Sunday, September 21, 2008

QURAN AND ENVIRONMENT



Please read this web site ECO MUSLIMS---10 Quran Verses On The Environment And Do-able Action Plans
Preservation of Water:Another way of ending poverty is to provide clean water where it's needed. This doesn't have to be a burdensome task. Ask your friends/family to chip in £5 for a community well abroad, your home country perhaps. Tell people to reuse their plastic bottles and donate the cost (£1) to your well-fundraising. Save water in your own homes by fixing leaky taps and request that the masjid caps water usage to limit wastage.

Water is a huge life-providing theme in the Qur'an. God talks about how He creates life through water then sustains it by streams, the rains, rivers and oceans that are homes for so many creatures.In the Qur'an, God uses the analogy of life and death for Muslims to recognise the value of water. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that one day people will wage war over rivers of gold. He was talking about water. We have taps that fill our basins with gold, but we cannot afford overflows while people wait for the rains. Third-world countries in desert climates are counting on us to give the cost of our water to them.

By starting something simple like a well-fundraiser you kickstart a chain reaction that will motivate others to do the same. People will call your mosque a Green Mosque for following the prophetic Eco-Wudhuand preserving water. Whomever receives your well/water-pump will be able to plant crops, fruits and trees for generations. 
As water is another natural creation, Muslims believe it belongs to God and nobody can monopolise it. Water is for sharing and there is enough water for all.
Source:: http://www.theecomuslim.com/2013/03/10-environment-quran-verses.html  


it is important to be clear that the answers to the following questions reflect the views of the American Muslim scholars that ING has worked with. In other words, we do not speak for or on behalf of all Muslims. In most cases, however, the views of these scholars probably reflect the views of the majority of Sunni Muslims in the U.S. and worldwide.
 https://ing.org/top-100-frequently-asked-questions-about-muslims-and-their-faith/

102. How does Islam view science?

There are numerous verses in the Qur’an that reference scientific phenomena, including discussions of astronomy, geography, biology, and other aspects of nature and the universe. The Qur’an includes, for instance, a detailed description of the different stages that the embryo goes through in the womb, as well as descriptions of the creation of the earth and of the interaction between fresh and salt water.
These repeated Qur’anic references to nature and injunctions to seek knowledge helped create a fruitful environment for science in Islamic history when during the “Golden Age of Islam” in the Middle Ages, Muslims were in the forefront of such fields as mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, and medicine. Unfortunately, the economic and political decline of the Muslim world in later centuries brought about a decline in scientific and technological endeavor until recent decades.
However, today, many American Muslims and Muslims worldwide work in science-based professions such as medicine, dentistry, and various fields of engineering, and many are leaders in their fields.

104. What is Islam’s view of the environment and the importance of protecting it?

There are hundreds of verses throughout the Qur’an that describe the wonders of creation and nature and call upon humankind to reflect on them as signs of God. Humans are described as stewards over this earth (as is the case in Jewish and Christian scripture), entrusted with its oversight. There are also numerous Qur’anic as well as prophetic injunctions to avoid waste, excess, and harm to other forms of creation. A prophetic saying forbids wasting water, even when washing in a river. Living a balanced, moderate lifestyle is an important Islamic principle advocated by most Muslim scholars that applies to all aspects of life, including care of the earth and all of creation.

It was repeatedly mentioned in the Qur'an: Forbidding from spoiling the earth after Allah (Exalted and Almighty) has created it suitable and well prepared for the successive human generations. It announced that Allah does not like spoiling or those who spoil in life, this includes spoiling environment, polluting it or being aggressive with it. Also it is forbidden to abuse it in any way that would make it deviate from the purpose of Allah created it for. This would be like showing ingratitude to Allah, that would cause vengeance from Allah, and becomes like a warning to those who perpetrated this, that severe penalty will almost come upon them as what happened before to the `Aad and the Thamud and those who came after them.
"Who did transgress beyond bounds in the land (in the disobedience of Allah) and made therein much mischief. So your Lord poured on them different kinds of severe torment. Surely your Lord is Ever-Watchful." (89:11-14) Islam urges its followers to have great concern for everything created by Allah, for it is part and parcel of "submission to Allah" to show reverence to all what the Almighty Allah created.
Elaborating more on this, we cite the following:

The Islamic attitude towards the environment that surrounds humanity is not merely restricted to the presence of Allah everywhere but also to the following dimensions:

By submitting to Allah, Islam establishes the bedrock of the relationship between finite, mortal human beings and the infinite Divine, the secular and the sacred. This relationship cannot be understood without first realising the meaning of the "submission" that the "created" should concede in his relationship with the Creator.

Humans have to accept that they are created beings who act as the "agents" of Allah on earth. These agents are creative in their own way but they are not Allah. Humans, however, will become closer to the sacred by operating according to Allah's instructions. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a Hadith Qudsi (Divine Hadith), quotes Allah as saying: "When a worshipper moves closer to me by good virtues and voluntary acts of worship (nawafil), I will be his hearing by which he can hear, I will be his eyes by which he can see, I will be his hand by which he can act, and his feet by which he can walk. If he asks Me [to give him] I will give him what he wants, and if he asks for protection I will protect him." (Al-`Asqalani, 1959: 11, 341)

Islam, as a way of life, expects human beings to conserve the environment for several reasons which may be summarized as follows:

1- The environment, is Allah's creation. The creation of this earth and all its natural resources is a sign of His wisdom, mercy, power and His other attributes and therefore serves to develop human awareness and understanding of this creator. (Ar-Ra`d, 13: 2-4; 21:79)

2- Muslims should seek to protect and preserve the environment because by so doing they protect Allah's creatures which pray to Him and praise Him. Humankind might not be able to understand how these creatures praise Allah but this does not mean that they do not do so, Allah says: (The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: There is not a thing but celebrates His praise, and yet ye understand not how they declare His Glory!) (Al-Israa' 17: 44)

3- The environment contains Allah's creatures which the Muslim scholars consider to also deserve protection.

4- Also among the reasons why Islam seeks to protect and preserve the environment is that Islam, as a way of life, is established on the concept of good (khayr). Therefore it is expected that Islam will protect the environment once it is understood that such protection is good by itself. The Qur'an states: (He whoso do good an atom's weight will see it. And whoso do ill an atom's weight will see it.) (Az-Zalzalah 99: 7-8)

In Islam, humans are expected to protect the environment since no other creature is able to perform this task. Humans are the only being that Allah has "entrusted" with the responsibility of looking after the earth. This trusteeship is seen by Islam to be so onerous and burdensome that no other creature would 'accept' it. Allah says: (Lo! 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 Lo! he is a tyrant and fool.) (Al-Ahzab 33: 72)

In Islam the relationship between humankind and the environment is part of social existence, an existence based on the fact that everything on earth worships the same God. This worship is not merely ritual practice, since rituals are simply the symbolic human manifestation of submission to Allah. The actual devotions are actions, which can be practiced by all the creatures of earth sharing the planet with the human race. Moreover humans are responsible for the welfare and sustenance of the other citizens of this global environment. The Qur'an contains many verses that can be referred to for guidance in this respect. The following verse 21 of the second surah of the Qur'an, is one example:

(O people! Worship your Lord, Who hath created you and those before you, so that you may ward off (evil). Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).) (Al-Baqarah 2: 21-22)

The word in this verse which is translated as "may ward off evil" is in Arabic tattaqun. It enjoins piety and awareness which is accompanied by an appreciation of the surrounding environment. In this verse, the Qur'an speaks directly to all groups of people, whether believers, or not. It attempts to mobilize people to the importance of "worshipping Allah" as a symbol and a way of life that enjoins justice and equity in handling the system created by Him.

This system has been placed under human responsibility, to be cared for and not misused as can be concluded by returning to verse 22 ofsurat al-Baqarah. The word lakum (for you) in the phrase "created for you" contains the message that the earth is not for one generation but for every generation, past, present and future and that would include humans as well as other creatures on this earth. Accordingly, rivers, minerals are the property of all. This should be distributed fairly and justly especially when it happens to be owned collectively like the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates

Read More On http://saleemindia.blogspot.in/2011/10/quran-and-environmental-issues.html
 Pollution is one form of corruption ("fasal" in Arabic) mentioned in the Glorious Quran eight times. Counting the derivations of the word "fasal" mentioned elsewhere in the Quran raises the number to 49. "Fasal" involves physical corruption like disrupting the environmental phenomena and the contents of the universe (water, soil, food) by foolish human interference in the natural balance created by Allah the Almighty, Who did so wisely, perfectly and infallibly to fit the life of all creatures.

Water pollution in general means polluting water streams, wells, rivers, seas, rain and underground water in such a way that makes it unfit for man, animals, plants, or the sea and ocean creatures. Air pollution involves the discharge of gases, smoke and fumes (the solid, liquid and gaseous forms of matter) into the air surrounding living creatures, and the change of its natural composition. This leads ultimately to the unsuitability of the habitat, contrary to what Allah willed for His creatures. Physiological, economic and biological damages are, in fact, devastating to man, animals, plants and other creatures. 
The corrupters of the earth, whether those who deny God, practice injustice or go against the universal laws, are referred to by the following Quranic verses.
"There is the type of man whose speech about this world's life may dazzle thee, and he calls The God (Allah) to witness about what is in his heart: yet is he the most contentious of enemies? When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loves not mischief" (Al-Baqarah: verses 204 and 205)
An incidence occurred prior to these verses being revealed. A man named Al-Akhnas Ibn Shuriq came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to embrace Islam, but as he turned to leave, he happened to pass by a pasture and grazing animals. He set it alight and killed the cattle. The verses were sent down as a sign of Divine disapproval.
This incident recurs over history on a wider scale involving millions of people throughout the earth. The natural wealth deposited by Allah for the benefit of mankind has been spoiled. Selfishness and aggression has overcome mankind, as they have become corrupters of earth, the surrounding atmosphere and neighboring outer space.

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