faith_inspiration_reflections_on_environment

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the Magnificent

Surah Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent)

(Allah) Most Gracious!

It is He Who has taught the Qur'an.

He has created man

He has taught him speech (and intelligence).

The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed

And the herbs and the trees - both (alike) bow in adoration.

And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice),

In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance.

So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance

It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures

Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes (enclosing dates);

Also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants

Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

(The Holy Quran, Verses 1-13 of 78, translation by Yusuf Ali)

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, once stated that “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.” Other sayings of his that

have

narrated by his esteemed companions include, “whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is

rewarded,” “if the

believer plants a tree or sows a field and men and birds eat from it, all of it is charity on his part,” and “the world is green

and God appointed you

stewards over it, and He will see how you carry out your responsibilities.”

These hadith capture the Islamic ideal of a relationship between humanity and nature, the communicative relationship between people and

all of their

surroundings. We are told in many ayat of the Quran that in the beauty of nature is itself a message from God, a sign that points

back to Him. It is a

non-verbal message through which God calls us, and in turn, it inspires in us an equally wordless awe and reverence.

God’s Unity, or tawheed, is reflected in all of reality, in the unity of humanity and the unity of nature. Humanity in turn has been given the

trust

(amanah and khilafah) to apprehend, revere, and maintain the unity, cohesion and integrity of the Earth. Our charge is to keep things

in balance and

to preserve Gods’ creation.

People often speak of the environment as if it is something separate from us, something we observe, we master and we exploit. Yet, the

environment

is deeply embedded within us, and we are the environment—all the things we do that cause damage to the environment

ultimately cause damage to

us, and whatever happens in the environment ultimately happens to us. Since in the Muslim world view, all

reality is a reflection of Divine Unity, a loss

of harmony with the environment is ultimately a reflection of our fragmented spirituality.

We ourselves are Signs of God, and thus, keeping balance in our interpersonal relations and our economies also becomes critical for

maintaining a

larger cosmic balance. Our patterns of consumption need urgent attention. We also cannot speak of protecting the

environment without looking at

questions of justice, and how poor communities both locally and globally bear a disproportionate burden of

the waste that we produce. Through living

out a concern for balance, we must become human conveyors of God’s Compassion, Nurturing,

Fairness and Mercy.

Reflections on the Environment

Sarah Sayeed, Ph.D.

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