"Do no mischief on the earth after it hath been set in order, but
call on him with fear and longing in your hearts: for the Mercy of God
is always near to those who do good" (Qur'an' 7:56).
"The Qur'an' and
the Hadith are rich in proverbs and precepts that speak of the Almighty's
design for creation and humanity's responsibility for
preserving it. For many Muslims, citing these is enough to prove that
Islam has always embraced a complete environmental ethic. Others are
more critical. They readily acknowledge that the guidelines are all there
in Islamic doctrine. Tawhid (unity), khilafa (trusteeship), and akhirah
(accountability, or literally, the hereafter), three central concepts
of Islam, are also the pillars of Islam's environmental ethic. But they
add that Muslims have strayed from this nexus of values and need to return
to it."
-- Marjorie Hope and James Young, Islam
and Ecology.
"Today there are
basically three types of Islam: traditionalism, modernism, and a variety
of forms of revivalism usually brought together as fundamentalism.
Until two hundred years ago, in spite of the many schools and interpretations,
all Muslims lived within the tradition, with its roots in the Qur'an,
Hadith, and the shari'ah. It was a living tradition, emphasizing the
harmony of law, art, and all forms of knowledge. In the eighteenth century
modernism, with its roots in secular humanism, entered this world, in
all fields from science and philosophy to art, and traditional Islam
began to weaken. Today we also see it struggling against many of the
forms of violent revivalism usually called Islamic fundamentalism, which
speaks of reviving Islam in opposition to modernism. But most so-called
fundamentalists are pseudo-traditional, as can be seen in their attitude
toward modern technologies and the destruction of the environment. Many
of the so-called fundamentalists, like Christian fundamentalists, pull
out a verse from the scriptures and give it a meaning quite contrary
to its traditional commentary. Also, even while denouncing modernism
as the 'Great Satan,' many fundamentalists accept its foundations, especially
science and technology. For traditionalists, there is beauty in nature
which must be preserved and beauty in every aspect of traditional life,
from chanting the Qur'an to the artisan's fashioning a bowl or everyday
pot. Both fundamentalists and modernists, however, could just as easily
produce mosques that look like factories. Many fundamentalists even seek
a Qur'anic basis for modern man's domination and destruction of nature
by referring to the injunction to 'dominate the earth' -- misconstruing
entirely the basic idea of vicegerency: that man is expected to be the
perfect servant of God."
-- Seyyed
Hossein Nasr, University Professor
of Islamic Studies at George Washington University and one of the world's
leading experts on Islamic science and spirituality. Nasr
is
the author of numerous books including Man and Nature: the Spiritual
Crisis of Modern Man (Kazi Publications, 1998), Religion and
the Order of Nature (Oxford, 1996) and Knowledge and the Sacred (SUNY,
1989). He studied physics and math at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and obtained
a doctorate in science and philosophy
at Harvard.
"The primary
basis of an Islamic world view is the idea of Tauhid, or the oneness
of God. A world view based on tauhid sees this universe as originating
from God, returning to Him, and centered around Him. It is a world
created and sustained by God with a purpose, and a design. As this
entire universe is a product of His divine wish, it is a universe unfolding
with a divine purpose. The reference point, the center of all things
is God.
...Tauhid
is the point of origin of a theological doctrine of ecology. All things
seen or unseen are God’s signs (ayat) and act as witnesses to
His existence. All things in the universe are manifestations of Him,
all are from Him.
Human nature is the other key facet of the world-view of Islam. Man fulfills
a very important role in this cosmos. Although all things are made by
God and identified with God in as much as their being created by Him,
man enjoys a role as God's vicegerent (his representative) having a freedom
and far-reaching power latent within him.
...In
the Islamic world-view the relationship of man with nature should
be like that of a 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 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 the short
term.
...man is endowed with a 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
a 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. ...The crises
that are being faced today are approaching a point of critical mass
such that man is forced to confront certain basic questions about his
relationship
to the environment. These are not questions of technology, but questions
about the fundamental nature of man, the nature of the universe he
exists in, and of the ultimate nature of Reality."
- Atiya
and Irshaad Hussain (1991)
Islam