Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Protecting the Environment - An Islamic Perspective by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al 'Uthaymeen

Protecting the Environment - An Islamic Perspective by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al 'Uthaymeen
Translation of the lecture Click here

البيئة والمحافظة عليها من منظور اسلامي
 http://safeyoutube.net/w/DvNb




Protecting the Environment – An Islamic Perspective

By Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen

Lecture delivered as part of King Saud University, KSA - ‘Environment Week’

1st Muharram 1419/1998CE

Selected Notes taken from the video[1]


Definition of ‘Environment’
تعريف البيئة: باء يبوء من التبوء المكان [2]

‘Environment’ البيئة is an expression meaning ‘society’, whether it is different peoples, religions, languages or other than that. However, the Muslim ‘environment’ is special due to it being the remaining, lasting, divine legislation which has replaced all the previous legislations.

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers. [Aali ‘Imraan 3:85]

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا

This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. [Al Maa’idah 5:3]

When we talk about the environment and protecting it, we are not talking about air pollution, land pollution, water scarcity or deforestation – we are talking about something above that -  protecting the environment of beliefs, morals and manners and mutual transactions.

I firmly believe that if we protect the environment with these 3 fundamentals (beliefs, morals and 
transactions) that everything else will follow on from that….
1.     
  Our beliefs focus on the six pillars of faith and we must protect them from everything that places doubts about them. We must protect the environment from people who create doubts intentionally. We must protect the Aqeedah beliefs from every saying that goes against what the Salaf as Saalih came with regarding Allaah and His Beautiful Names, the Prophet, the Qur’aan, the Rightly Guided Khalifs, the Sahabah etc. We hear a lot of deviant speech regarding Allaah.
2.     
  We must protect our morals and manners - purifying them and warning against evil manners. The satellite channels broadcast evil manners. Animals behave better than them. They are destroying good manners. These channels have a far-reaching influence over people.
3.     
  We must show good treatment to others:
a.       A man to his family
b.      A husband to his wife
c.       A seller and a buyer
d.      A person renting etc.

We come across a lot of bad treatment. A lot of this bad treatment is due to anger. The Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم advised us not to get angry.

We need to protect our nation from forbidden transactions such as riba (interest) and maysir (gambling). A person who deals in riba is likened to the Jews whom Allaah cursed and was angry with.

We clarify what riba is and then we open up the chapter of halal transactions which is wide.

From the ways of protecting the environment is:
1.     
  To direct people to what the sharee’ah guides to. The principle of not being extravagant is found in Suratul Furqaan:

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ قَوَامًا

And those, who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes). Al-Furqaan :2567

If we look at our nation which Allaah has blessed with plentiful wealth we find that many people are extravagant in their food, drink, clothes and vehicles etc. This is wrong. For example, a youth does not have money and he buys a sr70,000 car when there are sr30,000 cars available. He does this to boast in front of others. The issue of debts is not a light issue. A person takes on a debt only by necessity. The Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم did not pray the funeral prayer over someone who had not paid off his debts.

A student learns by example more than by the words of his teacher.

So to protect the environment a person should not go to excesses in food, drink, clothing and vehicles.

2.       Another issue is protecting water

·         We find that many people waste water extensively. For example, a person can wash a coffee cup with a quarter of the water that people actually do. He opens the tap fully when he is able to wash the cup with much less water than he does.
·         We also find that people water trees that are of no value or benefit and on top of that they do not actually need watering very much. A person may continuously water them day and night.
·         Another example is a person washing his car every day or even twice a day when in fact it only needs a wash every two or three days. This is wrong.

Save water! As it is the most precious commodity when it is scarce and the cheapest commodity when it is plentiful.

3.       Another issue pertaining to protecting the environment is what comes in the Sharee’ah legislation of not placing anything in the markets and gathering places that harm the Muslims.
·         Relieving oneself on the path ways. Allah’s Messenger () said: “Safeguard yourselves from the two matters which cause accursing that befalls the one who relieves himself on people’s path-ways and under the shades.” [Reported by Muslim].
·         Removing harm from the path is an act of charity. The Prophet () said, "Iman has over seventy branches - or over sixty branches - the uppermost of which is the declaration: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'; and the least of which is the removal of harmful object from the road, and modesty is a branch of Iman."   
·         Removing a thorny branch leads to Allaah’s forgiveness. Abu Hurayrah narrates:A person while walking along the path saw the branches of a tree lying there. He said: By Allah, I shall remove these from this so that these may not do harm to the Muslims, and he was admitted to Paradise.”

Removing a physical harm from the path of the Muslims is something required by the Shar’ law.
Removing a figurative religious harm from the path of Muslims is something more important and greater. If we remove the harm from the path of beliefs, manners and transactions then it will lead to greater good:

وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَاتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَٰكِن كَذَّبُوا فَأَخَذْنَاهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes, etc.).  
Al-A'raaf - Verse 96

Rain from the sky and plants from the earth.

It is absolutely obligatory upon us to strive in removing the figurative religious harm even more so than removing the physical harm.

I encourage you with advising the people. The religion is sincere advice to Allaah, His Books, His Prophets, the Leaders and the common folk. Advise people and enjoin the good and forbid the evil.

Questions and Answers (36 minutes onwards)
1.     
  Collecting truffles in a preserved environment sanctuary – against the law.
2.     
  Airplanes, cars and trains etc cause a lot of pollution to the environment – what shall we do? Also the pollution of water. Transport is a necessity and we cannot say ‘do not use it’. As for water then we can say do not waste or pollute it.
3.     
  Hunting birds is permissible but if the leader sees that it should be banned for a reason then you must obey the leader. Obeying the leader is obeying Allaah.
4.     
  Uprooting plants and trees is a ‘mafsadah’ harm. This type of tree may die out. Allaah does not like the ‘mufsideen’ the corrupter or harmers. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade cutting down trees in plains because they are shade for the passers by.
5.     
  Do not go to extremes even in giving charity.
6.     
  Students smoking on campus – give them the treatise by Shaykh Sa’dee. Economic, social, health issues related to negative aspects of smoking. All doctors agree today that smoking is harmful.
7.     
  Population control and global warming with climate change and melting icebergs. The predictions cannot be believed or rejected because it is something of the future – it is knowledge of the future and only Allaah knows. Allaah creates and provides. Allaah can change the climate to suit the needs at any time. Allaah made the fire cool for Prophet Ibraaheem. He caused springs to come out of the ground to quench the thirst of Moosa and the 12 tribes. He turned the sea into dry paths for Moosa and his people.
Islaam encourages having children. Allaah will send the plants to grow and provide for all of them. Their rizq is written.



[1] Translated by Umm ‘Abdir Rahmaan Tara Hashim, Riyadh KSA, Muharram 1439.
[2] TN: The root word of environment comes in the Qur’aan: Yunus - Verse 93  وَلَقَدْ بَوَّأْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مُبَوَّأَ صِدْقٍ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوا حَتَّىٰ جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ
Al-Hajj - Verse 26  وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ

Recycling Station in the North of Riyadh

Alber (البر) Charity Recycling centre Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/9m7DBBsPbMN2