ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Here are six lessons from the Quran regarding the environment.  

1. Ultimate Ownership and Authority are with Allah. 

˹He is˺ the Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is! (2:117 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

The phrases “Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between” and “Lord of all the worlds” are repeated many times in the Quran.   

He has authority and perfect knowledge over everything, hidden or not. Everything is within His control. He created all of these things without getting exhausted. And He could easily do it all again. Is that not the ultimate greatness?  

Related evidence: 2:107, 2:116-117, 2:255, 2:284,  6:13, 6:101, 7:54,  17:99, 17:102, 35:1, 35:38, 42:11-12, 44:7, 50:38, 35:41  

2. Creatures are submissive to Him.  

Then He turned towards the heaven when it was ˹still like˺ smoke, saying to it and to the earth, ‘Submit, willingly or unwillingly.’ They both responded, ‘We submit willingly.’ (41:11 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

All the creatures submit and bow to Allah humbly, glorifying Him…except for the arrogant jinn and humans.   

Reading an ayah in Surat al-Hashr (and its footnote in The Clear Quran) made me reflect…  

Had We sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have certainly seen it humbled and torn apart in awe of Allah. We set forth such comparisons for people, ˹so˺ perhaps they may reflect (59:21 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

I, like many others, would consider mountains to be the most rigid, immovable structure in nature. So, if the most rigid immovable thing in nature can be moved by the words of Allah, then what does that say about us?   

Real faith requires humility: the courage to admit “I could be wrong, the truth is greater than me.” Without that humility, the Qur’an and other reminders pass over us instead of through us. So the choice is ours: be humble in this life…or be humbled in the next (Surat al-Ghashiyah 2).  

Related evidence: 16:48-50,  17:44, 17:107-109,  41:11, 55:6, 57:1, 59:21, 59:24,  61:1, 62:1, 64:1,     

3. Signs of Allah inspire awe and remind you to remember Him.  

We built the universe with ˹great˺ might, and We are certainly expanding ˹it˺. As for the earth, We spread it out. How superbly did We smooth it out!1 And We created pairs of all things1 so perhaps you would be mindful.  (51:47-49 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

Natural signs show precision, perfection, and design. These creations were not accidental or random but for a purpose. The fact that Allah can create all of these magnificent things proves that he could easily create humans, a lesser task.  

Related evidence: 2:164-165, 3:190-191, 6:95-101, 25:61-62, 26:7-8,  35:27-28,  36:37-40, 36:81, 39:5, 40:81, 41:12, 42:29,  45: 3-5, 50:6-11, 51:20-21, 51:47-51, 67:19, 71:13-20, 79:27-33, 88:16-20  

4. Signs of Resurrection are seen in vegetation.  

And it is Allah Who sends the winds, which then stir up ˹vapour, forming˺ clouds, and then We drive them to a lifeless land, giving life to the earth after its death. Similar is the Resurrection. (35:9 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]). 

In the Quran, the life of a human is related to the life of a plant. Furthermore, the notion of resurrection is frequently associated with the reforestation of a once-barren land.   

That which is “dead” is not truly completely, irreversibly dead, only seemingly so. It is only dormant for a time, still with the potential of rebirth.   

Reflecting personal experience, in Colorado, we see trees lose their leaves in the winter. We know they will return, insha’ Allah. Why can’t people say the same thing about human resurrection? Just because we witness their lifeless state does not mean we should attribute permanence to their death.  

And with this ˹rain˺ We revive a lifeless land. Similar is the emergence ˹from the graves˺. (50:11 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

Whenever I read ayahs like the one above, I used to assume it was just a metaphor. The more I learned, however, I realized it is literally how we will be resurrected, insha’ Allah; our tailbone will be like our seeds, and a rain will be sent (Sahih Muslim 2955 and Sahih al-Bukhari 4935).  

Related evidence: 6:95, 7:57-58, 18:45, 32:27, 35:9, 36:32-33, 39:21, 43:11, 45:5, 50:9-11  

5. Punishment from Allah through weather events  

Have they not then seen all that surrounds them of the heavens and the earth? If We willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause ˹deadly˺ pieces of the sky to fall upon them. Surely in this is a sign for every servant who turns ˹to Allah˺ (34:9 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

If they turn away, then say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I warn you of a ˹mighty˺ blast, like the one that befell ’Ȃd and Thamûd.” (41:13 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

Weather has been used as a means of punishment for evil actions, like in the destruction of past societies that disbelieved and rebelled. This is the precedence of Allah, and this cycle is mentioned constantly in the Quran: a society is given a message, then, if they disobey, Allah sends a punishment. Message, then denial, then punishment. Repeat.

People of Nuh (asws) –> flood (54:11-12)  

‘Aad –> wind (54:19, 51:41) 

Thamud –> blast (54:30, 51:44) 

People of Lot (asws) –> storm of stones (54:34)  

Fir’aun –> drowned (51:40)  

Additionally, by Allah’s authority, the weather has been used to hinder an evil plan or to take away someone’s blessing, like their abundant vegetation.   

So, after understanding this information, I cannot see weather events the same.

Related Evidence: 7:58, 18:39-42, 32:26, 33:9, 34:9, 34:16,  41:13, 42:32-35, 45:22, 53:31, 56:63-73, 67:16-17, 67:30, 68:17-20, 105:1-5  

6. We benefit from the environment and should be grateful.  

Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who cause it to grow, or is it We Who do so? If We willed, We could simply reduce this ˹harvest˺ to chaff, leaving you to lament, “We have truly suffered a ˹great˺ loss. In fact, we have been deprived ˹of our livelihood˺.” Have you considered the water you drink? Is it you who bring it down from the clouds, or is it We Who do so? If We willed, We could make it salty. Will you not then give thanks? (56:63-70 [Translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab]).  

Allah is the Provider. The One who has given us rain and plants for us and our animals to eat. The One who has given us control over vehicles and creatures to ride. The One who has provided us with the Sun and the Moon as lights to guide us in travel. The One who made the night a time for rest. The One who flattened the Earth and made it pathways for us to walk. This does not even do justice to all the favors from Allah, which He does not ask us for repayment. How can we not be grateful? He could have created us with certain needs and withheld those provisions from us, or worse, deprived us even more.  

When using the resources around us, we must always remember Who provided them. Some forget their Provider out of arrogance, not only being ungrateful, but also associating false partners with Allah who are useless and unresponsive, and even attributing to Allah what they dislike for themselves.  

Others, however, hesitate to benefit from these resources, forgetting that they were created for our use and provision.  

For instance, in the U.S., some groups, such as the vegan community, completely avoid consuming animal products out of concern for the animals’ well-being and the belief that they have feelings. Yet, as the Qur’an frequently reminds us, these creatures were created for a purpose, including being eaten or used for riding, and humans are permitted to benefit from them in a just and proper manner (36:71–75).  

Related evidence: 2:22, 2:29, 2:164-165, 2:168, 6:141-142, 7:58, 16:53-59, 16:62, 18:32-44,  25:47-50, 25:61-62, 32:27, 34:24, 35: 3, 35:12-17, 36:34-35, 36:71-75, 36:80, 40:79-80, 41:9-10, 41:12, 42:11,  42:28, 42:32-35, 43:10-17, 45:12, 50:9-11, 51:22-23, 55:10-13, 56:63-73 67:30, 67:21, 71:16, 71:19-20, 78:6-16, 79:27-33, 80:24-32