Executive Briefing: Ecological Guardianship
The Quran rejects anthropocentric resource exploitation, framing human beings not as masters, but as Khalifah (trustees) held cosmically accountable for maintaining the sacred equilibrium (Mizan) of the biosphere.
1. Hima and Harim: Traditional Islamic Conservation Zones
Early Islamic civil engineering codified Hima (wildlife sanctuaries and communal pastures) and Harim (protected buffer corridors around freshwater springs) to legally prohibit overgrazing and water contamination.
2. References
- Nasr, S. H. (1996). Religion and the Order of Nature. Oxford University Press.
- Haq, S. N. (2001). Islam and Ecology: Toward a Retrieval of History, Tradition, and Culture. Daedalus.