What does Islam say about environmental stewardship?

In a Nutshell: Islam provides one of the most comprehensive environmental ethics of any world religion, rooted in three foundational principles: tawhid (the oneness of God, which implies the interconnectedness of all creation), khilafah (the stewardship or trusteeship entrusted to humans over the earth) and mizan (the balance and harmony that God has established in nature and that humans are commanded not to disrupt). The Quran repeatedly describes the natural world as a sign (ayah) of God's creative power, declares that "every living thing" worships God, and warns against corruption (fasad) on the earth. The Prophet (pbuh) modelled environmental care practically: he established protected conservation zones (hima), instructed Muslims not to waste water even when washing beside a flowing river, declared the planting of trees an act of charity, prohibited the killing of animals without just cause and forbade the destruction of crops and trees even in wartime. In 2015, scholars from over twenty countries issued the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change in Istanbul, calling on Muslims to take action on the environmental crisis as a religious obligation. Far from being a modern concern grafted onto Islamic teaching, environmental stewardship is woven into the very fabric of Islam. Introduction The global environmental crisis - climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water scarcity, pollution - is the defining challenge of our era. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that human activity is causing unprecedented and potentially irreversible changes to the earth's climate systems. The consequences disproportionately affect the world's poorest communities, many of which are in Muslim-majority countries. For Muslims, this crisis is not merely a scientific or political problem. It is a moral and spiritual one. If the earth is God's creation, entrusted to human beings as a sacred trust (amanah), then its destruction is not simply an ecological failure - it is a betrayal of a covenant with the Creator. If every living creature worships God, as the Quran declares (24:41), then driving species to extinction is, in a profound sense, silencing communities of worshippers. And yet, for many Muslims, the connection between their faith and environmental responsibility remains underdeveloped. Environmental discourse in the Muslim world has historically been overshadowed by other concerns - political instability, economic development, sectarian conflict - and the rich environmental teachings within Islamic sources have not always been translated into practical action. This article examines what Islam actually says about environmental stewardship, drawing on the Quran, the Sunnah, the practice of the Companions and the insights of scholars both classical and contemporary, before addressing the misconceptions that prevent Muslims from fully engaging with this dimension of their faith. Evidences Quranic Verses "It is He who has made you successors (khulafa') upon the earth." (Quran 6:165) "And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance (mizan), that you not transgress within the balance." (Quran 55:7–8) "Do not cause corruption (fasad) on the earth after it has been set in order." (Quran 7:56) "Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not those who waste." (Quran 7:31) "And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage." (Quran 11:6) "Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures, and many of the people?" (Quran 22:18) "And We made from water every living thing." (Quran 21:30) "Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned, so He may let them taste part of the consequence of what they have done, that perhaps they will return." (Quran 30:41) Hadiths The Prophet (pbuh) said: "If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift (sadaqah) for him." (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "If the Day of Judgement comes upon you while you have a seedling in your hand, plant it." (Musnad Ahmad) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Do not waste water, even if you perform your ablution on the banks of an abundantly flowing river." (Sunan Ibn Majah) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The earth has been made for me a place of worship and a means of purification." (Sahih al-Bukhari) The Prophet (pbuh) prohibited the cutting of trees in the sacred precincts of Madinah, establishing a hima (protected conservation zone) - one of the earliest documented environmental conservation policies. (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "A woman was punished and entered Hell because of a cat which she had confined, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth." (Sahih al-Bukhari) The Prophet (pbuh) instructed Muslim armies: "Do not cut down trees, do not destroy buildings, do not kill livestock except for food, and do not burn crops." (Muwatta of Imam Malik, from the instructions of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq based on the Prophet's teaching) Companions' Opinions Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (ra), as the first Caliph, issued his famous instructions to military commanders that included explicit prohibitions against environmental destruction: "Do not cut down a fruit-bearing tree. Do not destroy a building. Do not slaughter a sheep or a camel except for food. Do not burn date palms. Do not uproot them." These instructions, which went beyond the requirements of the time, reflect an environmental consciousness rooted directly in Prophetic teaching. Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) expanded the hima system, designating public lands as protected grazing reserves that could not be privately appropriated or overexploited. These were communal resources managed for long-term sustainability - a concept that anticipates modern commons management by over a millennium. Uthman ibn Affan (ra) is reported to have increased the water supply of Madinah by purchasing the well of Rumah and making it a public waqf (charitable endowment) for the community, demonstrating the Islamic principle that water is a shared resource that should not be monopolised. Traditional Scholars' Quotes Seyyed Hossein Nasr (20th–21st century, Iranian philosopher): In his 1966 lectures at the University of Chicago - among the earliest calls from any religious tradition for an environmental ethic - Nasr argued that the ecological crisis was fundamentally a spiritual crisis, rooted in modernity's severance of the relationship between humanity and the sacred order of nature. His work is considered foundational to Islamic environmentalism. Fazlun Khalid (founder, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences): Khalid, who helped draft the 2015 Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, has argued that the concept of khilafah (stewardship) is "arguably the most important concept in Islamic environmentalism," as it reframes humanity's relationship with the natural world from one of dominion to one of trusteeship and accountability. Imam al-Qurtubi (13th century): In his tafsir (Quranic commentary), he interpreted the verse "Do not cause corruption on the earth after it has been set in order" (7:56) as a comprehensive prohibition against all forms of environmental destruction, arguing that the earth's natural balance is a sign of divine order that humans have no right to disturb. Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam (13th century): This Shafi'i jurist articulated a theory of rights that extended to animals, arguing that they had legally enforceable rights to food, shelter and protection from cruelty. His work represents one of the earliest systematic statements of animal rights in any legal tradition. Analysis: Islam's Environmental Framework The Islamic environmental ethic is not a collection of isolated teachings but a coherent framework built on interconnected theological and legal principles. Khilafah: trusteeship, not dominion. The single most important concept in Islamic environmentalism is khilafah - the idea that human beings are God's vicegerents or trustees on earth, not its owners or masters. The Quran states this explicitly: "It is He who has made you successors upon the earth" (6:165). Crucially, this is a delegated authority that comes with accountability. The khalifah does not own the earth; he or she holds it in trust and will be asked to account for how that trust was discharged. This is fundamentally different from the dominion model found in some interpretations of the Genesis account, which has been criticised by environmental historians such as Lynn White Jr. for contributing to the exploitation of nature. In Islam, exploitation of the earth is a betrayal of the trust, not an exercise of a right. Tawhid and the unity of creation. The principle of tawhid - the absolute oneness of God - has profound environmental implications. If all creation originates from a single Creator, then everything in the natural world is interconnected through its shared divine origin. The Quran describes the natural world in language that emphasises this unity: the sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees and animals all "prostrate" to God (22:18). To damage one part of creation is to disrupt a system whose wholeness reflects divine design. The Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr described tawhid as the "bedrock of the holistic approach in Islam," asserting that it makes Islamic environmental ethics fundamentally theocentric - centred not on human utility but on reverence for the Creator through care for His creation. Mizan: balance that must not be violated. The Quran emphasises that creation exists in a state of precise balance (mizan) and explicitly warns against disrupting it: "And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance, that you not transgress within the balance" (55:7–8). Environmental destruction - deforestation, pollution, species extinction, climate change - represents precisely the kind of transgression the Quran warns against. The concept of mizan provides an Islamic framework for understanding ecological systems: they are not merely useful arrangements of resources for human exploitation but divinely ordained equilibria that carry moral weight. The prohibition of israf and fasad. The Quran prohibits both israf (wastefulness and excess) and fasad (corruption and destruction). "Eat and drink, but waste not by excess" (7:31) establishes a principle of moderation in consumption that applies far beyond food. "Do not cause corruption on the earth after it has been set in order" (7:56) is a direct prohibition against environmental destruction. The verse "Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned" (30:41) is strikingly contemporary in its recognition that human activity causes environmental degradation. The hima system: an Islamic model of conservation. The Prophet (pbuh) established the hima - a protected zone around Madinah where hunting, grazing and tree-felling were restricted. Umar (ra) expanded this system across the growing Muslim state. The hima represents one of the world's earliest documented systems of environmental conservation, predating modern national parks and nature reserves by more than a millennium. At its height, the hima system across the Arabian Peninsula protected thousands of square kilometres of land. Its principles - community management, sustainable use, long-term thinking - align remarkably with contemporary conservation science. The 2015 Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change. In August 2015, Islamic scholars and leaders from over twenty countries gathered in Istanbul and issued the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, calling for phasing out greenhouse gas emissions, committing to 100 per cent renewable energy, and urging wealthy and oil-producing nations to lead the transition. The Declaration explicitly invoked the principles of khilafah, tawhid and mizan, and called on the world's 1.8 billion Muslims to recognise environmental action as a religious obligation. Endorsed by the Grand Muftis of Uganda and Lebanon, the Chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, and supported by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Declaration represents the most significant collective Islamic statement on the environment to date. 5 Misconceptions about Islam and Environmental Stewardship Islam has nothing to say about the environment - it is a purely spiritual religion. Islam is explicitly described in its own sources as a "complete way of life" (din) that encompasses social, economic, legal and environmental dimensions alongside the spiritual. The Quran contains over 750 verses relating to the natural world - more than any other single topic except God Himself. Environmental concern is a Western import that has no Islamic roots. As this article demonstrates, the foundational concepts of Islamic environmentalism - khilafah, tawhid, mizan, the prohibition of israf and fasad, the hima system - are derived directly from the Quran and Sunnah and have been elaborated by Muslim scholars for over fourteen centuries. Seyyed Hossein Nasr was articulating an Islamic environmental ethic in the 1960s, before the modern Western environmental movement had fully emerged. The earth is here for human use - Muslims should focus on the afterlife. The Quran's designation of humans as khulafa' (trustees) explicitly means that the earth is not human property to exploit without limit. Belief in the afterlife, far from justifying environmental neglect, provides the strongest possible motivation for stewardship: the khalifah will be held accountable before God for how the trust was managed. Muslim countries are not major polluters, so this is not a Muslim issue. While many Muslim-majority countries are developing nations with relatively lower per capita emissions, they are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change: rising sea levels threaten Bangladesh, the Maldives and Indonesia; water scarcity affects much of the Middle East and North Africa; desertification is advancing across the Sahel. The Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change also explicitly called on oil-producing Muslim states to lead the transition to renewable energy. Islam permits the exploitation of nature because God created it for human benefit. The Quran does state that God has subjected the natural world to human benefit (Quran 14:32–33), but this is consistently framed within the context of trusteeship and accountability. The Quran equally states "Do not cause corruption on the earth" (7:56) and warns that "corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned" (30:41). The permission to benefit from nature is conditional on maintaining the balance (mizan) and avoiding waste (israf) and destruction (fasad). 5 Objections Addressed Regarding Islam and Environmental Stewardship If God controls everything, why should humans worry about the environment? Belief in God's sovereignty (qadr) does not negate human responsibility, any more than it negates the obligation to work for one's livelihood, seek medical treatment when ill, or defend oneself against injustice. The Quran assigns humans the role of khalifah precisely because they are moral agents with choices. The Prophet (pbuh) modelled this integration of trust in God with active human responsibility: "Tie your camel, then put your trust in Allah." Isn't economic development more important than environmental protection for poor Muslim countries? This is a false choice. The Quran's concept of mizan (balance) applies to the relationship between development and conservation. Unsustainable development that depletes natural resources and degrades ecosystems is, in the long term, more economically damaging than it is beneficial. Islamic finance principles - particularly the prohibition of riba (interest) and the emphasis on risk-sharing - offer a framework for sustainable economic development that does not require the destruction of the natural environment. Why didn't classical scholars write extensively about environmentalism if it is so important in Islam? Classical scholars did address environmental themes, but within the categories available to them. The fiqh (jurisprudence) of hima (protected zones), the rules governing water rights, the legal status of animals, the prohibition of wasteful resource use, and the regulations governing hunting all constitute a sophisticated body of environmental law. What was not needed in the classical period was a comprehensive "environmentalism," because the scale of human environmental impact was incomparably smaller. The scale of the current crisis requires Muslims to draw out and apply principles that were always present in the sources but not previously needed in this form. What about Muslim countries that are major oil producers - isn't that hypocritical? The 2015 Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change addressed this directly, calling on oil-producing states to lead the transition to renewable energy. The Declaration's acknowledgement that "our species, blessed with the gift of reason, has chosen to act outside of the order of the natural world" is an implicit critique of economic models - including those in Muslim-majority countries - that prioritise extraction over sustainability. The existence of hypocrisy in practice does not invalidate the principle. Can individual Muslims really make a difference on something as large as climate change? The Prophet (pbuh) said: "If the Day of Judgement comes upon you while you have a seedling in your hand, plant it." This hadith encapsulates the Islamic approach to environmental action: the individual act of stewardship matters regardless of the scale of the crisis, because it is an expression of one's relationship with God, not merely a calculation of impact. Furthermore, Islam is a communal faith, and collective action - from the mosque to the ummah - multiplies individual efforts. The hima system demonstrated that Muslim communities could manage shared resources sustainably at scale. FAQs: What Does Islam Say About Environmental Stewardship? What is the Islamic concept of khilafah in relation to the environment? Khilafah, in its environmental context, means that human beings are God's trustees or stewards on earth. They do not own the natural world but hold it in trust, with the responsibility to preserve it and the accountability to answer for how they managed it. The Quran states: "It is He who has made you successors upon the earth" (6:165). What was the hima system? The hima was a system of protected conservation zones established by the Prophet (pbuh) and expanded by the early Caliphs, particularly Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra). Within a hima, activities such as hunting, overgrazing and tree-felling were restricted to allow ecosystems to regenerate. It is one of the earliest documented environmental conservation systems in human history. What is the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change? Launched in Istanbul in August 2015 by Islamic scholars and leaders from over twenty countries, the Declaration called on the world's Muslims to take urgent action on climate change as a religious obligation. It urged phasing out greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and holding wealthy and oil-producing nations accountable. It was supported by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and endorsed by religious authorities from multiple countries. Does Islam teach animal rights? Yes. The Prophet (pbuh) prohibited the killing of animals without just cause, forbade animal cruelty, and told a parable of a woman who was punished for confining a cat without food. The 13th-century Shafi'i jurist Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam articulated a theory of enforceable rights for animals - one of the earliest such frameworks in any legal tradition. The Quran describes animals as "communities like you" (6:38). How can mosques and Muslim communities become more environmentally responsible? Practical steps include conducting energy audits of mosque buildings, installing solar panels and water-saving ablution systems, eliminating single-use plastics at community events, incorporating environmental themes into Friday sermons and educational programmes, supporting local tree-planting initiatives, and investing mosque endowments (awqaf) in environmentally responsible assets. Conclusion Islam's environmental teachings are not a marginal footnote to the faith. They are derived from its most fundamental theological principles: the oneness of God (tawhid), which implies the interconnectedness of all creation; the trusteeship of humanity (khilafah), which demands responsible stewardship rather than exploitative dominion; and the divine balance (mizan) established in nature, which humans are explicitly prohibited from disrupting. The Prophet (pbuh) modelled environmental care in his personal practice, established the hima conservation system, and delivered teachings on water conservation, tree planting, animal welfare and the prohibition of waste that anticipate modern environmental science by over a millennium. The urgency of the current environmental crisis gives these teachings a new and pressing relevance. The 2015 Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change represented a landmark moment in which Muslim scholars and leaders collectively affirmed that environmental action is a religious obligation, not merely a political preference. For Muslims today, the question is not whether Islam supports environmental stewardship - the evidence is overwhelming that it does - but whether Muslims will translate that rich theological and legal inheritance into the practical action that the crisis demands. References: Quran (translations referenced from Sahih International). Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Imam Malik. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, "Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man" (1966). Fazlun Khalid, "Signs on the Earth: Islam, Modernity and the Climate Crisis" (2019). Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change (Istanbul, 2015). Imam al-Qurtubi, "Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Quran". Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam, "Qawa'id al-Ahkam fi Masalih al-Anam". Ibrahim Ozdemir, "An Islamic Perspective on Ecology and Sustainability" (IntechOpen, 2022). Ali ibn Abi Talib, "Letter to Malik al-Ashtar" (Nahj al-Balagha).