The Ink of Scholar: Religion and the Natural Environment

By Imam Vernon Fareed

When we take note of the natural world originally given to us by the Creator, we have to acknowledge that it is not the same world that we are looking at today. The environment including the water, air and earth has become polluted, and this is the result of a polluted mind. The thinking of the human being has moved from the rational to the irrational, and from the logical to the illogical. What was wrong before is now accepted as right and what is right has come to be accepted as wrong! Scientists are now providing us with an avalanche of evidence in support of the fact that God did not create us (originally) with all of these birth defects and diseases that we now deem as natural. The evidence says that man caused all of these problems and more, because he corrupted the environment. The poisoning of the environment by the human being also seems to be the major culprit for defects in animals.
Despite the consequences, man has chosen to ignore the first mercy (our good nature) given to us by our Creator, and go in pursuit of material accomplishments.

In the Qur’an (the sacred scripture of Muslims) God says, “Do not change the good nature created by God.” More and more we are learning about the grafting of fruits and vegetables by man to bring about his own creation. The watermelon that was originally created with seeds inside are becoming more and more difficult to find in the stores, because man has devised another (artificial) means of producing them. To add insult to injury, we are made to believe that it’s senseless and irrational for us to desire the watermelon with seeds in it! Animals are being crossbred to bring about the desired product that man wants, with little or no regard for the moral, health and other consequences that may come. This reckless experimentation by humans to achieve what they want has put the world in the predicament that it is.

The Great Creator has designed nature with the ability to fight back! Though the apple tree doesn’t have brain or a mouth to speak out, it wants to remain an apple tree. Water wants to maintain its cohesiveness and be utilized in the manner that its Creator designed for it, so it has a way of fighting to protect itself. Such is the case with everything in life that is created upon its original pattern. Deviation from the original intended makeup and purpose of life only brings about horrible consequences. It doesn’t matter whether we are doing it for political expediency, material gain or whatever, we have to be prepared for the consequences once we start down this road. Everything in creation has a design and a purpose, and once the human being seeks to take nature off of its course, it fights back! The extreme and unusual weather patterns are examples of nature fighting back.

It is also imperative that human beings respect the nature and plan that the Creator designed for us, and commit to being true to it. Just as with everything else in creation there are serious consequences when we fail to do so. The times are too serious and the forces of destruction are too challenging to human life for any of us to take things for granted. The threat to our survival as productive creatures can only be overcome when we respect the natural creation and the Plan that the Creator has for us!