We attempt in the second part of the article "Contemporary World's Need for the Qur'an" to clarify the reasons for this need in one of the most critical areas for modern humans, and indeed for the entire planet, which is the environment. The environment is now on the verge of total collapse, threatening life on Earth as a whole. Experts and those concerned attribute this threat to the adversarial approach of contemporary Western civilization toward the elements and components of the environment.
A Civilization Hostile to the Environment
Contemporary Western civilization has played the worst roles toward the environment, subjecting it to patterns of destruction that have not been known since the beginning of creation—except for the flood, which reshaped the Earth without disturbing its balance or its essential vitality for life in general. The rise of modern civilization has been based on ideas that promote aggression between humans and nature on one hand, and between humans themselves on the other. These ideas have focused on maximizing material gain (capital accumulation), disregarding both ethical and environmental considerations. The ideas of development in all its cultural and economic frameworks have undermined the environment's vitality and its suitability for life, disrupting the principle of justice in the right to life for all people, and for future generations.
The deterioration of the environment in its contemporary form is the inevitable result of the concepts and perceptions embodied in the effectiveness of the Western knowledge model over the past two centuries. This model is rooted in Western selfishness, perpetuating conflict, competition for wealth, and the prioritization of capital and production over any values or moral standards. This model has entrenched one of the worst ideas known to humanity: the idea of growth. As the authors of The “Suicide of the West” state: "Industrial growth overturned society, divided it into new classes, concentrated it in cities, created vast hierarchical structures, desecrated the countryside, raped the planet, drained the soul of humanity, and led to an unprecedented concentration of power. Growth spread quickly throughout the West, and within a century, economic growth granted global dominance to the West."
The principle of exploiting all of nature's resources—which underpins the ideas of capitalist growth in Western civilization—and the use of machinery in place of human labor to increase production exponentially has been a key factor in the multifaceted environmental crisis we now face. This includes global climate change, the threat of entire cities disappearing, rising global temperatures, and environmental degradation. This latter term specifically refers to the current state of Western civilization's relationship with the environment, or more precisely, the outcome of the interaction between Western civilization with its intellectual, cultural, industrial, and technological components and the environment. This interaction has led to the exhaustion of all environmental resources above and below the Earth’s surface—for the benefit of a group that constitutes no more than 20% of the Earth's population—threatening not only the lives of those living today but also the lives of future generations.
The Western individual, who makes up only a small percentage of the global population (20%), consumes more than 80% of its natural resources. The amount consumed by Americans in the past hundred years equals all that humanity has consumed throughout its history.
The Need for a New Model to Save the Environment
The current state of the environment, and the resulting awareness in environmental thought of the need for a new worldview based on a human-centered environmental philosophy, calls for a fundamental environmental philosophy to reshape humanity's relationship with the environment and nature in general. This environmental thought blames modernity, the capitalist system, the Western model of growth, the global industrial system, and the concepts of technology and growth as defined by the materialistic Western paradigm, which centers the white man as the world’s focus, for the environmental degradation and imbalance.
The Qur'an and a Civilizational Model for Saving the Environment
The Qur'an offers a grand philosophy for responsible interaction with the environment, framing the concepts, perceptions, and guidelines necessary to achieve what can be termed "environmental justice." This is a comprehensive concept that guarantees mutual rights between humans and the environment on the one hand, and the environment and humans on the other.
The Qur'an establishes several fundamental principles and rules to achieve environmental justice. The first of these is the principle of harmony between humans and the elements of nature, rejecting the idea of conflict between humans and nature. This conflict is a hallmark of the materialistic model that has resulted in the establishment of an adversarial philosophy toward the environment, based on the notion of a battleground. This contradicts the principle of order in the universe, which is based on the idea of harmony and creative cooperation among the components of the universe, and a balance between its elements, none of which can be dispensed with. The components of the universe are intricately and uniquely interconnected.
The second principle is that of taskheer (subjugation), which defines the nature of the relationship between humans and nature through an organizing perception of their interaction. Nature, with all its elements, is prepared and subjugated for the benefit of humans, ensuring harmony, consistency, and cooperation as essential characteristics of the universe and human society. By rejecting conflict, the Qur'anic model rejects the notion of conflict within the universe, affirming peace as an environmental, psychological, human, and cosmic principle.
The third principle is that the world in which humans live is a gift from Allah, provided so that humans can practice all forms of their activities and worship. This world is placed under human control for their benefit, comfort, and nourishment. This gifted world contains all the essential, enhancing, and aesthetic needs of humans. Therefore, humans are compelled to strive with all their might to preserve it, using it justly and wisely, and refraining from all forms of wrongdoing that violate the rights of this world and its elements.
The fourth principle is the strong presence of the ethical dimension in the Qur'anic model for dealing with the environment. This dimension plays a crucial role in two areas: first, in designing human needs and defining them; and second, in determining the nature and form of responses to fulfill these needs, which inevitably stem from the environment that encompasses human existence. Humans are the trustees and stewards of Allah in this universe, after having accepted the trust of stewardship (amanah). This acceptance comes with an ethical condition: to safeguard the trust without waste or betrayal, and to benefit from it according to the ethical guidelines set by its original owner, Allah.
The fifth principle of environmental justice from the Qur'anic perspective is the principle of human responsibility. Humans are responsible for all their actions in relation to the environment, accountable before Allah, the Creator of this environment who entrusted it to humans, and accountable before other people. Awareness of this religious, social, and civilizational responsibility makes humans more mindful of their actions, measuring them by the standards of moderation, balance, and preservation, rather than by the standards of exploitation, growth, conflict, and competition.
The sixth principle is the prohibition of corruption on Earth, whether it involves the soil, air, or water. All of these elements have been subjected to Western corruption through the harmful use of technology, such as deforestation, cutting down trees and forests, and the increasing reliance on fossil fuels. This has led to a rise in carbon dioxide emissions, threatening the atmosphere and causing climate disruption.
The Qur'anic approach to environmental preservation is rich with fundamental principles, values, and rules that ensure environmental justice or the lost environmental security. This model must be promoted and defended against all those who corrupt the environment.
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