By Dalia Rakha

Sept/Oct 2023

Environmental sustainability and its execution have been greatly debated across the globe. From discussions on waste management and restoration techniques to health concerns and global disasters, the sustainability movement has attempted to define the ideal relationship between humans and the natural world. Yet, these definitions have only gone as far as physical manifestations, detailing the how but not the why.  More than 1400 years ago, Islam filled the gaps through the revelation of a single verse.

“And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you” (Quran 6:165). 

The God-given responsibility of being His vicegerents on Earth and emulating His Divine traits of mercy, justice, and wisdom is at the core of how Muslims look at their relationship with the natural world. Islam offers a unique perspective on how and why taking care of this planet is important not only for one’s physical well-being, but also to the well-being of the soul and to fulfilling the fundamental purpose of life. Deeply spiritual, God-centric, and ethically founded, the Islamic worldview on environmental sustainability is a rich tradition being actualized through various methods in Islamic organizations across North America.

Zaytuna Modeling Vicegerency 

In the U.S., Zaytuna College is on the front lines of a movement towards self-sustainable agriculture and reconnecting with the natural world. As the first accredited Muslim American college, Zaytuna has used the Islamic lens to not only inform its academic curriculum but also its experiential learning initiatives through the Zaytuna College Center for Ethical Living and Learning (ZCELL). 

“ZCELL is a place to model methods of actualizing Muslims’ vicegerency on Earth,” said Rhamis Kent, a scholar-in-residence and instructor for Zaytuna’s Permaculture Design Certificate Course. “As a modern human society, we have accepted unexamined lives where we no longer take responsibility for our existence. We have outsourced everything that makes our lives possible to someone else, merely consuming what is grown and produced by others and never truly connecting to its origin.”

Kent is also the co-founder of the IGE-PEARL (Islamic Gift Economy — Program for Ethical Appropriate and Regenerative Livelihoods). He believes one of the most important ways of connecting to the Earth, to ourselves, and to God is through the cultivation of land. Kent shared that in the Islamic tradition, what we eat is often tied to our spiritual state. As modernity has deprived us from connecting with the Earth and fulfilling our responsibility to it, he believes that this has also resulted in a disconnection with each other, for the deepest bonds come from struggle and self-sufficiency as a community. His work aims to empower Muslims to retake this essential responsibility, knowing it not only reconnects humans with each other and all of creation, but most importantly with the Creator.  

Muslims and Indigenous Communities in Canada

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) is a charitable grassroots organization aimed at helping Muslims revitalize their faith to better serve society. It promotes local community building and education through various programs, all within Islamic ethical frameworks. One of MAC’s directors, Memona Hossain, focuses on community-based learning initiatives to help Muslims reconnect with nature through the lens of Islam.  She is also a lecturer at the University of Toronto and a current PhD candidate in Applied Ecopsychology.

Through conversations with Indigenous peoples, Hossain has come to learn that the centralization of God in the way Muslims see the world is what often allows Muslims and Indigenous communities to relate to and connect with each other. She has had opportunities to engage in dialogue with and to learn from Indigenous communities across Canada to understand how this Creator-centric worldview fundamentally changes conversations on environmental sustainability, as well as in the ways justice is addressed and perceived. 

While secular worldviews often face these issues with a sense of despair, Hossain noted that because a Muslim’s understanding of justice and success are not limited to worldly outcomes, it is profoundly hopeful. Muslims believe even the smallest of acts do not go unnoticed by God. It is this hope that distinguishes Islam’s understanding of the world, and according to Hossain is one of the most beautiful gifts Muslims can bring to the sustainability movement.

Environment in the Quran

In both of these examples, it is clear that the most essential part of the Islamic environmental worldview is its connection to God. Throughout the Quran, God mentions the miracles of creation as proofs and reminders of His existence, signs of His perfection and mercy, and expressions of His love and generosity. Verses that describe the life-giving properties of rain (16:65), the marvel of milk (16:66), and the healing of honey (16:69) are all examples. This creates a much deeper relationship with the land, a profoundly spiritual bond. God revealed in the Quran that humans are made from clay (15:26) and water (21:30), a reminder that human beings and the Earth are intimately related. Thus, in understanding the natural world, humanity is better able to understand and connect with ourselves.

Kent emphasized that when Muslims emulate the life of Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), it is at its core “modeling a behavioral pattern that permits us to benefit everyone and everything.” The way Muslims treat all of creation is based upon this lens. This seemingly small shift in worldview fundamentally alters everything. Instead of looking only at preventing harm, Muslims are asked to heal, to mend, and most importantly, to improve conditions. Muslims have been given a rich and deeply rooted tradition in building and maintaining relationships with the Earth and all that is in it. 

The world is in desperate need of alternative methods to connect with each other and all of creation. Islam provides a beautiful example centered around God and His attributes, rooted in ethics and sustained with soul. It is a gift too precious not to be shared. 

Dalia Rakha holds an MS in environmental engineering from UC Davis, is a graduate of Tayseer Seminary, and is pursuing a career in water quality and health within a spiritual framework.

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Sept/Oct 2023

In about mid-July, the major news was not about the war in Ukraine or local politics. Rather, the headlines read, “History-making heat set to spread after weekend of triple-digit temperatures,” and “Heatwaves hit new heights across West and South.”

More than 100 million people, around a third of Americans, were under extreme heat advisories. The Southwest Heat Dome broke all-time records, which is also delaying the Southwest monsoon from getting going by blocking most moisture from pushing into the region from Mexico or the nearby eastern Pacific waters. The National Weather Service warned that a “searing heat wave was set to engulf much of the West Coast, the Great Basin, and the Southwest.” Canadian wildfires also affected the air quality in 11 states affecting nearly 60 million Americans.

Heat waves are not only impacting the U.S. but other parts of the world too. According to the European Space Agency “Temperatures were sizzling across Europe amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland are all facing major heat waves with air temperatures expected to climb to 118F on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia with potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.”

According to an Asian Development Bank blog, South Asia experienced its highest temperatures in the last 122 years, leading to at least 90 heat-related deaths in Pakistan and India. The People’s Republic of China suffered three consecutive heat waves, breaking long-standing records, with temperatures exceeding 107F.

The World Meteorological Organization said that such temperatures are highest since instrumental measures of air temperatures began in the 1850s. On top of these record-breaking temperatures, a growing El Niño event in the Pacific began to make its presence felt across the globe. El Niño is a periodic climatic event that occurs when the circulation of the equatorial Pacific Ocean shifts and its temperature rises, causing knock-on heat impacts around the world.

“We should not be surprised…This is all a stark reminder of what we’ve known for a long time,” said Prof. Richard Betts, climate scientist at the Met Office and University of Dexter, told the BBC. “We will see ever-more extremes until we stop building up more greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.” Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and an unusual band of strong winds that have hovered over the Atlantic have already triggered heatwaves.

As the world continues to use more fossil fuels and produce excess greenhouse gasses there is a continued possibility of climate anomalies as were in June 2023 shown in the map by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Consequences of extreme heat waves

Climate change caused by greenhouse gasses from burning fossil fuels will make heat waves longer, more intense, and more frequent. These heat waves are serious threats to health, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure, especially for the vulnerable population of poor countries. Such heat waves also set off other natural disasters such as drought, bushfires, and forest fires which consequently damage crops and livestock. This can lead to insufficient supply, price hikes and even food insecurity. During a heat wave, energy consumption often skyrockets to cool down the temperature. Air conditioning is constantly used where accessible, leading to power shortages in many places. Increased greenhouse gas emissions cause severe climate change impacts in the long term, triggering more heat waves.

Major causes of extreme heat waves

Most of the greenhouse gasses resulting from human activities include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gasses. Burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of increasing greenhouse gasses. Burning coal and oil produces carbon dioxide by combining oxygen in the air with carbon. Clearing land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities contributes carbon dioxide to a lesser extent than fossil fuels. Human activities often occur in a manner that multiplies negative effects on the atmosphere. The resources used by the larger population often involve burning fossil fuels, while more land may be cleared for agriculture. Carbon sinks, such as forested areas, decline as burning fossil fuels increase. Unless the major users of fossil fuels like the U.S, China, and India change to use renewable energy, the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere will continue to increase.

Need to manage extreme heat waves

The ongoing heat waves around the world need to be managed sooner than later to save lives. Particular attention must be paid to communities that cannot rely on safe and affordable water or air conditioning to cool down. The underlying long-term causes also need to be addressed. If not, the heat waves of the future could be far more intense and disruptive than what we are experiencing today. Governments must invest in better urban planning and infrastructure to adapt to heat waves and reduce the urban heat island effect. This includes transitioning from conventional to cooling material for roofs and pavements that absorb less solar energy and reflect more sunlight and expand green spaces and green corridors.

Our Role as Muslims in reducing the production of greenhouse gasses

God has repeatedly reminded us to take care of the earth as designated caretakers.

“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of people’s own hands have wrought. So that they may taste something of what they have done; So that hopefully they will turn back.”  (Quran 30:41)

Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “The world is sweet and green with vegetation and verily God has made you stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourself (Sahih Muslim).

The Islamic Declaration on Climate Change (Istanbul, August 2015) asks peoples of all nations and their leaders to aim in phasing out greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to stabilize their concentration in the atmosphere and commit to adopting renewable energy sources. It also calls upon all Muslims to tackle the habits, mindset, and root causes of climate change, environmental degradation, and loss of biodiversity in their sphere of influence. The severe heat wave enforces upon all of us the necessity to do our share.

ISNA Green Initiative is your voice for protecting the climate. Contact your representatives in the city, state, and federal governments to take actions necessary to mitigate the effect of climate change and adopt an environmentally friendly way of life.

ISNA Green Initiative Team: Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza, S. Masroor Shah (Chair)

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