M12
Care for the earth, moderation, and avoiding corruption on earth
"Eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess" (7:31). The Prophet (pbuh) taught that when a person plants a tree and a bird, a person or an animal eats from it, it is "regarded as a charitable gift for him" — a teaching of care for living things, though whether the Quran's "balance" (55:7–9) is about ecology is a modern reading, not the classical one.
۞ يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ٣١
Transliteration: yābanī ādama khudhū zīnatakum ʿinda kulli masjidin wakulū wa-ish'rabū walā tus'rifū innahu lā yuḥibbu l-mus'rifīna
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
Translation: Saheeh International
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Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]. 30:41
Arabic text and transliteration
ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
ẓahara l-fasādu fī l-bari wal-baḥri bimā kasabat aydī l-nāsi liyudhīqahum baʿḍa alladhī ʿamilū laʿallahum yarjiʿūna
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And He it is who causes gardens to grow, [both] trellised and untrellised, and palm trees and crops of different [kinds of] food and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess. 6:141
Arabic text and transliteration
۞ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَ جَنَّٰتٍ مَّعْرُوشَٰتٍ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَٰتٍ وَٱلنَّخْلَ وَٱلزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُۥ وَٱلزَّيْتُونَ وَٱلرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَٰبِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَٰبِهٍ ۚ كُلُوا۟ مِن ثَمَرِهِۦٓ إِذَآ أَثْمَرَ وَءَاتُوا۟ حَقَّهُۥ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
wahuwa alladhī ansha-a jannātin maʿrūshātin waghayra maʿrūshātin wal-nakhla wal-zarʿa mukh'talifan ukuluhu wal-zaytūna wal-rumāna mutashābihan waghayra mutashābihin kulū min thamarihi idhā athmara waātū ḥaqqahu yawma ḥaṣādihi walā tus'rifū innahu lā yuḥibbu l-mus'rifīna
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And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance That you not transgress within the balance. And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance. 55:7–9
Arabic text and transliteration
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ ٱلْمِيزَانَ أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْمِيزَانِ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلْوَزْنَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا۟ ٱلْمِيزَانَ
wal-samāa rafaʿahā wawaḍaʿa l-mīzāna · allā taṭghaw fī l-mīzāni · wa-aqīmū l-wazna bil-qis'ṭi walā tukh'sirū l-mīzāna
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And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption. 2:205
Arabic text and transliteration
وَإِذَا تَوَلَّىٰ سَعَىٰ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيهَا وَيُهْلِكَ ٱلْحَرْثَ وَٱلنَّسْلَ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْفَسَادَ
wa-idhā tawallā saʿā fī l-arḍi liyuf'sida fīhā wayuh'lika l-ḥartha wal-nasla wal-lahu lā yuḥibbu l-fasāda
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And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know." 2:30
Arabic text and transliteration
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
wa-idh qāla rabbuka lil'malāikati innī jāʿilun fī l-arḍi khalīfatan qālū atajʿalu fīhā man yuf'sidu fīhā wayasfiku l-dimāa wanaḥnu nusabbiḥu biḥamdika wanuqaddisu laka qāla innī aʿlamu mā lā taʿlamūna
If you want to go deeper
5min read
What it means
Isrāf and fasād. Isrāf is excess, going beyond the right measure. Fasād is corruption or ruin — in people, society or the land. Khalīfa (2:30) means "successor" or "deputy"; many modern writers translate it as "steward". Ḥimā is a protected area, closed to private grazing or use.
What the Quran says
Do not be excessive (7:31; 6:141). "O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive" (7:31). And: "Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess" (6:141), Meccan. Ibn Kathir reports two readings of "be not excessive" in 6:141: one, that it forbids "excessive charity beyond normal amounts", with Ibn Jurayj's report of Thabit ibn Qays giving away his whole harvest until "he ended up with no dates"; and the "apparent meaning", which he prefers, that it "refers to eating, meaning, do not waste in eating because this spoils the mind and the body". On "its due on the day of its harvest", Mujahid said: "When the poor people are present (on the day of harvest), give them some of the produce", and Saʿid ibn Jubayr said this "was before Zakah became obligatory".
Destroying crops and animals (2:205). "And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption" (2:205), Medinan. Ibn Kathir reports al-Suddi that 2:204–205 "were revealed about al-Akhnas bin Shariq al-Thaqafi", but considers correct the view of Qatada, Mujahid and al-Rabiʿ ibn Anas that the verses concern "the hypocrites and the believers in general". He explains the aim as "to destroy the crops and the offspring, including what the animals produce", and cites Mujahid: God then "prevents the rain from falling and thus the crops and the offspring perish". The verse is about people who spread ruin, with harm to crops and livestock as its result.
Corruption from people's hands (30:41). "Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]" (30:41), Meccan. Reading this as a statement about modern pollution is a modern application; the verse speaks of corruption caused by human wrongdoing, with a warning purpose.
The balance (55:7–9). "And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance That you not transgress within the balance. And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance" (55:7–9), Sura al-Rahman. Ibn Kathir reads al-mīzān as "the justice" (citing 57:25) and 55:9 as "do not cheat in the weights and measures, but rather observe justice and fairness". He gives no ecological reading. Reading "the balance" as ecological balance is a modern extension and should be labelled as such.
Successor on earth (2:30). "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority" (2:30).
What the Prophet (pbuh) taught
Planting is charity. Anas (ra) reports: "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him" (Bukhārī 2320 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)).
Plant even at the end. "If the Hour comes while one of you has a seedling in his hand", he should plant it (al-Adab al-Mufrad 479, narrated by Anas; graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albani; the rest of the text is summarised here).
Protected land. Al-Ṣaʿb ibn Jaththama reports the Prophet's (pbuh) ruling, "No Hima except for Allah and His Apostle"; he designated al-Naqiʿ as a protected area, and later ʿUmar designated al-Sharaf and al-Rabadha for grazing the animals of zakāh (Bukhārī 2370 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)). The ruling ended private, exclusive enclosures of common pasture, and reserved protection for the public good.
How scholars have understood it
The critique at full strength. In 1967 the historian Lynn White argued in Science that the Western ecological crisis has religious roots: that Christianity, by teaching that humans are made to rule nature and by stripping nature of its sacredness, allowed people to exploit it "with indifference". In the summary read, he calls Christianity "the most anthropocentric religion the world has ever seen", says it "bears a huge burden of guilt", and proposes Francis of Assisi as a model. The critique can be applied to Islam too: the Quran says God "subjected" what is in the heavens and earth to humans, and makes humans khalīfa.
A reply. First, in the Quran humans are not owners. The earth and what is in it belong to God; humans receive it as a trust (amāna, 33:72; see "Amāna") and will be asked about it. Second, the Quran repeatedly condemns excess (7:31; 6:141) and ruin of crops and animals (2:205), and the Prophet (pbuh) made planting a charity and protected land from private seizure (Bukhari 2320, 2370). Third, the Quran does not empty nature of meaning: creation is full of "signs" (āyāt) pointing to God (see the Reflect pages), which is closer to reverence than to indifference.
Limit: the reply shows what the texts teach; it does not show that Muslims have lived this way. Muslim-majority countries have serious problems of waste and pollution, and the classical commentators read some key verses (55:7–9; 2:30) as about justice and succession, not ecology. "Islam has always been green" would overstate the case.
What research shows
Water stress. Established (for the figures.) The World Resources Institute's Aqueduct data (2023) find that "25 countries or a quarter of the world's population are currently exposed to extremely high water stress annually", and that in West Asia and North Africa "83 per cent of the population is exposed to extremely high water stress" (Down To Earth, 2023). Many of these countries are Muslim-majority; 7:31 and 6:141 speak directly to waste.
Religion and environmental behaviour. No named study could be opened (two were blocked), so no figures are given. Time in nature (White et al., 2019) has not yet been checked again.
In daily life
Use water as if it were scarce, because for most people in the region it is: shorter showers, fix leaks, take only what you need in ablution.
Eat without waste (7:31): cook what you will eat, share or store leftovers.
Plant something — a tree, a garden, a pot on a balcony (Bukhari 2320).
Support public goods — parks, protected areas, clean water — as the ḥimā did.
For the heart and mind
If you feel despair about climate change, the hadith of the seedling speaks to you: even at the end, plant it. Your action matters even if you cannot see its result.
Questions readers ask next
Is "the balance" in 55:7–9 about ecology?
Ibn Kathir reads it as justice and honest weights. The ecological reading is modern.
What does "be not excessive" mean in 6:141?
Ibn Kathir prefers "do not waste in eating"; another reading is "do not give away everything".
Is 2:205 about environmental destruction?
Classically it describes hypocrites who spread ruin, with crops and livestock destroyed as a result (Ibn Kathir); using it for environmental harm is an extension.
How should a Muslim answer Lynn White?
By pointing to trust, accountability, the condemnation of excess and the protected ḥimā — and by admitting that practice has often fallen short.
What is a ḥimā?
A protected area. The Prophet (pbuh) ruled that only public authority, not private owners, could create one (Bukhārī 2370 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)).
Sources
- Saheeh International via the site's Tanzil data — 7:31, 30:41, 6:141, 55:7–9, 2:205, 2:30.
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (abridged English), on 6:141, https://surahquran.com/tafsir-english-aya-141-sora-6.html; on 2:204–205, https://surahquran.com/tafsir-english-aya-205-sora-2.html; on 55:7–9, https://surahquran.com/tafsir-english-aya-8-sora-55.html.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2320 (sunnah.com), https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2320; Sahih al-Bukhari 2370 (via hadithunlocked.com), https://hadithunlocked.com/bukhari/42/12.
- Al-Adab al-Mufrad 479 (via hadithunlocked.com), https://hadithunlocked.com/adab:479, with al-Albani's grade.
- Lynn White Jr., "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis", Science 155 (1967) — as summarised in course notes by N. Hettinger (College of Charleston), https://hettingern.people.charleston.edu/Philosophy_of_Religion/White_Historical_Roots_of_Ecologic_Crisis.htm (the article itself not yet consulted).
- "Quarter of global population faces extremely high water stress each year", Down To Earth (17 August 2023), reporting the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct data, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/water/quarter-of-global-population-faces-extremely-high-water-stress-each-year-91215.
- S.H. Nasr, Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man (1968)
- Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change (Istanbul, 2015)
- White et al., "Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing," Scientific Reports 2019
- Bukhārī 2320, 2370; Musnad Aḥmad 12902
- World Resources Institute, Aqueduct water-stress data