Fruitful Living
Islamic legal perspective on environmental protection (Final part)
ISLAMIC jurisprudence (Fiqh) is based on the maxim: “La darar wa la dirar” (Do not cause harm or reciprocate harm). (Hadith, Sunan Ibn Majah, 2340)
Harm to the environment is harm to humanity. The Maqasid al-Shariah (Objectives of Islamic Law) include the protection of: Life (Nafs), Wealth (Mal), Lineage (Nasl), Religion (Deen) and Intellect (‘Aql).
Environmental degradation undermines all of these objectives. Therefore, from an Islamic legal standpoint, damaging water bodies, polluting the air, and destroying biodiversity are major sins (kabaa’ir).
Conclusion
Environmental degradation in Ghana poses grave threats across multiple sectors—air, water, land, and biodiversity—with severe consequences for human survival and well-being.
In the water sector, illegal small-scale gold mining (galamsey) has led to toxic heavy metal pollution in rivers such as Pra and Ankobra, jeopardising both drinking water safety and aquatic life (Arthur et al.,2025).
These contaminants accumulate in the food chain, causing chronic illnesses and birth
defects in affected communities.
Urban sprawl and deforestation are rapidly diminishing Ghana’s forest cover, particularly in areas like Wa Municipality. This leads to loss of biodiversity, disrupted ecosystems, and climate vulnerability through increased surface temperatures and decreased rainfall (Anokye et al., 2025).
Agricultural lands are also being encroached upon, resulting in reduced crop yields, food insecurity, and the displacement of rural populations.
Air pollution from vehicle emissions, burning waste, and industrial activities—especially in major cities like Accra—has led to rising cases of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular illnesses, and reduced life expectancy, particularly among children and the elderly (Kazapoe et al., 2025).
Moreover, indiscriminate plastic disposal has overwhelmed waste management systems, leading to flooding during rainy seasons, which spreads waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid (Gonçalves et al., 2025).
Coastal regions such as Winneba and Cape Coast face severe coastal erosion and wetland destruction, threatening fishing livelihoods and increasing vulnerability to sea-level rise (Enock &Isaac, 2025).
Meanwhile, climate change exacerbates all these challenges— affecting rainfall patterns, increasing droughts, and undermining national development goals.
In sum, environmental degradation in Ghana is a multi-sectoral crisis that endangers public health, livelihoods, ecological stability, and national resilience, demanding urgent and coordinated policy action.
Islam provides a rich moral and legal framework for environmental stewardship. The Qur’an and Sunnah emphasise balance (mīzān), cleanliness (taharah), ansustainability (istidāmah).
As Allah’s vicegerents (khalifah) on earth, it is our duty to maintain the earth’s balance, preserve its beauty, and ensure that future generations inherit a livable planet.
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai, the Author
Fruitful Living
Sanitation, Hygiene, and the Morality of Public Space: Reclaiming Ghana’s Civic Virtue through Faith and Policy (Part 2)
Classical scholars like Al-Qaradawi (1990) emphasized that tahārah extends beyond the body and home to include the collective environment. Polluting rivers or littering public spaces constitutes a moral transgression against Allah’s creation.
The Qur’an warns:
“Do not cause corruption on the earth after it has been set in order.” (Qur’an 7:56)
Environmental neglect is a form of fasād (corruption), and every citizen who litters or dumps waste unlawfully becomes a participant in social and spiritual corruption. When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prohibited urinating in stagnant water (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 236), he set a timeless precedent for environmental hygiene and ecological awareness.
Faith and sanitation are thus inseparable. Islam’s concept of ʿibādah (worship) encompasses every act done in obedience to Allah and for public benefit. Sweeping one’s compound, cleaning a drain, or preserving public water sources can be acts of worship if done with sincerity. The believer’s environment is a reflection of their inner purity, for as the Prophet said:
“Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 91)
Clean surroundings, therefore, are an aesthetic expression of divine beauty and an essential pillar of social morality.
III. The Erosion of Shared Responsibility: The Moral Decay of the Commons
Public space in African societies once symbolized collective dignity. The village compound, the communal well, and the shared road reflected moral unity. Today, however, Ghana’s public spaces have become neglected, reflecting an erosion of shared moral responsibility.
This decline is rooted in what Garrett Hardin (1968) called the “Tragedy of the Commons”—when individuals act for personal convenience while imposing costs on the community.
A. Violation of Huqūq al-Jīrān (Rights of Neighbours) – Best Environmental Practices
Islam places extraordinary emphasis on the rights of neighbours. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Gabriel kept advising me concerning the neighbour until I thought he would make him my heir.” (Sahih Bukhari, 6014)
When a person dumps refuse near a neighbour’s home or blocks drainage systems, they violate this sacred right. Such acts not only spread disease but represent injustice (zulm), which the Qur’an unequivocally forbids:
“And do not wrong one another.” (Qur’an 2:279)
By harming others through unhygienic practices, one sins against both humanity and Allah. Cleanliness thus becomes a moral expression of ihsān (excellence) toward neighbours and society.
B. The Deficit of Amanah (Trust and Stewardship)
The Qur’an teaches that stewardship of the earth is a divine trust:
“Indeed, we offered the trust (amanah) to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it… yet man undertook it.” (Qur’an 33:72)
To pollute air, soil, and water is to betray this amanah. As custodians of Allah’s creation, humans are accountable for how they treat the environment. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“The world is sweet and green, and verily Allah is going to install you as vicegerents in it to see how you act.” (Sahih Muslim, 2742)
Each overflowing gutter or choked waterway is thus evidence of collective betrayal of that sacred trust. As Ofori-Atta (2019) notes, environmental ethics in Africa are inherently communal and intergenerational—pollution today mortgages the moral and physical health of tomorrow’s generation.
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai, the Author
Prayers of Complaining
Prayers of lament may look like prayers of complaining, but they can still be prayers of faith. This type of prayer declines to let God go even in difficult situations. God may seem to be absent, but He will still be with us.
Prayers of lament are honest before God and bring us face to face with Him as we do our best to understand what is going on in our heart.
Let us consider Job. He prayed deep prayers of lament when he lost everything — his family, friends, home, and health — yet he did not give up. He wrestled through prayer of lament with God and clung to Him as he sought for meaning to his struggles. He held onto his faith in God and turned to Him with all his heart. He wanted to see God in the midst of his pain – John 16:33.
Job did not let God go. He said:
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” – Job 19:25–27
In the end, God gave him back so much more. Job was able to see God in a far deeper way than before his trial. Not letting go and bringing our heart to God in the midst of pain is an act of faith.
Michael Card, a well-known musician, tells us how we can learn faith from Job’s prayer of lament:
“Finally, we see in Job one of the most fundamental lessons we can learn from lament: that protesting and even accusing God through the prayers of lament is, nevertheless, an act of faith.
The lament of faith does not deny the existence of God. Rather, it appeals to God on the basis of His loving kindness, in spite of current conditions that suggest otherwise.
Job simply would not let go of God — in spite of death, disease, isolation, and ultimately, a fear that God had abandoned him.”
— Michael Card
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