Environment-Friendly Islam

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   I was pleasantly surprised to find a Green Forum here 
In the past I have come across a number of environment-friendly Sahih Ahadith that have talked about the environment . . . Unfortunatley I do not remember all, but I still decided to start a thread where we could post Ahadith that are related to the Environment, especially since the Environment is such a huge issue these days! It would be nice to see what Islam has to say. I wrote down whatevr refernce I cud find.
Please do share any Ahadith you know, it would be nice if you could add the source if you know so. 

1."Let no one of you urinate in stagnant water" (related by Ibn Majah). 

2.  Abdullah Ibn 'Amr reported that the Prophet [S.A.A.S] said:"No human being kills a sparrow or [something] larger, without right, except that God will ask him about it (hold him responsible!) on the Day of Judgment" It was said: O Prophet of God! What is its right? He said: " Its right is that you slaughter it and eat it, not that you decapitate it and throw it!" - Narrated by Al-Nasa'i, & by Al-Hakim who stated that it has a sound chain of narrators. His statement was approved by Al-Mundhiri and Al-Dhahabi.

3. Another hadith to the same effect was narrated by Ahmad, Al-Nisa'i and Ibn Habban from the report of Al-Sharid [May God be pleased with him], he said: I heard the Prophet [S.A.A.S] saying:" If you kill a sparrow senselessly, it will hasten to God on the Day of Judgment saying : O Lord! So and So killed me for play and not for use!"

4. �When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand, he should plant it,�  - Could not find reference, however author interpreted this hadith by suggesting that "even when all hope is lost for mankind, one should sustain nature�s growth. He(the Prophet) believed that nature remains a good in itself, even if man does not benefit from it. " (islamonline.net)

5.  The Prophet [S.A.A.S] did not tolerate any "hunting" which was not out of necessity. Ibn Mas'ud said: " We were traveling with the Prophet [S.A.A.S] when he left [us for a while]; we saw a bird with its two chicks and we took the chicks. [Their mother] started spreading its wings [in protest]. When the Prophet [S.A.A.S] came [and saw what happened] he said: "Who caused her to become bereaved [by taking away] her two children ? Return her two children to her!" Narrated by Abu Dawud in the chapter on Jihad # 2675
      One can appreciate the position of the Prophet [S.A.A.S] much more when one realizes the choice of words used in the hadith. Instead of chicks [farkhiyha], he used children [waladayha] which, reflect the a very humane perspective.

6. Another area of prohibition covers the hunting of wild animals for reasons other than food (e.g. for fur). Mu'awiya [May God be pleased with him] reported that the Prophet [S.A.A.S] said: "Do not "ride" on silk and tiger fur" - Abu Dawud, # 4129
    Perhaps the reason only exotic animal fur has been prohibited is because of the needless killing of such animals. Leather/herbivore animal skins have perhaps been allowed bcz the animal's skin is often a byproduct, once animal is slaughtered for eating. Hence there is no needless killing of the animal just for fur - which again is often a luxury item rather than necessity. 

7. "There is reward in [caring for] every living being." -  Sahih Muslim, 7:44

8. "He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], God will send him to Hellfire" - Al-Tirmidhi, # 5239 
   Scholars interpret the hadith to mean the unneccessary cutting of all trees, not only the lote-tree, since the lote tree was what was found in the desert at the time.

9. No Muslim who plants a shoot, except that whatever is eaten or stolen from it, or anyone obtains the least thing from it, is considered [like paying] almsgiving on his behalf until the Day of Judgment."- Sahih Muslim

10. The Prophet also discouraged wasting of water, The Hadiths that directly focus on the proper use of water include the following: The Prophet performed ablution three [times] and said "Whoever increases [more than three] he does injustice and wrong."Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah. 
   For non-muslims:, each time a muslim performs an act of ablution , he uses water-hence by restricting number of times, water is conserved. (Especially for those muslims with OCD who insist on using basin-fulls of water, and repeating it numerous times just to be 'safer/cleaner. )
11. In addition to the encouragement to save water, the Prophet himself provided the model which should prove to be useful if followed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike:The Messenger of God [S.A.A.S] performed ablution using one mud [i.e. a measure equal to a handful of water].- Al-Tirmidhi

12. Regarding NOISE POLLUTION : "�and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass." Qur'an, 31:19

13. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, in his address to Yazid Ibn Abu Sufian, the commander of the army that went north to Sham [i.e. Greater Syria]:"�And I instruct you [to fulfill the following] ten [orders]: Do not kill a woman, nor a child, nor an old man; do not cut down fruitful trees; do not destroy [land or housing] in use; do not kill a goat or a camel unless for food; do not flood palm trees [with water] nor burn them down �"
 - Malik Ibn Anas, al-Muwatta' 

Edited by Chrysalis - 17 June 2008 at 1:35am

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Chrysalis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 November 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2033	Post Options Post Reply Quote Chrysalis Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Environment-Friendly Islam Posted: 10 June 2008 at 12:15am
	I was pleasantly surprised to find a Green Forum here In the past I have come across a number of environment-friendly Sahih Ahadith that have talked about the environment . . . Unfortunatley I do not remember all, but I still decided to start a thread where we could post Ahadith that are related to the Environment, especially since the Environment is such a huge issue these days! It would be nice to see what Islam has to say. I wrote down whatevr refernce I cud find. Please do share any Ahadith you know, it would be nice if you could add the source if you know so. 1."Let no one of you urinate in stagnant water" (related by Ibn Majah). 2. Abdullah Ibn 'Amr reported that the Prophet [S.A.A.S] said:"No human being kills a sparrow or [something] larger, without right, except that God will ask him about it (hold him responsible!) on the Day of Judgment" It was said: O Prophet of God! What is its right? He said: " Its right is that you slaughter it and eat it, not that you decapitate it and throw it!" - Narrated by Al-Nasa'i, & by Al-Hakim who stated that it has a sound chain of narrators. His statement was approved by Al-Mundhiri and Al-Dhahabi. 3. Another hadith to the same effect was narrated by Ahmad, Al-Nisa'i and Ibn Habban from the report of Al-Sharid [May God be pleased with him], he said: I heard the Prophet [S.A.A.S] saying:" If you kill a sparrow senselessly, it will hasten to God on the Day of Judgment saying : O Lord! So and So killed me for play and not for use!" 4. �When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand, he should plant it,� - Could not find reference, however author interpreted this hadith by suggesting that "even when all hope is lost for mankind, one should sustain nature�s growth. He(the Prophet) believed that nature remains a good in itself, even if man does not benefit from it. " (islamonline.net) 5. The Prophet [S.A.A.S] did not tolerate any "hunting" which was not out of necessity. Ibn Mas'ud said: " We were traveling with the Prophet [S.A.A.S] when he left [us for a while]; we saw a bird with its two chicks and we took the chicks. [Their mother] started spreading its wings [in protest]. When the Prophet [S.A.A.S] came [and saw what happened] he said: "Who caused her to become bereaved [by taking away] her two children ? Return her two children to her!" Narrated by Abu Dawud in the chapter on Jihad # 2675 One can appreciate the position of the Prophet [S.A.A.S] much more when one realizes the choice of words used in the hadith. Instead of chicks [farkhiyha], he used children [waladayha] which, reflect the a very humane perspective. 6. Another area of prohibition covers the hunting of wild animals for reasons other than food (e.g. for fur). Mu'awiya [May God be pleased with him] reported that the Prophet [S.A.A.S] said: "Do not "ride" on silk and tiger fur" - Abu Dawud, # 4129 Perhaps the reason only exotic animal fur has been prohibited is because of the needless killing of such animals. Leather/herbivore animal skins have perhaps been allowed bcz the animal's skin is often a byproduct, once animal is slaughtered for eating. Hence there is no needless killing of the animal just for fur - which again is often a luxury item rather than necessity. 7. "There is reward in [caring for] every living being." - Sahih Muslim, 7:44 8. "He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], God will send him to Hellfire" - Al-Tirmidhi, # 5239 Scholars interpret the hadith to mean the unneccessary cutting of all trees, not only the lote-tree, since the lote tree was what was found in the desert at the time. 9. No Muslim who plants a shoot, except that whatever is eaten or stolen from it, or anyone obtains the least thing from it, is considered [like paying] almsgiving on his behalf until the Day of Judgment."- Sahih Muslim 10. The Prophet also discouraged wasting of water, The Hadiths that directly focus on the proper use of water include the following: The Prophet performed ablution three [times] and said "Whoever increases [more than three] he does injustice and wrong."Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah. For non-muslims:, each time a muslim performs an act of ablution , he uses water-hence by restricting number of times, water is conserved. (Especially for those muslims with OCD who insist on using basin-fulls of water, and repeating it numerous times just to be 'safer/cleaner. ) 11. In addition to the encouragement to save water, the Prophet himself provided the model which should prove to be useful if followed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike:The Messenger of God [S.A.A.S] performed ablution using one mud [i.e. a measure equal to a handful of water].- Al-Tirmidhi 12. Regarding NOISE POLLUTION : "�and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass." Qur'an, 31:19 13. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, in his address to Yazid Ibn Abu Sufian, the commander of the army that went north to Sham [i.e. Greater Syria]:"�And I instruct you [to fulfill the following] ten [orders]: Do not kill a woman, nor a child, nor an old man; do not cut down fruitful trees; do not destroy [land or housing] in use; do not kill a goat or a camel unless for food; do not flood palm trees [with water] nor burn them down �" - Malik Ibn Anas, al-Muwatta' Edited by Chrysalis - 17 June 2008 at 1:35am
	"O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they showed mercy to me when I was young."