah says:

“The world is green and beautiful, and Allah
has appointed you his guardian over it,”

To humankind is given the role of a trustee

(vicegerent). It is a role that each person must
perform wisely and responsibly, fully aware of
human accountability to the Almighty. The
world has been set in a perfect order by the
Almighty and the humans must not cause
chaos or evil in it .Humans have a moral
responsibility in safeguarding God's creation.

In the Islamic world-view the relationship of

man with nature should be like that of just
ruler with his subjects.

Although the ruler has power over his subjects,

his subjects are a trust over which he stands
guards. He is expected to act in a responsible
way (as defined by the revelation) toward them.
Misuse and abuse of his power would shift him
from being a leader to being a leader to being a
tyrant. The end result of tyranny is nothing but
a revolt against the tyrant. This is precisely
what is happening between man the tyrant and
nature the tyrannized. Tyranny is effective only
in short term.

Tawheed – unity:
The central concept of Islam is tawheed, or
unity. Allah is unity, and His unity is reflected
in the unity of humanity and nature. We must
therefore maintain the integrity of the Earth,
its flora and fauna, its wildlife and
environment. Our responsibility is to keep
balance and harmony in Allah’s creation.

Man, being above material nature due to his

theomorphic make-up and the burden of trust,
must deal in similar way with the environment.
This can be described as the rights a subject
enjoys over his ruler’s knowledge. Man is
endowed with higher intelligence than the rest
of creation. Because of this he must assume a
role of guardianship over the rest of creation
and interact with nature in the way that is
worthy of this intelligence. If man does what is
befitting of his high station, then God will
increase His bounties toward man. If he does
not, then whatever he was blessed with is
withheld or taken back.

Akhirah – accountability:
Survival of the fittest where the strongest
survives is the concept of the animal world but
the Islamic terminology runs counter to this
that is cooperation of humans in society.
However the humans are the vicegerents and
therefore are the strongest in the world
survival. According to an evolutionary theory
man is the inevitable winner of the long
struggle, with the right to dominate all things.
Islam teaches that we will one day be judged
by Allah for how we have discharged our
responsibilities following the guidance of
Islam. Have we been good trustees, and have
we kept nature in harmony? So there will be a
day of reckoning.
Islam bounds the humans that they are the
ones who will be held responsible for the
actions they do in this world as the world is for
them.

“Then let him who has done an

atoms weight good see it and let him
who has done an atoms weight of
evil see it.(surah zilzal).”
This means that Allah will hold us accountable
in the hereafter as the Islamic law holds us
responsible in this world.

Avoid waste:
It is said in the Qur’an that Allah invites us to
enjoy the fruits of the earth, but to avoid
excess leading to waste.
“For Allah does not love wasters.”
Islamic Law:
All these principals have been translated into
practical directions for how to live, embodied
in the Shariah, the laws of Islam.Shariah law
protects animals from cruelty, conserves
forests, and limits the growth of cities.

Present Day Islamic Environmental

Action:

1. The Meteorology and Environmental

Protection Agency in Saudi Arabia
promotes environmental activism based on
Islamic principles.
2. The theme of the first Arab Ministerial
Conference was:”The Environmental
Aspects Development” which incorporated
Islamic Faith.

Conclusion:
Islam provides an ecological outlook that is
practical as well as ethical, in terms of
deforestation, air and water pollution, soil
erosion, wildlife extinction and even toxic
waste management.
Roots of the man made environmental crises
and their resolution lie in man’s conception of
his role in the overall scheme of creation. The
crises that are being faced today are
approaching a critical point. Man is forced to
confront certain basic questions about his
relationship to the environment. These are not
questions of sciences, but questions about the
fundamental nature of man and the nature of
the universe he exists in.

Today man is destroying the world around him.

We must understand that we are given the
responsibility of safeguarding the world. Allah
will either bless us or take away these
bounties, depending upon how much we care
for them. Thus Allah says:

“ And the earth- We spread it out and cast

therein firmly set mountains and made grow
therein(something) of very beautiful kind,
giving insight and a reminder for every servant
who turns(to Allah)”
Thus if we decide to conserve the nature
around us then we will be successful in this
world and the next, INSHALLAH.