Islam Considers Harming Environment An Act of Injustice, Wickedness

IQNA – Islam teaches that harming the environment is an act of injustice and moral corruption, emphasizing the duty of humans to protect and preserve nature, an Iranian cleric says.

Hojat-ol-Islam Salman Behjati Ardakani made the remark in the 8th national conference on environmental education.

He said the environmental crisis is a result of the modern era.

“The perspective in modernity, centered on humanism (anthropocentrism) and the maximum exploitation of nature to enhance human pleasures, disregarded the harmful impacts of pollution and environmental destruction. However, over time, humanity began to feel the pain of pollution and destruction and started taking action to address this issue.”

The cleric noted that today, humanity is faced with various types of pollution, including air, water, soil, noise, light, and space pollution.

Human sources of contamination, such as agriculture, transportation, waste, mining, irresponsible tourism, and certain modern technologies, play a role in this issue, he stated.

Hojat-ol-Islam Behjati referred to Islam’s view of the environment and said one of the Islamic teachings that encourages avoiding environmental pollution is the principle of refraining from Dhulm (injustice).

“Injustice not only means placing things in inappropriate positions but also signifies darkness and negativity. Any individual or entity whose polluting actions disregard the negative consequences of their behavior, thereby negatively affecting people, society, and future generations through their actions and selfishness, is, in fact, committing the grave sin of injustice.”

He added, “This injustice, as it affects society, is a social sin and therefore far graver than an individual sin. This is because air, water, and soil pollution—or contamination that enters the food supply—endangers the physical and mental health of humans, impacts future generations, and harms unborn children who are the builders of tomorrow. An entity responsible for environmental pollution does not have the right to absolve itself of responsibility or shift the blame onto others, even if others also share a part in this wrongdoing.”

He stressed that, therefore, promoting and emphasizing the Islamic teaching of refraining from injustice toward the environment is one of the issues that should receive greater attention in society.

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