Conservation of The Environment in Islamic Law

In-store location: Shelf 2.13

Conservation of the Environment in Islamic Law, by Sheikh Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, richly documents the clear and comprehensive Islamic worldview of the environment. Fundamental to it is the concept that Allah (SWT) has placed natural elements in the world to serve human beings, who are required to use them in moderation and exercise responsible stewardship of the environment.

With extensive quotations from relevant Qur’anic verses and prophetic traditions, the author surveys various current environmental problems and traces their underlying causes to people’s attitudes, which have become estranged from the core realities of human existence. He further offers prescriptions, calling the readers’ attention not only to theoretical Islamic guidelines but to practical examples of how Islamic civilisation historically treated threats to the environment.

This important contemporary work of Islamic scholarship is sponsored by Maybank Islamic Berhad with the belief and hope it will help English-speaking Muslims and non-Muslims understand the Islamic view of environmental issues. The relevant core Islamic texts of the Quran and Sunnah, writings of Muslim scholars, and the historical policies of Muslim authorities make it clear that environmental consciousness is not a recent Western foreign concept that has been exported to Muslim countries. On the contrary, it has deep roots in Islam. Islamic environmental consciousness overlaps with some aspects of current Western thought exemplified in sustainability agendas such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).