Ecology
in Islam Protection of the Web
of Life a Duty for Muslims
By
Discover Islam Team
September
1, 2005
The
Qur’an is full of verses about nature and its many wonders. The Prophet
Muhammad himself has exhorted Muslims to care for all living things, and to
treasure the resources that God has placed on Earth. I n this article, Dr. Hasan
Zillur Rahim, takes Muslims to task and argues that preserving the earth’s
ecology is in fact a duty for Muslims.
Dr.
Hasan Zillur Rahim writes “Nature is created on the principle of balance, and
as a steward of God it is the human's responsibility to ensure that his or her
actions do not disrupt this balance. Stewardship does not imply superiority over
other living beings: because ownership belongs to God alone, stewardship invests
humans with a moral responsibility in safeguarding God's creation.”
The
author also studies the relationship between the body and the soul, as taught by
Islam: “Islam's stand on this point is clear: it does not recognize any schism
between the body and the soul. In Islam, spirit and flesh are different aspects
of one and the same reality—human life. A Muslim cannot hope for salvation in
the " hereafter " if his " here " is torn with strife and
greed; he cannot love God in Heaven if he hates His creation on earth. “
