The Globalization of Muslim Environmentalism

[Introduction]

Islam is a religion that was born in the desert, and as such the first Muslims seem to have had a keen sense of the fragile balance that existed in the harsh ecosystem that made their lives possible. This awareness is abundantly reflected in the Qur’an, which contains many references to water and other vital natural resources and lays down clear guidelines for their conservation and equitable distribution.

The Islamic legal tradition, devised from the eighth to tenth centuries on the basis of the Qur’an and hadiths (reports about the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad), spells out in detail the divinely-prescribed parameters for the use of natural resources, including water, soil, air, plants and animals. As in the Qur’an, conservation and fair distribution are emphasized. Moreover, like everything in Creation, resources are seen foremost as belonging not to humans but to Allah, for whom humans are to hold nature in trust (amāna ).