Creation and the Environment in Islam by Shaykh Riaz Walji

Shaykh Riaz gives a thorough analysis of the Quranic verses on the origin and purpose of creation. He emphasises that the objective of the verses was to remind people of the majesty of God as the universe is the manifestation of God, often described as the ‘face of God’. Shaykh Riaz enumerated verses alluding to the creation in conformity with the scientific knowledge of existence such as the occurrence of the big bang and the expansion of the universe, which he supported by hadith literature. He concluded with discussions on the environmental crisis, quoting scholars who consider it to be indicative of a spiritual crisis arising from the misconception that the cosmos is lifeless unconscious matter.