The relationship between humanity and the environment, and man’s corresponding role in protecting it, can be explored through a precise set of axioms derived from clear Qur’anic verses. These axioms frame humanity as both a moral agent with significant responsibility and an integral part of a divinely ordered creation.

The Axioms of Man’s Relationship with the Environment

The Qur’an establishes three primary axioms:

1. Axiom of Vicegerency and Accountability: Humanity has been elevated to a position of stewardship on Earth and will be tested on how it uses this power (6:165, 33:72).
   
2. Axiom of Ecological Interconnectedness: The natural world is a community of beings, created with purpose, that displays divine signs which humans are meant to observe and respect (6:38, 6:99, 16:65, 50:9).
   
3. Axiom of Moral Conduct and Consequences: Human actions, whether good or corrupting, have tangible impacts on the earth, for which humanity is ethically accountable (2:60, 28:77, 30:41, 89:17-18).

Expansion and Elaboration

Axiom 1: Vicegerency and Accountability

The Qur’an presents humans not as owners of the earth, but as stewards or “successors” who bear a unique moral burden. This status elevates human responsibility above other creatures.

• Ayah 6:165 highlights this role: “It is He Who has made you successors on the earth and raised some of you above others in rank, to test you through what He has bestowed upon you.” This “successorship” implies a trusteeship—a temporary management of Earth’s resources that will be evaluated.
  
• Ayah 33:72 emphasizes the gravity of this trusteeship. It speaks of the “Trust” (of responsibility and free will) that was offered to creation but only accepted by man: “Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and feared it. But man [undertook to] bear it.” This verse suggests that accepting this burden of moral choice makes man uniquely capable of environmental stewardship, but also uniquely capable of causing great harm.

Translation-Tension in 33:72: The concept of the “Trust” is vast, covering general moral responsibility. In an ecological context, some interpretations emphasize this as the free will to choose between preservation and corruption. The “trust” isn’t just a general religious duty; it specifically includes managing the planet responsibly, a task that even nature, by its innate submission to God’s laws, did not “choose” to undertake with free will.

Axiom 2: Ecological Interconnectedness

The relationship is not one of absolute dominion, but rather kinship within a shared divine design. Man is part of a larger community of life.

• Ayah 6:38 states a profound ecological truth: “There is no animal on the earth or bird that flies with its wings except as communities like you.” This verse challenges human exceptionalism by categorizing animals as “communities,” implying they have a structured existence and rights akin to human societies. They are not merely objects for human consumption or exploitation.
  
• Ayah 6:99, 16:65, and 50:9 repeatedly use natural phenomena (rain, vegetation, gardens) as “signs” (ayat) of God’s power. Man’s relationship with the environment, therefore, should be one of contemplation and reverence. To protect the environment is to respect the divine signs inherent within it.

Translation-Tension in 6:38: The latter part of the verse, “Nothing have We omitted from the Book,” has different interpretations. Some translators interpret “the Book” as the Qur’an itself, others as a “Book of Decrees” (a divine record of all things). Regardless of the specific interpretation, the consensus is that the natural world operates according to a precise, divinely ordained system that is fully accounted for. This reinforces the idea that human manipulation of this system should be undertaken with extreme care, as it is a precisely calibrated machine.

Axiom 3: Moral Conduct and Consequences

Human actions have direct and immediate consequences on the environment and society. Man’s role in protection is a moral imperative.

• Ayah 30:41 directly links human behavior to environmental decline: “Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of (the evil) which men’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return.” This verse provides the strongest environmental mandate, explicitly blaming human “mischief” or “corruption” for ecological damage (pollution, imbalance, climate change). The role of man is not just to avoid causing harm, but to actively “return” to a state of balance.
  
• Ayah 28:77 further refines this, urging a balance: “Seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief.” This verse ties personal success to environmental ethics, forbidding behavior that disrupts the natural or social order.
  
• Ayat 89:17-18 illustrate that the failure to protect the weak within the human community is linked to a broader moral failing. Disregard for social welfare is parallel to a disregard for the balance of the world: “But nay, nay, [O men…:] you are not generous towards the orphan, nor do you urge one another to feed the poor.”

Translation-Tension in 89:17: The translation here reveals a subtle emphasis difference: some focus on “honoring” the orphan, while others focus on being “generous” or supporting them financially. The implication for environmental ethics is that proper stewardship requires not just a lack of active harm, but positive, proactive action—generosity and honor extend to protecting the natural world as a vulnerable entity entrusted to human care.

Summary

The verses provide a comprehensive framework for man’s relationship with the environment. Humanity is required to be a responsible steward within an interconnected ecological community. Man’s role in protecting the environment is an essential moral duty rooted in divine command and accountability, where actions of corruption lead to consequences, and actions of balance and care are acts of faith.

Per Allah’s commands in His Qur’an, we should not follow sects.

• Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man’s] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them. But as for him who denies the truth of God’s messages – behold, God is swift in reckoning!
  – al-Imran 3:19
  
• And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be ˹rightly˺ guided.
  – al-Imran 3:103
  
• And be not like those who have drawn apart from one another and have taken to conflicting views after all evidence of the truth has come unto them: for these it is for whom tremendous suffering is in store
  – al-Imran 3:105
  
• VERILY, as for those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects – thou hast nothing to do with them. Behold, their case rests with God: and in time He will make them understand what they were doing.
  – al-An`am 6:159
  
• [For, thou art the bearer of a divine writ] such as We have bestowed from on high upon those who afterwards] broke it up into parts,
  – al-Hijr 15:90
  
• [or] among those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects, each group delighting in but what they themselves hold [by way of tenets].
  – ar-Rum 30:32
  
• In matters of faith, He has ordained for you that which He had enjoined upon Noah – and into which We gave thee [O Muhammad] insight through revelation as well as that which We had enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus: Steadfastly uphold the [true] faith, and do not break up your unity therein. [And even though] that [unity of faith] to which thou callest them appears oppressive to those who are wont to ascribe to other beings or forces a share in His divinity, God draws unto Himself everyone who is willing, and guides unto Himself everyone who turns unto Him.
  – ash_Shura 42:13
  
• And [as for the followers of earlier revelation,] they broke up their unity, out of mutual jealousy, only after they had come to know [the truth]. And had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, [postponing all decision] until a term set [by Him], all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset]. As it is, behold, they who have inherited their divine writ from those who preceded them are [now] in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends.
  – ash-Shura 42:14
  

According to these Qur’anic verses, our Creator commands believers to maintain religious unity and avoid breaking into competing sects or denominations. The verses above emphasize that the true religion is simply submitting to our Creator’s will, and that throughout history—from the time of Noah through Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—He has consistently called people to one unified faith.

The Qur’an warns that religious divisions arise not from ignorance, but from jealousy and ego even after people have received clear knowledge of the truth. Believers are instructed to “hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided,” remembering how He united them when they were once enemies.

The Qur’an makes clear that those who create religious sects and delight in their particular interpretations, rather than seeking unity in essential faith, will answer to their Creator for fragmenting what was meant to be whole.

The repeated message is that sectarianism contradicts the fundamental Islamic principle of submitting together to one God.

(we are continuing to recover articles from the pre-WordPress site; this is one.)

Please join IslamAwakened in congratulating Dr. Aisha Musa on her new website

Arabic & Islamic Studies

Researcher. Writer. Thinker. Teacher

https://www.draymusa.com

(we are continuing to recover articles from the pre-WordPress site; this is one.)

Let me give you the general picture: I am white, ‘middle class’, and well past a half-century in age.

I went through all the typical white-middle-class nonsense.  I worked for the big corporation.  I climbed up the ranks.  I started as a computer operator, went through the promotions.  Systems tech.  Programmer.  Systems programmer.  Manager over a tech support department.  And so on.

House in the fancy suburb, bought my wife a Volvo, all that kind of thing.

Eventually I went out freelance, independent computer work.  Owned my own company.

Hit my 40’s, got divorced, chased women, drank a lot, chased more women, did drugs, did more drugs.

Did the wrong drug. Found myself spending much more effort trying to do cocaine than trying to do the work my Creator gave me the talent for.

Found myself eventually in jail, of course.

But our Creator is merciful.  He had His plan.

That jail, a state jail, was more than a county lock-up, but less than the stereotypical “Hollywood ” prison.  No riots, no tear gas, no beatings

(well… I did see two incidents, but let’s not digress).

But the company in jail is not the most righteous, even for a junior criminal like me.  I certainly don’t recommend it as a vacation spot for anyone… for one thing the help is really rude. 😉

Anyway, I had noticed that there was one group in there that DIDN’T seem to be out to prove themselves tougher, who weren’t busy trying to run one scheme or another, who seemed to be *unshackled* by the dark environment we were in.

That group, you might guess, was the black Muslims. And even that, I later learned, was an assumption on my part. Some of the brothers were Black Muslims (Nation of Islam) I would later learn, but most were Muslims associated with Mosques that (generally) joined W. Dean Mohammad when he led the bulk of the old N.O.I. away from Louis Farrakhan and his bunch and back to orthodox Islam.

This was good, and one of the signs of Allah’s planning.  Because one day one of my black cellmates was in the same visiting area with his family when I was visited by my wife.

My wife at that time was an African American.  And word of this got back to the rest of the inmates in my area.  Naturally some of the bigoted whites thereafter treated me with disdain; no loss as they were not the sort I associated with.  But on the other side of the race line my own aloof attitude had (unknown to me) been interpreted as prejudice by some of my non-white cellmates.

Suddenly it was seen that that wasn’t my stance.

Getting to the point, this all led to my being invited to an Islamic learning session. (Here in the U.S. prisons have to accommodate the faiths of the inmates, within limits) 

A chance to get out of the block for a couple of hours?  (And some curiousity?) 

I went.
And then one of the brothers with a good voice called the adzan.

It was like nothing I can explain. The Southern Baptists talk about being ‘born again’… Brothers, sisters: is that the right word!

I cried like a baby.  There in the middle of a room full of felons. Tears streaming down my face.

Not one of them ever mentioned that to me. To the best of my knowledge it was never mentioned outside of that room (and stories like that spread faster than fire in there).

I had $110,000 in a retirement account when all of this started.

When I got out of jail I had $4,000 left in the bank, and a felony conviction.

I had lost $106,000 but I had gained Islam. I would pay twice that without blinking.

I do not need anyone else’s affirmation of my Islam, I have received that from the ONE who matters!

By the way, for anyone who wants to verify, the legal facts I related above are a matter of public record in the State of Texas. The events all happened in the year 2000.

Oh, that $4,000? Just as it was running out, I ran into an old boss (who knew my troubles) in Wal-mart.  He hired me two days later.

Alhamdulallah once again!

This account is not for my own fame or aggrandizement but for the sake of Allah. If any good comes out of this story all the credit is due Him; only the mistakes are my own.
Note: ANYONE who has a similar struggle, please visit Millati Islami for support.

G. Waleed Kavalec

“O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me,
and join me with the righteous;” 
 — Quran, al-Shuara 26:83

There is a video interview of the above story here: 
  https://www.facebook.com/meriikahaani/videos/t.618860864/1226351340725126/ 
In my opinion br. Rehan Allahwala has taken it a bit “over the top” but that is his way.
My life has changed since that video, my beard is smaller, my Islam remains, as Allah wills.

You may also want to visit our FaceBook page here
 https://www.facebook.com/IslamAwakened/

Moral transgression costs a heavy price—indeed, an exceedingly heavy one. Yet this price is not rendered in material currency, but rather in the coin of psychological anguish, emotional turmoil, and spiritual desolation. Our Creator did not establish arbitrary DOs and DON’Ts merely to test human compliance. Rather, He revealed fundamental principles for righteous living. His disapproval of falsehood, theft, betrayal, covetousness, murder, envy, sexual transgression, and arrogance stems from the reality that such behaviors corrupt both the individual who commits them and the social fabric surrounding them—ultimately destroying one’s own moral integrity and relationships with others.

Consider how these transgressions unfold in everyday life:

• A single lie requires ten more lies to maintain it, creating a web of deception that traps the liar in constant anxiety.
  
• Theft breeds suspicion and fear throughout communities, making neighbors distrust one another.
  
• Envy corrodes the heart from within, robbing us of gratitude for our own blessings while fixating on what others possess.

Each transgression creates expanding circles of harm, like stones thrown into still water.

Every act that the Qur’an identifies as transgression represents something from which our Creator seeks to shield us. His ultimate purpose is to guide humanity toward love, tranquility, divine grace, and harmony—both in our relationship with Him and within the entirety of His creation. Moral transgression constitutes our willful rejection of this divine guidance, pursued in service of our own ephemeral and misguided desires.

The wisdom embedded in divine guidance resembles that of a skilled physician who warns against behaviors that damage health. What might appear restrictive is actually protective—boundaries designed not to limit our joy, but to preserve our well-being and guide us toward authentic fulfillment. When we transgress these boundaries, we often discover too late that we have wounded ourselves more deeply than anyone else.