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Environmental Health-An Islamic View
by Dr. M.H. Khayat

Foreword

Hussein A Gezairy, MD, FRCS
Regional Director for the
Eastern Mediterranean Region of
the World Health Organization

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

In the present era, the environment exercises an influence over the health of individuals and communities unequalled by any other, with the possible, exception of the influence of the lifestyle a person adopts and the behavioural " habits he or she forms.

It is for this reason that the World Health Organization has, since its," foundation, been concerned with the question of health and the environment, and has directed considerable attention to it, starting a special programme devoted to this major health field, with the involvement of a large number of distinguished experts in its various aspects.

It is well-known that the environment which fostered man when he was created on this earth was a hospitable one, tender with him, considerate of his health, and affording him the means to live and prosper. Such benevolent conditions might have continued, as they had for thousands of years, had it not been for the serious change and the dangerously harmful alteration in the structure, texture and composition of this environment which accompanied the rapid civilization and the breathless pace of industrialization witnessed on this earth. It was a change that turned the environment into a source of evil rather, than a source of good, a cesspool of disease rather than a resort promoting good health.  Soon humanity started to reap what its hands had sown and to pay dearly for the aggression it had committed against this magnanimous and generous environment, upsetting its delicate balance.

For this reason, it is imperative that wise people should call on each other to rescue the noble environment, as a preliminary step to rescuing people themselves from these harmful consequences and saving them from the outcome of the defilement that can be seen on land and in the sea as a result of their own doings.

It is not a secret that God's message, which aims at guiding people to what is in their best interest in this world and the Hereafter, is the best deterrent to people from destroying their environment and causing serious harm to themselves, to their fellow human beings, and indeed to all forms of life, whether animal, plant, or other.

This latest publication in the series The Right Path to Health, a series which has been very well received by all people in this Region, is the text of a lecture delivered by Dr Muhammad Haytham Khayat at the Conference of the Association of Arab Physicians in Europe, held in Frankfurt in 1989.

We decided to publish it in this series in the hope that it will serve as a reminder to those who desire to celebrate God's praises or to render their thanks to Him. It is hoped that it will be of some assistance to those who prohibit corruption on earth, and that it may contribute to the efforts at maintaining what is left of the sound environment and restoring things that have been subject to deviation, distortion or pollution to their normal course.