Prophet Mohammed: A Pioneer of the Environment

I found an article with above heading today on www.islamonline.net. This is definitely a must-read.

Prophet (peace be upon him) is a only person in human history on whom innumerable biographies have been written over centuries in so many languages in all corners of world and yet greatness of his life is such that every new author brings out a new lesson in his life for us to follow. This really shows grandeur of his life, magnanimousness of his mission and quality of the way he executed it. For instance, think about environment protection. This is considered as pretty modern concept emerging in early last century but not getting momentum before last 40/50 years (for example, US signed first environment protection act not earlier than 1970). However if we go 1400 years back, we are surprised to see how a new state of Medinah protected environment and how prophet as its head of state urged nation and his followers not only to protect environment but also create harmony between humans and other living beings around.

Here are few excerpts from article that I want to copy/paste here to decorate this blog, but don’t forget these are only few gems from whole writing, so don’t miss full article.

“Prophet’s life reveals that he was a staunch advocate of environmental protection. One could say he was an “environmentalist avant la lettre”, a pioneer in the domain of conservation, sustainable development and resource management, and one who constantly sought to maintain a harmonious balance between man and nature. From all accounts of his life and deeds, we read that the Prophet had a profound respect for fauna and flora, as well as an almost visceral connection to the four elements, earth, water, fire and air.”

“The Prophet’s environmental philosophy is first of all holistic: it assumes a fundamental link and interdependency between all natural elements and bases its teachings on the premise that if man abuses or exhausts one element, the natural world as a whole will suffer direct consequences. The three most important principles of the Prophet’s philosophy of nature are based on the Qur’anic teachings and the concepts of tawhid(unity), khalifa (stewardship) and amana (trust).”

… and read this excerpt:

“The Prophet recognized man’s responsibility to God but always maintained humility. Thus he said: “When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand, he should plant it,” suggesting that even when all hope is lost for mankind, one should sustain nature’s growth. He believed that nature remains a good in itself, even if man does not benefit from it.”

“Sadly, the harmony that the Prophet advocated between man and his environment has today all too often been lost. As we face the effects of pollution and overexploitation, desertification and water scarcity in some parts of the world and floods and violent storms elsewhere, it is perhaps time for the world community as a whole, Muslims, Christians and Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, atheists and agnostics, to take a leaf out of the Prophet’s book and address the current environmental crisis seriously and wisely.”