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by Mohd Abbos Abdul Razak, ph.D. (ttUM)

he topic on man and nature is an inseparable onethat has been discussed over the centuries. Thistopic has caught the attention of many scholars

of diverse specialization. Major religions of the worldpreach that the universe/nature has been createdlong before the arrival of man. Ever since man cameto exist on this planet, the world has gone through adramatic change, particularly with the coming age ofmodernization, industrialization, colonization and nowglobalization. Geologists and environmentalists say thatthe face of the earth is constantly changing at a rapidscale due to pollution of all kinds. pollution on land, insea, forest, mountains, in space, global warming, meltingof the ice at the poles, wa; and many more pose a threatto human, wild and marine lives. The main culprit incausing the pollution and environmental degradation isnone other than man himself. Man in his greed for richesand dominance has caused great destruction to the livingcondittons on this planet.

Man's relationship with nature goes a long way. As anappreciation to the great contribution of nature to thehuman survival, some have equated nature to God.Conversely, others who saw nature as an obstacle thoughtthat man should conquer it in orderto prevail. As opposedto these two extreme ideas, lslam takes a moderatestand. The Qur'an asks the Muslims to explore nature andthe universe in the hope that man will understand thepatterns and laws by which God has created all celestialand terrestrial bodies. ldeally speaking, upon discoveringGod's wonders and creativity in nature and universe,man should be humbled and thankful to the bountiesprovided by God.

ln lslarn, man as the khalifah of Allah, has to bind a goodrelationship with nature. lt is believed that man,s friendly

co-existence with nature will eventually lead man to reapthe goodness that comes from nature. For his caring andloving atlitude towards nature, it will reward him withwater, oxygen, flowers and fruits of all kind, natural andfood resources. According to Islam, nature is a gift ofAllah. lt has been created for the benefit of man. Whileothers outside lslam may entertain the idea that nature is

something that needs to be conquered as though it is anenemy, Muslims think differently. To the Muslims, naturehas been created for man's benefit and nature shouldbe admired and appreciated for its beauty and splendor.Contemplation and appreciation on the creation of theuniverse and nature is deemed as a form of lbadah toAllah (Al-Qur'an 3:190).

Looking into the people of the West, one would observethat there is a change in their mental atitude towardspreserving nature. lt has been said by many authoritiesthat the people in the West have changed after witnessingthe devastating effects of the two World Wars. The deathtoll of millions who were killed and the magnitude of thedamages caused to the infrastructure and environmentof the countries involved in war has brought changes intheir philosophy of life. Ever since the end oi the SecondWorld War till the present time the masses in the Weststarted to demonstrate a greater level of consciousnesstowards taking care of nature, environment, human andanimal lives. ln their effort to preserve human lives andnature they have come up with many movements andorganizations; like Greenpeace, National GeographicSociety, Nature Conservancy, Wildlife ConservationSociety, hundreds of anti-war organizations, etc. Theemergence of all these organizations is based on theirphilosophy of life which is 'here and now,, and live life tothe fullest. Moreove; they also want to preserve the floraand fauna for the generations of peoplethat would come after theirtime. The other factor thatmakes their preservation.,,,:,r:

program a success is theavailability of funds,

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and technology. Although the masses and organizationsin the West are working towards global peace and a

better world, there exists a small group of policy-makers,warmongers and the war industry that work against theaspiration of the masses. Due to this selfish group, westill witness wars taking place in many parts of the world,parlicularly in the Middle East.

Contraryto the scenario in the West, many countries in theAsia and Africa, have failed to demonstrate a passionate

attitude towards preservation and conservation ofnature. Societies living in such countries either pay Iittleor no attention as to why they have to care for natureand the environment. There could be more than onefactor which causes them not to pay heed to the call ofpreserving and conservation of the flora and fauna. Thefollowing will be some of the reasons as to why peoplein some Asian and African countries lack the passion andcompassion towards nature:Ignorance/Negligence: they do not realize that thereare serious environmental problems that need to beaddressed jointly.

Poverty: this situation keeps the masses in many parts ofAsia and Africa preoccupied with the issue related to thesurvival of their families and never allow them to thinkof other global issues, particularly those related to theenvironment and nature.War and crisis: Countries that are preoccupied withsectarian wars, war on terror and wars imposed on themby others. Sad to say, this situation has made some of theircitizens go wandering as refugees into foreign territories.Under such a condition, those who are affected by thewar would not be there psychologically thinking aboutthe care for the flora and fauna, as they are preoccupiedwith their own suffering and survival.Attitude towards life: A fractjon of the society feels thatlife on earth is only transitory. As such, they give moreimportance to the preparation for their life in hereafter. lnthe case of the Muslims, lslam calls for a balanced lifestyleto be maintained between the life in this world and intheir preparation for the afterlife (Al-eur'an 28:77).Natura! World is gift from God: Since nature is createdfor the benefit of mankind, they want to exploit thewealth of resources available in the natural worldwithout considering the moral and ethical issuespertaining to how they have to deal with nature and thee nviro n ment.Consumer Mentality: Many times, people in thedeveloping countries are overly dependent on others withregard to information and research works on the floraand fauna. They just want to purchase the knowledgeand documentary movies on flora and fauna produced byothers.

Regardless whether people live in the East or West,they should pay attention to the issues related to the

preservation and conservation ofnature. Unless and until they learnto develop a friendly co-existencewith nature, unpredictable weatherconditrons, melting of the ice atthe poles and all other naturalcalamities such as landslides,

mudslides, etc. will be somethingimminent in their lives. Many of thetragedies that happen to humanitythat relate to the natural world aremainly triggered by human beingsthemselves (Al-Qur'an 30:41).Environmental studies should begiven due consideration in everycountry of the world, particularly in

countries involved in the oil and gas industries. Countriesthat depend on fossil fuels should look for alternativeenergy resources which are eco-friendly. Ecology in thecountries involved in the mining, oil and gas industriesshould be constantJy monitored so that they do not pose

a threat to human lives. World leaders and citizens ofthe world should work towards global peace eradicatingall uncalled wars on this planet. Such wars can causedevastating impact on human lives and the environmentwith the release of depleted uranium and radioactiveparticles into the air.

ln realizing the importance of preserving the flora andfauna for posterity to benefit and enjoy, oil rich countriesshould set up funds for nature and environmental studies.The existence of such funds can be of a great help,:toscientists and researchers to explore, investigate anddocument the mysteries found in nature. The love fornature and environment should be inculcated in the youngminds of today right from the preschool and elementarylevels in order to produce citizens who will be passionate tomaintain a healthy environment. Like in the West, schoolsin Asia and Africa should allocate substantial amount offunds to provide facilities for students to conduct researchrelated to the natural world. Universities too should createmany more faculties and departments offering programsin the areas of man and nature, environmental studiesrelated to preservation and conservation of nature andnatural resources.

Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak, Ph.D. (lluM)Depart. of Fundamental & Inter-Disciplinary Studies, KIRKHSlnternational lslamic University Malaysia, GombakEmail : maarji@iium.edu.my

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