By Ibrahim Ozdemir, Ph.D.
Excerpts taken from An
Islamic Approach to the Environment Page
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We are God’s vicegerents
on the earth; it has been given us in trust.
Just as we are not the lords of nature and the
world, so the world is not our property which
we can dispose of as we wish or as we are able.
Nature was created by God and it belongs to
God. Everything in nature is a sign of God’s
existence; that is, a token or missive. The
Qur’an expresses this truth as follows:
We shall show them our signs in
the [furthest] regions [of the earth], and in
their own souls.[Qur’an,
41:53]
Behold! In the creation of the heavens
and the earth; in the alternation of the night
and the day; in the sailing of the ships through
the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the
rain which God sends down from the skies, and
the life which He gives therewith to an earth
that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that
He scatters through the earth; in the change
of the winds, and the clouds subjugated between
the sky and earth — [here] indeed are
signs for a people who thinks.[Qur’an,
2:164]
The above verse illustrates why Muslim scholars
look on nature as a book, even calling it “the
book of the universe,” in this way pointing
out that just like the Qur’an, the universe
makes known to us our Sustainer and Creator.
And the book of the universe has been entrusted
to us to preserve and protect. Should those
who hold the Qur’an in respect and awe,
not touching it unless purified by ablutions,
not also treat the book of the universe respectfully
and lovingly? Our duty, therefore, as God’s
vicegerents and trustees, is to show respect
for the trust, and to preserve it carefully,
in no way wasting its natural resources when
using or consuming them.
And you certainly know already the
first form of creation: why then
do you not celebrate His praises?
See you the seed that you sow in the ground?
Is it you that cause it to grow, or are We the
cause?
Were it our will, We could crumble it to dry
powder, and you
would be left in wonderment,
[Saying], “We are indeed left with debts
[for nothing];
“Indeed are we shut out [of the fruits
of our labour].”
See you the water which you drink?
Do you bring it down [in rain] from the cloud
or do We?
Were it our will, We could make it salt [and
unpalatable]; then why
do you not give thanks?
See you the fire which you kindle?
Is it you who grow the tree which feeds the
fire, or do We grow it?
It is We Who make it a means to remind [you
of Us], and an article of comfort and convenience
for the denizens of deserts.
Then celebrate with praises the name of your
Sustainer, the Supreme!
[The Qur’an, 56:62-74.]
As the final Divine message,
Islam insistently draws our attention to this
sacred and spiritual dimension of nature. It
teaches us too that we are created by God and
that we shall return to Him in order to give
account for our actions. This means that we
are answerable for all that we do, both the
good, and the evil. As God’s vicegerent
on earth, at the Last Judgement man will be
called to account for how he acted towards the
trust, and how he treated it.
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