Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Philosophy, Research Center for Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy
2
Department of Philosophy, Pardis Farabi, Tehran University
10.22081/jti.2026.74521.1120
Abstract
Environmental ethics, as a branch of moral philosophy, faces two fundamental challenges. On the one hand, moral responsibility in other domains is typically grounded in the recognition of human rights; yet in the case of environmental ethics, the moral subject concerns the individual or collective human relationship with the natural world. The key question, therefore, is how to ascribe to the environment a moral status that renders humans ethically accountable toward it. On the other hand, the current environmental crisis is ultimately rooted in human arrogance toward nature—an arrogance derived from an anthropocentric and dominative worldview that imagines God created the heavens and the earth solely for human benefit and dominion, appointing humanity as the sovereign of all beings. Islamic mysticism (ʿirfān) offers profound responses to both challenges. First, through its doctrine of divine love—and by extension, love for all creation, including nature—it teaches human beings to love the environment. Just as a lover never harms the beloved, the true mystic learns to protect, nurture, and cherish the natural world. Second, by presenting the environment (inanimate nature, plants, and animals) as a theophany, a manifestation of the Divine, Islamic mysticism provides a metaphysical foundation for the moral dignity of the natural world. Furthermore, by rejecting anthropocentrism, it reinterprets humanity’s vicegerency (khilāfah) not as ownership or mastery over nature, but as a sacred trusteeship—entrusting humans with the responsibility to preserve and safeguard the cosmos.
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