The Globalization of Muslim Environmentalism

In the Hadiths

The Arabs to whom the Qur’an was revealed in the early seventh century CE had a long familiarity with the ecological constraints posed by their native desert environment. Reports about the words and deeds of Muhammad (hadīth s) indicate that the Prophet of Islam possessed both an awareness of these constraints and a sensitivity to the duties of humans towards the rest of Creation.

Muhammad received the first of his revelations while meditating in a cave on a mountain outside of Mecca. Thus, as in the case of numerous other seminal religious figures, his insights came within the context of immersion in the natural world. Perhaps the most illuminating of the hadiths in this regard is the one which states, “The earth has been created for me as a mosque [i.e., as a place of worship], and as a means of purification” (Sahīh Bukhārī , 1:331). According to another hadith, Muhammad said, “The world is green and beautiful and Allah has appointed you His stewards over it.”

A well-known hadith has Muhammad prohibiting his followers from wasting water, even when it is found in abundance and when it is used for a holy purpose such as ritual ablutions (Musnad ibn Hanbal , ii, 22). Muhammad also decreed that no more than an ankle-depth of water (i.e., sufficient for one season) could be taken for irrigation. Essential resources are to be common, not private property: “Muslims share alike in three things - water, pasture and fire” (Mishkat al-Masābih ).

Numerous hadiths speak to Muhammad’s concern for the interests of non-human animals. In regard to the killing of domestic animals for food he called for swift and conscientious slaughter with a sharp knife (Sahīh Muslim , 2/11, “Slaying,” 10:739), and not to slaughter an animal within view of its kin. He forbade hunting for sport, and frequently reprimanded his followers for abusing or neglecting their camels and donkeys. He urged his followers to plant trees and cultivate land not only to provide food for humans, but for birds and other animals as well (Sahīh Bukhārī 3:513). In a hadith which is strikingly similar to a well-known rabbinical saying, Muhammad is reported as saying “When doomsday comes if someone has a palm shoot in his hand he should [still] plant it” (Sunān al-Baīhaqī al-Kubrā ).