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By: Tariq Ramadan
IslamiCity* -
Awareness that the Universe is in fact a Revelation that must be
respected, read, understood, and protected should reform our minds and
our attitudes toward nature, animals, and therefore also to an economy
focused on economic production and the mad logic of economic growth at
all costs to society.
We are still very far from that and reflection about the outcomes of
human activity, of levels of consumption, and of development is either
absent or else remains very superficial or oversimplified: little
communication has been established with the non-Muslim agents and
organizations who specialized in such issues and gave us more concrete
and less structural or formalistic answers.
Muslim women and men, wishing to be faithful to the deepest essential
teachings of Islam, should be primarily interested in the studies-and
real-life experiences-which raise questions about our development and
consumption models, our utilitarian relationship to nature, and our
ecological carelessness. Instead of that, consciences are stifled by
heaps of legal rulings, of fatawa which address formal or secondary
issues (such as, for instance, the strictly lawful character of ritual
slaughter techniques in the production of meat), without considering
far deeper issues such as reflection over ways of life and modes of
behavior and consumption.
And yet, what should we remember of those Quranic verses that speak so
beautifully of the signs in the Creation? What should we understand,
when reading those verses that drew tears from the Prophet, such as
that over which he pondered until dawn: "In the creation of the
heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are
indeed signs for all those endowed with insight."4
The Messenger's spiritual initiation began by transforming his outlook
on the world, causing him to perceive signs that spoke to him and
called on him to ponder, understand, and get closer to the One. He
never forgot it, and when looking into his Prophetic experience we
cannot but become convinced that there can be no spiritual path
without the heart and mind relating more deeply to time, space,
nature, and animals. The One appealed to hearts, starting by
transforming believers' outlooks on the elements, then on themselves,
to turn again to the Universe. This is the meaning of the verse: "We
will show them Our signs on the horizons and in themselves, until it
becomes clear to them that this [Revelation] is the truth."5
The Prophet of Islam continuously reminded his Companions of the
importance of the signs in Nature and of respecting it totally.6 One
day, as he was passing by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who was performing
ritual ablution, the Prophet scolded him: "What is this waste, o
Sa'd?" "Is there waste, even in ablution?" Sa'd asked. And the Prophet
answered: "Yes, even when using the running water of a stream."7 Water
is a central element in all teachings and ritual practices since it
represents the purification of body and heart, in both the physical
("real") and spiritual worlds. But the Prophet taught Sa'd and his
Companions that neither water nor any element in nature should ever be
considered merely as a "means" toward their spiritual edification; on
the contrary, respecting them and using them moderately was already in
itself a form of spiritual exercise and elevation, a "goal" in their
quest for the Creator.
The Prophet's insisting on refusing to waste even "the running water
of a stream" shows that he places respect for nature on the level of a
primary principle, of a higher objective that must regulate behavior
whatever the situation and the consequences of human action may be.
This is not an ecology stemming from the foreboding of catastrophes
(set off by human actions) but a source of an "ecology at the source"
in which humankind's relation to nature rests on an ethical bedrock
linked to understanding the deepest spiritual teachings.8 A believer's
relationship to nature can only be based on contemplation and respect.
This is what led the Prophet to say: "If one of you holds a [palm]
shoot in his hand when Judgment Day arrives, let him quickly plant
it."9 The believing conscience should therefore feed on this intimate
relationship with nature to the very end, so that even one's last
gesture should be associated with the renewal of life and its cycles.
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The same teaching runs through the Prophet's life: he kept drawing his
Companions' attention to the necessity of respecting all animal
species. He once told them the following story: "A man was walking
along a road, in very hot weather. He saw a well and went down to
quench his thirst. When he climbed up again, he saw a dog panting with
thirst and said to himself: 'This dog is as thirsty as I was: He then
went down the well again, filled his shoe with water and climbed up,
holding it between his teeth. He gave the dog to drink and God
rewarded him and forgave his sins' The Prophet was then asked: "0
Prophet, are we rewarded for treating animals well?" And the Prophet
answered: "Any good towards a living creature gets its reward."10
Through such traditions and his own example, the Messenger pointed out
that respecting animals was part of the most essential Islamic
teaching. He used all opportunities to stress this dimension.
Numerous verses and Prophetic traditions express this: they clearly
set forth the terms of an Islamic ethics that should be spelled out
according to the higher goals of the message as a whole. We are far
from the often superficial, chaotic, if not contradictory, reflections
proposed today by Muslim societies and communities, their scholars,
their thinkers and their institutions, to the notable exception of a
few individuals or organizations that spend a large amount of their
energy swimming against the tide.
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Excepted from "Radical Reform" Islamic Ethics and Liberation by
Professor Tariq Ramadan.
Professor Tariq Ramadan holds a MA in Philosophy and French literature
and PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva.
He also received training in classical Islamic scholarship from
Al-Azhar University. He is Professor of Islamic Studies (Faculty of
Theology at Oxford) and is also a Senior Research Fellow St Antony's
College (Oxford), Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and at the Lokahi
Foundation (London).
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Abdul Karim Chisthi
MD Cptr Sect., Almech Enterprise,
c 15 Industrial Estate, Coimbatore- 641021,
ak@almech.co.in, mobile: 9944497786.
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All my Articles Available At http://karim74.blogspot.com
Assalaamu Alaickum
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