Executive Summary 1
Chapter 1
The Sacredness of the Environment
(A) Creation 5
(B) The Ayat (signs, verses) of God 8
(C) ‘Everything Praises Him’ 11
Chapter 2
The Relationship between the Environment and Man
(A) God’s Khalifa 19
(B) The Macro-Micro Mirror-play 23
Chapter 3
Human Corruption and Environmental Pollution
(A) Qur’anic Guidelines for Ecological Balance 27
(B) Moral Transgression and Punishment 30
(C) Eschatology and Nature 36
Chapter 4
Human Purification and Environmental Responsibility
(A) Changing Ourselves 39
(B) Changing our World 42

paper introduces the subject of Islam and the Envi-
ronment through four areas:

First, it discusses the Islamic view of the environ-
ment: the Holy Qur’an speaks of how God created the

environment with Truth, and how everything in the en-
vironment is His sign and praises Him. The Holy Qur’an

thus shows the inherent value of creatures and of life,
and how each creature in nature must be respected and
cherished by human beings as their fellow beings.
Second, this paper asks what the relationship between
man and the environment is. How is man to act towards
the environment? God created man as His vicegerent
(khalīfa) on earth, making the earth a dwelling place

for man, and ensured that man’s needs could be pro-
vided by the earth. Man has the right to use the earth,

the animals, and the minerals to help him in his stay on
earth. However, with this right comes the responsibility
of manifesting the qualities of the Creator, which have

The Holy Qur’an and the Environment

been placed in man’s primordial nature (fitra), the pri-
mary ones being Mercy and Justice.

Third, this paper discusses human corruption and
how it is linked to environmental pollution. The Holy
Qur’an sets out complete spiritual and moral guidelines
for man. He is told to walk humbly (Luqmān, 31:19); not to
be wasteful or extravagant; not to disrupt the balance
that exists in nature and not to change the creation of

God. In our time all of these commandments are ig-
nored, and in fact their opposites are looked upon fa-
vourably. To live in such a manner throws creation out

of balance, and this can only have serious repercussions
for the world in which we live.

Fourth and last, this paper shows how human puri-
fication can help address the environmental crisis. For

to deal effectively with the environmental crisis, its root
causes must be addressed. These root causes are not
merely the dominance of materialistic attitudes, which
are directly responsible for the crisis, but human moral
corruption in general, which has, through corruption

of the earth’s spiritual ambiance, corrupted the earth’s
blessings and therefore its physical environment as well.
God says in the Holy Qur’an:
Corruption has appeared on earth and at
sea because of what the hands of men have
wrought; in order that God may make them
taste the consequences of their actions; so
that they might return [that is: so that they
might return to God] (Al-Rum, 30:41)