# He was green
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) left a noble example of being eco-friendly and going green in his life. He spent his entire life in an eco-friendly effort, helping humankind, caring for other creatures of God, preserving the earth, planting trees and protecting the environment. Concern and care for the environment is also a teaching of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and therefore a duty on all Muslims.
He guided mankind to an ideology in which the human need for development has foundation of justice, generosity and good governance. Therefore, human progress must be fair to all concerned, be it man, woman, animal, or plant.
He encouraged simplicity of life. This trait is a good example he set for us in "going green". This means no fancy jargon or complex techie thingies that might save energy but cost the world. We should seek simple doable solutions to problems that were once avoidable but today are at least still controllable.
Three paradigms seem central to the Prophet's explanation of humanity's relationship with the environment.
- Humility: An understanding that all of creation belongs to God.
- Justice: Deeds must be just and fair to all concerned.
- Sustainability: Avoidance of all extravagances and measured use of any natural (or other) resource.
# Save the environment
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was keen on planting trees and pressed his companions to do same. He gave them many incentives to do so, like for instance, he said, "If a Muslim plant a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift for him".
Planting a tree is a continued charity, for the poor and the rich alike. Whenever a human being or even an animal shelters under the shade of a tree or relishes a fruit that it produces, the planter will earn rewards, even after his or her death.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) once said: "If the hour of Judgment Day comes while one of you holds a sapling in his hand, let him hurry and plant it."
We must thus, to the very end, be sustained by this close relation with nature, to the extent that one's last gesture should be associated with the renewal of life. [2, pp. 202]
# Preserve water
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had asked people to conserve resources, especially water.
One day, as he passed he saw a companion called Sad ibn Abi Waqqas performing his
"Is there waste even when performing ablutions?" Sad asked.
And the Prophet answered: "Yes, even when using the water of a running stream."
Water is a central element in all the teachings and ritual practices, for it represents the purification of body and heart, of physical outwardness as well as spiritual inwardness. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught Sad and his other companions never to consider water, or any other element of nature, as a simple means toward their spiritual edification; on the contrary, respecting nature and using it moderately was already, in itself, a spiritual exercise and elevation, a goal in their quest for the Creator. [2, pp. 202]
# Take care of animals
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) particularly loved cats, but, more generally, he constantly made his companions aware of the need to respect all animal species. He once told them this story: "A man was walking on a road in scorching heat; he saw a well and went down into it to quench his thirst. When he climbed up again, he saw a dog panting with thirst and said to himself: 'This dog is as thirsty as I was.' He went down into the well again, filled his shoe with water and climbed up, holding it between his teeth. He gave it to the dog to drink. and God rewarded him for this and forgave his sins."
The Prophet was then asked: "O Prophet, do we get a reward for being good to animals?"
And the Prophet answered: "Any good done to a living creature gets a reward".
On another occasion, he said: "A woman was punished for a cat she had imprisoned until it died. And because of this cat she will go to hell. She did not give it food or drink while she confined it, nor did she enable it to eat its prey."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) insisted that animals must be well treated even in the extreme case of war as shown in the incident of ‘conquest of Makkah’, where an army of 10,000 men were marching from Madinah to Makkah and on the way, they came across a litter of puppies on the roadside. The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded one of the companions to stand guard over the puppies to make sure that they were not harmed by the marching army.
The survival of a few dogs might have seemed trifling to the Muslims at that particular time, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) cared for all forms of life and following his example is a means to attain salvation in the next life for a Muslim. [2, pp. 175]
He even clarified rules concerning the sacrifice of animals for eating. The Muslims were ordered as a necessity to treat the sacrificial animal in the best manner and spare it any needless suffering, to the extent that a companion was rebuked for being insensitive and sharpening a knife in front of an animal.
In another incident, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had threatened by saying that "Whoever kills a sparrow or a bigger animal without respecting its right to exist will be accountable to God for it on the Day of Judgment."
The Prophet, thus taught that an animal's right to be respected, to be spared suffering, to receive the food it needed, and to be treated well could not be negotiated: it was part of the duties of human beings and should be understood as one of the conditions for their spiritual elevation. [2, pp. 204]