Upward of 50,000 acres of forests are cleared by farmers and loggers per day worldwide primarily for animal agriculture, reports Taylor Meek (https://sentientmedia.org/how-does-agriculture-cause-deforestation). Such clearing results in habitat loss that amplifies greenhouse gases and disrupts water cycles, as well as increases soil erosion and excessive flooding. It also threatens biodiversity, decreases carbon absorption and magnifies natural disaster damage. Forests and rainforests are the only liveable habitats for a variety of species and store massive amounts of carbon. Clearing those pushes frontline and indigenous communities out of their homes, thus violating their human and land rights and destroying their way of life.
Abdullah ibn Habashi reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], God will send him to Hellfire.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 5239) The lote-tree is the perfect symbol because it requires little but provides a lot and can thrive in the harshest environments. The Prophet ﷺ even prohibited cutting down trees during wartime. This last item was affirmed by Article 3 of the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights, issued and adopted at the 19th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Cairo in 1990. The Prophet ﷺ contended that Earth has a spiritual dimension, as we can see in the Qur’an – 17:44 and 13:15. Moreover, he ﷺ brought a different dimension to the idea of protecting the Earth and its environment by encouraging people to be fascinated by nature’s wonders, as proclaimed in the Qur’an – 13:4 and 27:60. As an exposition of these ayaat, the Prophet ﷺ stated: “If the Day of Judgment comes while one of you holds a sapling in his hand, let him hurry and plant it.” (As-Silsila as-Sahiha, Hadith No. 9)
Now, consider some of the illustrative anecdotes from the Prophet’s life that may seem superstitious but emphasise this attitude: the trees and hills would greet him during his walks, and a rock in Makkah would greet him before his prophethood. His kindness and mercy embraced all creatures, things and beings, whether living or not. Moreover, he ﷺ told people that if they were merciful to all that is on Earth, then God will be merciful to them. The Hadith literature reports that when the wooden stump that had served as his pulpit was changed, it began to cry. When he stepped down and put his hands on it, it stopped crying. After he told it that he would give it the choice of being returned to its original garden so it could flourish once again or of being planted in Heaven “so that God’s friends might eat of your fruits,” it chose the latter option. The Prophet ﷺ replied: “It is done. It has chosen the abode of eternity over the abode of transience.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 4927)
He ﷺ also revealed that whatever is on Earth, regardless of whether we perceive it as living or not, is not only sensible but also deeply sensitive. Once pointing to a well-known mountain in Medina, the Prophet ﷺ said: “The mountain (Uhud) loves us, and we love it.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 2889)
In other words, the Prophet ﷺ viewed nature not merely as a united body, but as a united body that flows from and returns to God’s eternal mercy – a spiritual ecosystem that eclipses, both ethically and practically, what we have only recently come to grasp in terms of a material ecosystem.
The Prophet’s ﷺ teachings concerning Earth and its human and non-human inhabitants are critical today, given the dangers of environmental disaster, ecological imbalance, the depletion of the ozone layer, climate change and so on. We need to pay attention to this holistic approach that recognises the importance of humans, of all of their co-inhabitants, and of the Earth itself. The Earth is God’s creation, and its resources are His bounties to humanity. Thus, He “does not love the wasteful” (7:31) and states that “the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of satans – in as much as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer.” (17:26-27)
Given this reality, the Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions to be extremely conscious of using any natural or other resources, such as not wasting water when performing ablution. Renowned Islamic thinker – Tariq Ramadan writes: “The Prophet’s insistence on not wasting any natural resources, ‘even when using the water of a running stream,’ indicates that he placed respect for nature on the level of essential principles that must regulate behaviour whatever the situation and whatever the consequences. This is not an ecology springing from the anticipation of disasters (which result from human actions) but a sort of ‘upstream ecology’ that rests on people’s relation to nature on ethical bedrock associated with an understanding of the deepest spiritual teachings. Thus, wasting water is not only practically wrong but also immoral, for water is one of God’s blessings, as pointed out by the Qur’an – 23:18, 67:30 and 56:68-70.
The Prophet’s sacralisation of approximately 750 square km. of land surrounding Makkah should be realised as a model of a green Earth. He stated: “The grass of Makkah and its thorns should not be removed, and its trees should not be cut.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 3143) He called the area haram (a sacred or inviolable sanctuary), in which peace, tranquillity and greenery should be fostered. His teachings lend themselves to the idea that those who are conscious of their accountability to God are likely to avoid abusing Earth and its natural resources.
The Qur’an invites humanity to reflect on Earth’s awe-inspiring beauty and greenery (6:99 and 6:141). In fact, according to 21:105-07, the Earth will eventually become Paradise in a completely different form and shape. God will change the universe’s current system on the Day of Judgment. And as we read in Psalm 37:29s – which are not revelation though, He will turn the Earth into Paradise, in which His true servants will dwell forever: “The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
As Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a continuation of the divine mercy and grace sent to humanity by God through Moses and Jesus, his love for a green Earth transcended this world. He gave his contemporaries picturesque descriptions of the gardens of the deepest green and many wondrous hues, trees with blissful shade and heavy with fruit, along with running streams. He ﷺ even prophesised that “the Hour will not begin until the land of the Arabs once again becomes meadows and rivers” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 157). Unfortunately, instead of being at the forefront of efforts to keep the Earth green, Muslims are lagging far behind other people. If the Prophet ﷺ were alive today, he would be encouraging the environmental movements and supporting all such attempts.
[IBRAHIM H. MALABARI is president, Messenger of Mercy Foundation International, and founding member, International Union of Muslim Scholars and the Imam’s Council of Canada]