Islam and Environmental Conservation

Abstract

Environment is an important element for humans because it is a pillar for human survival. Therefore, humans should be wise in terms of interacting with the environment. Unfortunately, many people still do not care about environmental sustainability, such as industrial waste processing which is not environmentally friendly, deforestation, and conversion of land functions. Several solutions have been carried out using scientific method, technology and also government policy, but they still do not produce satisfactory results yet. In fact, destruction of the environment and natural disasters continues to occur. Therefore, this paper offers some solutions from the doctrinal side to preserve the environment. It will discuss about Islamic principles of environment. This study uses a semantic approach and abstraction. Islamic principles of the environment consist of two folds: the principle of monotheism and the principle of the caliph. Using these two basic principles, we hopefully will arrive at a complete understanding about environment. That is, environment is not only seen as a mere satisfying tool for humans and is free from divine values, because both the environment and humans are a unity of God’s creation. This means they are similarly God's creation that is bound in one ecosystem, and humans as the representative on earth should represent God's attributes towards the earth, such as being merciful, caring for and protecting the earth, including protecting the earth's functions for the sake of the sustainability of all living beings on earth.