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<Home> <Environmental Protection in Islam> <Air>
2. Air This element is no less important than water for the perpetuation and preservation oflife, Nearly all terrestrial creatures are utterly dependent on the air they breathe, The air also has other functions which may be less apparent to man but which God has created for definite purposes, as we have been made aware of by the Glorious Qur'an -such as the vitally important role of the winds in pollination. God has said, " And we send the fertilizing winds. "17 The winds are also clear evidence of God' s omnipotence and grace, and the perfection of design in His creation. He has also said, "Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of night and day in the change of the winds, and the clouds compelled between heaven and earth surely there are signs for a people who have sense."18 "And He it is Who sends the winds as tidings heralding His grace: until when they have raised a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a dead land and cause the rain to descend upon it, and thereby bring forth fruits of every kind."19 Since the atmosphere performs all these biological and social functions, its conser- vation, pure and unpolluted, is an essential aspect of the conservation oflife itself which is one of the fundamental objectives of Islamic law. Again, whatever is indispensable to fulfil this imperative obligation is itself obligatory .Therefore any activity which pollutes it and ruins or impairs its function is an attempt to thwart and obstruct God's ii wisdom towardHis creation. This must likewise be considered an obstruction of some aspects of the human role in the development of this world. |
