A ḥima ( '), meaning "inviolate zone" or "private pasture", refers to an area set aside for the

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...

, typically fields,

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

and forests - contrast ḥaram, which defines an area protected for more immediate human purposes.

Background

According to the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

has a specific obligation to practice stewardship over nature, and each species of animals is said to be "its own nation". "Human beings are God's representatives on earth. This means that if they are not charged with maintaining the world, or rending to it, they must at least not destroy it". The selection of ḥimas was thus a religious rather than community obligation, and was often undertaken by the

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

. There are five types of ḥima: # areas where

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

of domestic animals is prohibited # areas where grazing is restricted to certain seasons #

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

reserves where grazing is restricted during flowering # forest areas where cutting of trees is forbidden # reserves managed for the welfare of a particular village, town or tribe (see also ''ḥaram'', although that term usually refers more to water protection measures) There are good examples of ḥima in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, some adopted by the Islamic prophet,

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

In the Quran

Directly referenced is

Sahih Al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...

, Vol. 1,

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

No. 49, stating: Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir: I heard Allah's Messenger (pbuh) saying, "Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them are doubtful (unclear) things, and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these unclear things, he saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these unclear things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (the private pasture) of someone else, and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah (SwtA) on earth is His illegal things (ie, His forbidden things). Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (ie, reformed), the whole body becomes good, but if it gets spoiled, the whole body gets spoiled and that is the heart."

References

External links

* *The Hijrah Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Hima (Environmental Protection) Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Islam and environmentalism Islamic terminology