FAZLUN KHALID outlines the Islamic approach to environmental protection

In our eagerness to 'progress' and 'develop' we have lost

sight of the finite and delicate nature of planet Earth and of humanity's place in it. Islamic teaching offers an opportunity to understand the natural order and to define human responsibility. It could be said that the limits of the human condition are set within four principles - Tawheed, Fitra, Mizan and Khalifa.

Tawheed is the fundamental statement of the oneness of the Creator, from which everything else follows. It is the primordial testimony to the unity of all creation and to the interlocking grid of the natural order of which humanity is an intrinsic part.

God says of Himself in the Qur'an:

Say; He is God, One, God,
the Everlasting Refuge
112: 1-2

And about creation:

To Him belongs whatsoever is
in the heavens and the earth,
all obey his will
And it is He who originates creation, …
30: 25

The whole of creation - being the work of one Originator works within n one stable pattern, however complex it may be. Another verse in the Qur'an refers to the heavens and the Earth as extensions of God's throne, thus conveying the idea that creation w as designed to function as a whole. Each of its complimentary parts. Including humankind, plays its own self preserving role. And in so doing supports the rest.

The Fitra describes the primordial nature of creation itself and locates humankind in it. The Qur'an says:

So set thy face to the religion, a man of pure faith -
God's original upon which He originated mankind
There is no changing God's creation.
That is the right religion
but most men know it not
30: 29

God originates humankind within His creation. Which He also originated. Humanity is then inescapably subject to God's immutable laws. as is the rest of creation. Creation cannot be changed: global warming can be seen. in this light, as the Earth's endeavour to maintain a balance in the face of the human assault against it.

The Mizan is the principle of the middle path. In one of its most eloquent passages the Qur'an describes creation thus:

The All-Merciful has taught the Qur'an. He created man and He taught him the explanation. The suit and the moon to a reckoning, and the stars and trees bow themselves; and heaven - He raised it up and set the balance. Transgress not in the balance, and weigh with justice, and skimp not in the balance. And earth - He set it down for all beings, therein fruits and palm trees with sheaths, and grain in the blade, and fragrant herbs. Of which your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?
55: 1-12

God has singled out humans and taught them reason - the capacity to understand. All creation has an order and a purpose. If the sun. the moon, the stars, the trees and the rest of creation did not conform to the natural laws - 'bow themselves' - it would be impossible for life to function on Earth. So we have a responsibility not to deny the 'Lord's bounties' and actively, to recognise the order that is around LIS, for ourselves, as much as for the rest of creation.

Khalifa - or the role of stewardship - is the sacred duty God ha., ascribed to the human race. There are many verses in the Qur'an that describe human duties and responsibilities such as the following which aptly summarises

Humanity's role:

It is He who has appointed
You viceroys in the earth
6: 165

Humankind has a special place in God's scheme. We are more than friends of the Earth - we are its guardians. Although we are equal partners with everything else in the natural world we have added responsibilities. We are decidedly not its lords and masters.

We may deduce from these four principles that creation. Although quite complex and yet finite. Only works because each of its component parts does what is expected of it - in the language of the Qur'an, submits to the Creator. Humanity is inextricably part of this pattern. The role of humans - who uniquely have wills of their own and are thus capable of interfering with the pattern of creation - is of guardianship. This added responsibility imposes limits on their behaviour and should lead to conscious recognition of their own fragility The, achieve this by submitting themselves to the divine law.