The obligation of the Shariah is to provide the well-being of all Mankind which lies in

safeguarding their faith, their human self, their intellect, their progeny and their wealth.
(Al Ghazali)

The concern to leave a livable, viable planet to future generations is one of the crucial points of the principle of equity.

It was during the seventies that environmental ethics developed in the United States,
inspired by the work of Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), who was a philosopher and a fervent
advocate of nature.
Considered to be the founding father of modern ecology, he led, with his wife and children,
an exemplary experiment in ecological rehabilitation.
He put ethics into practice.
Applied ethics, in a broad sense, attempts to link moral, philosophical or theological ethics
with practice. In this regard, Aldo Leopold was an environmental pioneer. He put bio-centric
ethics into practice, with the conviction that each organism is a teleological center of life of
which the value is intrinsic.
Islam and the Environment
- Islam, Muslims and the Natural World
- Way to Muslim-friendly Environment
Environmental ethics is a new path that makes - India Hosts World Environment Day
- Toronto Muslims Preserve Environment
it possible to respond to the new challenges
- Relation between Islam & the
posed by the rapidly increasing development of Environment

Environmental Ethics and the Future of

the Planet

technology which has detrimental

consequences on people, biodiversity, the environment and the planet as a whole.

The environment is concerned with different sectors at the same time: politics, economics,
education, science It was in 1980 that the observation was made, on a large scale, of the
decline of biodiversity as the consequence of the detrimental impact of human activities on
living diversity. Thus, the ethical dimension of current environmental problems is concerned
with the way of responding to the challenges that humanity has to meet.
The first characteristic of environmental ethics is that it is concerned with the future of the
planet. In effect, post-modern societies deal with the sometimes disastrous consequences of
technological development: deforestation, desertification, global warming, the extinction of
animal species, pollution, etc Applying ethical principles implies posing the right questions,
those which are essential. This makes possible a conscience and a reflectivity on the nature
of actions, their objectives, their extent and their justification. This is why environmental
ethics are to be considered a priorityas actions and they are a necessity which provides
meaning to the choices made and to the consequences of these choices on the environment.

The result is that one of the central issues of environmental ethics is to rethink the place
of human beings on Earth and the relationship that they should have with nature. In this
regard, the work of Aldo Leopold made possible an epistemological break in environmental
ethics. Contemplative of nature, he adopted a new relationship with Nature. He defended a
land ethic which changes the role of Homo-sapiens from conqueror of the land community
to that of member and citizen among others of this community. This implies the respect for
fellow-members and also respect for the community as such. (A Sand County Almanac)
A large number of values emerge from this ethical approach:
Concerning respect for the
the well-being of individuals and communities, solidarity and
environment,
this hadith is the
unity among individuals and communities, excellence in doing
most
influential
central principle
good, respect for nature and respect for biodiversity. All these
values can be conceptualized in the form of principles which are: do not destroy, contribute
to the well-being of others, be just, be tolerant and respect the dignity of others.
We find these principles in the qawaid, which are five Islamic principles that form a system
in which they are interdependent. The five qawaid that served as the basis upon which
secondary principles and rules were established are:
"Do not harm others and others should not harm you." (Ahmad)
Concerning respect for the environment, this hadith is the most influential central principle.
(Built Environment). This principle is fundamental and dependent on the concept of social
justice. In terms of social justice, it is important to state that the consequences of climatic
disruptions affect, in the first place, the most vulnerable. And this makes it necessary to be
concerned about vulnerability and ways of addressing it.
The ethical dimension of the issue of the environment highlights sharing, through the shared
access to natural and vital resources with the other members of humanity, between and
through the generations. The concern to leave a livable, viable planet to future generations
is one of the crucial points of the principle of equity. On the other hand, the question of
knowing how much people can reasonably and ethically be expected to sacrifice in the name
of future generations and for how many generations such sacrifices must be made.
The principle of equity makes it necessary to act on an intentionally shared basis while
acting in harmony with nature. Gifford Pinchot (1864-1946) defended the idea that the
conservation of nature was a means of perpetuating natural resources that would make it
possible to ensure their sustainable exploitation.
Implicitly, this involves thinking of oneself with these global concerns: humanity's
relationship to the environment, its understanding of and responsibility to nature, and its
obligations to leave some of nature's resources to posterity. Pollution, population control
resource use, food production and distribution, energy production and consumption, the
preservation of the wilderness and of species diversity- all fall under its purview. It asks
comprehensive, global questions and applies its principles to the daily lives of men and
women everywhere on Earth.
UNESCO made a declaration in 1997: The responsibilities of the present generations
towards future generations. And as a result of the details given in the UNESCO report, Our
common future, we can see that decision-makers must also act. Hans Jonas wrote in 1979
the principle of responsibility which he defined as a global condition of human life, as well
as of the distant future and of the existence of the species. Let us return to the principle of
action, it describes their effects as compatible with the constant elements of an
authentically human life on earth. (Le principe)

This leads to an underlying concept of sustainable development. We can see that

environmental issues are not limited to ecological
Many of the development paths
management. The Brundtland report described the
of the industrialized nations are
relationship between the environment and human actions.
clearly unsustainable
The environment does not exist as a sphere separate from
human actions, ambitions, needs and attempts to defend it in isolation from human
concerns have given the very word "environment" a connotation of naivety in some political
circles.
The word "development" has also been narrowed by some into a very limited focus, along
the lines of "what poor nations should do to become richer". (...) But the "environment" is
where we all live; and "development" is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot
within that abode. The two are inseparable. Further, development issues must be seen as
crucial by the political leaders who feel that their countries have reached a plateau towards
which other nations must strive. Many of the development paths of the industrialized
nations are clearly unsustainable. And the development decisions of these countries, owing
to their great economic and political power, will have a profound effect upon the ability of all
people to sustain human progress for generations to come."
At the human scale, different initiatives in the area of sustainable development emerge,
carried by local initiatives, which attempt to develop a collective consciousness. Necessity
implies establishing changes in our ways of life, contrary to a consumer-oriented life. The
goal is to re-learn the use of local resources with a view to providing for the needs of daily
life. Thus, consuming locally, adapting our consumption to climatic hazards, sharing, bio
gardening or else limiting the intermediaries in the consumption chain, creating new supply
circuits. In other regions, as in Africa, access to water, agriculture or the adaptability to
climate changes are criteria which lead to renewing the relationship between Man and
Nature. This consciousness concerning our relationship to the environment is achieved
through the appropriation of the meaning and relationship with nature, with needs and with
respect for an ontological level of Nature.
Environment and the Muslim Faith
The Muslim faith, through the Quran and the Sunnah, provides us with the ethics inherent in
the place of man on Earth. The human being has obligations and responsibilities concerning
the preservation of the natural ecological order. As philosophers interested in nature,
religious authorities noticed the special aspect of Islam concerning its environmental ethics.
The concept of stewardship which is the closest in this specific field to the idea of
Caliphate is a concept which implies dependence between humanity and nature. This
concept emphasizes the sense of responsibilities and good governance. The importance of
this concept resides in the objective of actions.
Why should Muslims consider the gifts of Nature as resources to be used with ethical
practice?
Islam is characterized by an all-encompassing spirituality which is found in all Muslim acts
and his way of consuming the gifts of Nature is part of worship. And this is one of the key
points for educating people. Extrapolating these principles for the entire Muslim community,
in what this implies in terms of moderation and reasoned use to the example of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) would result in a positive impact on the environment as
this population numbers more than 1.5 billion people.
This is the challenge initiated by eco-theology: How can we bring the Believers to change
their behavior with regards to the environment?

One of the responses would be to re-read the religious sources and to draw from it the
ethical resources that make sense for the Believers. In this way would arise a community of
faith which will act for the well-being of the planet.

Works Cited:
Aldo Leopold. A Sand County Almanac. New York: Oxford University Press, 1949
Hakim, Besim S. Built Environment in Law, , ed. Gudrun Krmer, Denis Matringue, John
Nawas, Everett Rowson. Encyclopedia of Islam Online, last access: January 8, 2013
Jonas, Hans. Le Principe Responsabilit: Une thique pour la civilisation technologique,
Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1990
Pojman, Louis Paul. Readings in Theory and Application. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing. 5th. ed., 2007
Brundtland, Harlem. World commission on Environment and development, Our Common
Future. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987

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