The “Cosmism” of Islam as a Possible Response to the Current Ecological Crisis

Abstract

In the Islamic view, the whole creation is endowed with life because it comes from “the Ever Living,” which is a major divine Name. The fundamental unity of the universe stems from the Islamic principle of Oneness (Tawhîd), as does the awareness that all creatures are interdependent. We can find evidence of Islamic “cosmism” in the titles of the 114 sura of the Koran, which refer to all the realms of Universal Manifestation: (1) the astral (Star, Moon, Thunder, Storms, the Sundered Sky, the Zodiacal Constellations, the Sun, etc.); (2) the mineral (the Cave, Mont Sinai, Iron, etc.); (3) the vegetable (the Fig Tree—but in the Text, the tree and the ear of wheat are the favorite parables); (4) the animal (the Heifer, Cattle, Bees, Ants, the Spider, the Elephant, etc.); (5) invisible beings (Angels, jinn); and of course the human realm.