Islam and the Environment

Islam and the Environment

Islam environment

Khalifa – trusteeship

Muslims believe that Allah created humans to take care of His creation. In other words, nature is not ours to do with as we wish. Rather, Allah has entrusted us with its safekeeping.

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

Tawheed – unity

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

Akrah – accountability

Islam teaches that one day Allah will judge us on how we have carried out our responsibilities. Have we been good trustees? Have we kept nature in harmony? The day of reckoning will come.

Avoid waste

The Qur’an says that Allah invites us to enjoy the earth’s fruits, but to avoid excess leading to waste, “for Allah does not love wasters.”

Shariah

All these principles translate into practical directions for living, embodied in Shariah, the Islamic law. For example, Shariah law protects animals from cruelty, conserves forests, and limits urban growth.

Judaism and the Environment

Judaism and the Environment

Many passages in the Torah adjure us to open our eyes and act responsibly and with compassion toward the world around us. Among other ecological mandates, the Torah proclaims the laws of bal tashchit (neither to destroy wantonly, nor waste resources unnecessarily); prohibits cutting down fruit trees surrounding an enemy city in wartime; lays out laws of covering excrement and removing debris from public places; and so forth.

In doing so, the scriptures show that although we may feel at odds with nature, having to struggle to survive, in truth the world forms a potentially harmonious whole in which each element is precious.

Every creature shares a collective destiny with every other creature. Thus, our fundamental attitude should be one of compassion, not greed or aggression. This ethic applies toward all levels of creation: the “silent” or mineral level, plants, animals and humans. Jewish sages warn against treating food disrespectfully. It is written, ‘You have formed them all with wisdom’ (Psalms 104:24). Just as the Supernal Wisdom, who created all things, despises nothing, we also should show compassion to all of the Holy One’s creation.

Judaism holds a G‑d-centered view of the universe, rather than human- or nature-centered. The kinship of all creatures, and their shared mission of each serving G‑d in its own way, is often compared to a cosmic song. As Jews recite during the Sabbath prayers, “The soul of every living being shall bless Your Name . . . All hearts shall revere You, and every innermost part shall sing to Your Name.”

“If you are amazed at how it is possible to speak, hear, smell, touch, see, understand and feel—tell your soul that all living things collectively confer upon you the fullness of your experience. Not the least speck of existence is superfluous; everything is needed, and everything serves its purpose. ‘You’ are present within everything that is beneath you, and your being is bound up with all that transcends you.”
—Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook (1865–1935), Ashkenazic chief rabbi of pre-state Israel and a leading 20th-century thinker

God in Everything

God in Everything

“God had brought me to my knees and made me acknowledge my own nothingness, and out of that knowledge I had been reborn. I was no longer the centre of my life and therefore I could see God in everything.”
― Bede Griffiths