Abstract This article examines the potential of Islamic legal and ethical principles to support environmental protection and climate justice in Pakistan. Given the country’s acute vulnerability to climate change – evidenced by frequent floods, droughts, and glacial melt – there is an urgent need to mobilize culturally grounded legal frameworks that resonate with its social and religious fabric. Islamic law, or Sharīʿah, offers a rich set of values and doctrines such as amānah (trusteeship), maṣlaḥah (public interest), ḥimā (protected zones), and nafh al-ḍarar (prohibition of harm), which emphasize environmental responsibility, intergenerational justice, and balance in creation. This paper argues that integrating these principles into Pakistan’s environmental legal system could strengthen both public legitimacy and policy effectiveness. Drawing upon classical jurisprudence (fiqh), contemporary fatwas, and Islamic environmental ethics, the study explores the compatibility of Sharīʿah-based reasoning with modern climate governance. The paper also analyzes Pakistan’s national climate instruments, such as the Pakistan Climate Change Act 2017, National Climate Change Policy (2021), and environmental regulations under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), in light of Islamic values. By presenting a model of “Sharīʿah-compatible climate governance,” this study contributes to the wider debate on decolonizing climate law and developing faith-based legal responses to the global ecological crisis.
Zainab Amin (Fri,) studied this question.