Not only must man use natural resources in a responsible way, but also, as the vicegerent of God on the earth (2:30; 6:165; 35:39), he must feel responsible for their maintenance and improvement of their condition. The Holy Qur’an says:
He is the one who created you from the earth and settled you upon it so that you might cultivate it and construct towns.
(11:61)
As a trustee:
The Holy Qur’an states:
‘We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it’ (33:72).
This means that human beings have been given the responsibility of stewardship and trust (al-amaanah) by God in order to care for and serve as a channel for the blessings of God to all creation. Humans are invested with special status and responsibility as trustees on earth and must fulfil the requirements of that trust. According to Islamic thought, nature is a divine trust and man is the trustee. It can also be argued that since future generations also have rights to benefit from it, nature is also a trust for them.
Some vices related to human treatment of the environment
Extravagance. One of the great threats for human society and the environment is extravagance. The origins of this are greed and negligence. This character is controlled by religious teachings. In Islamic sources, two sins are distinguished. One is israaf or wasteful consumption. Another sin is tabdhir or squandering. These two concepts are brought into play to adjust human behaviour.
Vandalism. According to a well-established rule in Shi’ite jurisprudence, nobody can cause harm or loss to others. This is a general rule which is supported by many verses and hadiths and, in particular, by the well-known prophetic hadith: ‘La darar-a wa la dirar-a fi’l-Islam’. This hadith, about which tens of books and essays have been written, means that there is no place in Islam for inflicting any harm on one’s self or on others.
Corruption. Islam opposes mischief and corruption in all forms. Any act of mischief is condemned, whether it be in respect to human beings or living beings or even non-living beings. The Holy Qur’an says:
When he turns his back, his aim is to spread mischief on the earth and destroy crops and progeny. But God does not love corruption.
(2:205)Do no mischief on the earth, after it has 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.
(7:56)
Islam and Sustainable Development
- Islam promotes peace and harmony; the Islamic way of life entails living in peace and harmony with other human beings and the natural environment. If people follow a truly Islamic way of life sustainable development is an assured natural result. There is much counter-factual evidence however.
- The cradle of Islam, Saudi Arabia can hardly be argued as a society not living according to the Dīn. The International Energy Agency however has shown that energy use per person within Saudi Arabia is among the highest in the world. In fact, energy consumption is growing faster than GDP in the Saudi Kingdom, which is contrary to the general trend observed globally.[1] This trend in consumption is due to increasingly energy-intensive lifestyles that result from domestic energy prices being kept artificially lower than market prices through government subsidies, a policy that does not fit easily with the Islamic principles. Not only is Saudi consumption energy high, it has among the worst energy efficiency outcomes per unit of energy consumed. Only in 2011 were steps to develop energy efficient technologies and conservation policies taken via the new Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC). Saudi Arabia also has very low levels of investment in renewable energy despite being one of the most cash rich countries in the world to invest in such clean green technology.[2]
- Pakistan is another Muslim majority country (and Islamic Republic) however it also ranks very poorly on social and environmental sustainability measures. The country has some of the worst human induced deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff in the world.[3]
Today’s Condition
- Most of Earth’s natural vital resources are being extinguished as they are struggling to cope up with todays rate of industrialisation. The interim report of the United Nations study called “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Study” 2008 calculated that we destroy 50 billion dollars’ worth of a natural system that produces its services for humanity. By mapping the loss of those services over a 40 year period, their estimate is that the global economy incurs an annual loss of around 2 to 4.5 trillion dollars every year. A part of the solution to our worldwide crises simply does not lie in better technology but recovery of the soul to our mainstream thinking.[4] Only sacred traditions have the capacity to help this happen.[5] Our striving for and industrial world is mainly to increase financial profit which is against the teachings of Islam which recognises that it is not our animal needs that are absolute but it is our spiritual essence. The of a mechanistic approach of science over everything else, including religion has “de-souled” the dominant world view and that includes our perception of nature. Quran describes Natural world as the handiwork of a unitary benevolent power. It explicitly describes Nature as possessing an intelligibility and that there is no separation between Man and Nature. We are finite beings according to the Quran and nature is our knowing partner, never a mindless slave to humanity and we are her tenants’ God’s guests for all too a short time.
- Quran emphasises on the sustainable use of resources : “Have you considered, if your water were to disappear into the Earth, who then would bring you gushing water?” (67:30). The Earth is robust and Prolific but also delicate, subtle, complex and diverse and so we must use it judicially or else water levels will deplete like they have in Punjab where farming methods rely on the use of high- yielding seeds and chemical fertilizers both which need a lot more energy. Farmers in Punjab have to dig as deep as 200 feet down below to find water.
- The way of life subscribed by Islam incorporates limits as to the abundance of nature. These are limits imposed by Allah and Muslims are commanded to not transgress them. Reverence for Nature is not a science-based knowledge. During the so called “Golden age of Islam”, there was a rise in scientific progress which was grounded in profound spirituality which included a deep reverence for the Natural world. If we throw this reverence out of the window, we are ignoring what we call the “precautionary principle”. And yet what is often confused with modernity is “westernisation”.
- Working in Muslim Countries, the Word Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found that trying to convey the importance of conservation is much easier if transmitted by religious leaders whose references if Quranic Teaching. In Zanzibar, they had little success trying to reduce spar fishing and the use of Dragnets which were destroying coral reefs. But when guidance came from the Quran, there was a notable change in behaviour. Also, in Malaysia and Indonesia, Former poachers are being deterred from poaching the last remaining tigers.
THE ISLAMIC DECLARATION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty adopted on 9 May 1992 and opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. It then entered into force on 21 March 1994. The UNFCCC has 197 parties as of December 2015.
The Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change was formally adopted at a Symposium held on 17-18 August, 2015. The international event brought together 80 carefully selected representatives of academics, religious authorities, inter-governmental organisations, civil society, practitioners and mobilisers across a broad cross section of Muslim communities.
It called upon the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Kyoto Protocol taking place in Paris this December, 2015 to bring their discussions to an equitable and binding conclusion, bearing in mind:
- The scientific consensus on global climate change, which is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate systems;
- The need to set clear targets and monitoring systems;
- The dire consequences to the planet Earth if we do not do so;
- The enormous responsibility the COP shoulders on behalf of the rest of humanity, including leading us to a new way of relating to God’s Earth. 3.2 We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to –
- Lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century;
- Provide generous financial and technical support to the less well-off to achieve a phase-out of greenhouse gasses as early as possible;
- Recognize the moral obligation to reduce consumption so that the poor may benefit from what is left of the earth’s non-renewable resources;
- Stay within the ‘2 degree’ limit, or, preferably, within the ‘1.5 degree’ limit, bearing in mind that two-thirds of the earth’s proven fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground;
- Re-focus their concerns from unethical profit from the environment, to preserving it and elevating the condition of the world’s poor.
- Invest in the creation of a green economy.
The declaration made a call on the people of all Muslim nations and their leaders to –
- Aim to phase out greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere;
- Commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible, to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities;
- Invest in decentralized renewable energy, which is the best way to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development;
- Set in motion a fresh model of wellbeing, based on an alternative to the current financial model, which depletes resources, degrades the environment, and deepens inequality.
- Prioritise adaptation efforts with appropriate support to the vulnerable countries with the least capacity to adapt, and to vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples, women, and children.
The declaration made a call upon corporations, finance, and the business sector to –
- Shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities, and take a visibly more active role in reducing their carbon footprint and other forms of impact upon the natural environment;
- In order to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible and shift investments into renewable energy;
- Change from the current business model, which is based on an unsustainable escalating economy, and adopt a circular economy that is wholly sustainable;
- Pay more heed to social and ecological responsibilities, particularly to the extent that they extract and utilize scarce resources;
- Assist in the divestment from the fossil fuel driven economy
Way Forward
God’s wisdom has ordained stewardship (khilafa) on the earth to human beings. Therefore, in addition to being part of the earth and part of the universe, man is also the executor of God’s injunctions and commands. He is only a manager of the earth and not a proprietor; a beneficiary and not a disposer. Heaven and earth and all that they contain belong to God alone. Man has been granted stewardship to manage the earth in accordance with the purposes intended by its Creator; to utilize it for his own benefit and the benefit of other created beings, and for the fulfilment of his interests and of theirs. He is thus entrusted with its maintenance and care, and must use it as a trustee, within the limits dictated by his trust. The right to utilize and harness natural resources, which God has granted man, necessarily involves an obligation on man’s part to conserve them both quantitatively and qualitatively. It follows that man has no right to cause the degradation of the environment and distort its intrinsic suitability for human life and settlement.
The author is a lawyer based out of Bangalore.
[1] International Energy Agency, available at: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/kwes.pdf (Last Visited on April 24, 2019)
[2]Saudi Arabia GDP, available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNS.ICTR.ZS (Last Visited on April 24, 2019)
[3] Weiss, Anita M. and Mughal, Muhammad Aurang Zeb. 2012. Pakistan. Louis Kotzé and Stephen Morse (eds.), Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, Vol. 9. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing, pp. 236-240.
[4] Lecture by H.R.H The Prince of Wales, “Islam and the Environment”,Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, 2010.
[5] Ibid.
