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Integrating Environment with Health: An Islamic Perspective

Author

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  • Nur Adibah Mohidem

    (Public Health Unit, Department of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, Nilai 71800, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia)

  • Zailina Hashim

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia)

Abstract

With the increasing challenge of addressing environmental health issues, various approaches have been proposed to reduce environmental problems. For Muslims all over the world, the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sunnah are recognised as the authoritative messages for spiritual and behavioural guidance on how humans can react to protect the environment and health. This review aims to integrate the environment with health from the perspective of Islam. An exploration of Qur’anic, Hadith, and Sunnah Muslim scholar views and articles was carried out to identify environmental health issues. Integrating Islamic aspects into environmental health includes: (i) environmental dimensions of natural and social environments; (ii) dimensions of health including disease, wellness, intellectual health, transcendence, and Qalbe Salim; and (iii) principles that can be used to describe people’s attitudes towards the environment through unity, balance, and responsibility. Differences between Islamic and Western views on the environment include that taqwa-centric is the highest level of environmental responsibility, with religious duty serving as the key driver of environmental activity. About 89 verses were identified in 42 Qur’anic chapters, with a strong emphasis on the health aspect in relation to the water, biodiversity, corruption of the earth, waste minimisation, and climate change. The Hadith and Sunnah highlight cleanliness as another important value in Islamic ethics, focusing on environmental conservation. Current and future research trends may be able to identify research gaps concerning the Islamic aspect of handling environmental health issues, which can then be implemented into the educational system. These findings imply that Islam could be a powerful source and educational medium for environmental health interventions in large communities, as well as for improving and preserving a healthy environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Nur Adibah Mohidem & Zailina Hashim, 2023. "Integrating Environment with Health: An Islamic Perspective," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-26, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:6:p:321-:d:1159661
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susan L. Cutter, 2021. "The Changing Nature of Hazard and Disaster Risk in the Anthropocene," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 111(3), pages 819-827, March.
    2. Norita Mohd Nasir & Mahendhiran Sanggaran Nair & Pervaiz K. Ahmed, 2021. "Institutional isomorphism and environmental sustainability: a new framework from the Shariah perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(9), pages 13555-13568, September.
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    4. Basil H. Aboul-Enein, 2018. "“The earth is your mosque”: narrative perspectives of environmental health and education in the Holy Quran," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(1), pages 22-31, March.
    5. Llibre, Jaume, 2022. "The limit dynamics for the vacuum Einstein equations in a homogeneous universe," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
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