Social Pollution, Our Attitude, And Islam
By Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi, New Age Islam
05 May 2026
Abstract:
Social pollution is a serious problem in modern society. It damages the beauty, purity, and moral values of human life. Islam teaches that humans depend on each other and should live with cooperation for survival. However, today people follow conflict instead of cooperation, where the strong harm the weak. This creates injustice and social imbalance. Islam guides people to help one another in goodness and avoid sin and oppression. Another major cause of social pollution is ignoring divine laws and following human desires. This leads to the spread of harmful practices like dishonesty and immoral behaviour. Lying and cheating destroy trust and weaken relationships in society. Islam strongly promotes truthfulness, honesty, and justice. To build a peaceful and clean society, people must follow divine guidance, practise cooperation, and avoid harmful actions like conflict, dishonesty, and injustice.
Main Points:
· Social pollution harms moral values, purity, and peace in modern human society very seriously.
· Islam teaches cooperation for survival, but today people follow conflict and harm others instead.
· Ignoring divine laws and following desires leads to imbalance and spread of social evils.
· Lying and cheating destroy trust, damage relationships, and weaken the foundation of society badly.
· Truthfulness, honesty, and cooperation are essential to build a peaceful, clean, and balanced society.
—
Social pollution is also an important challenge of the present time. Today, many factors are rapidly being adopted that are polluting society. As a result, the beauty, purity, and spirituality of society are being destroyed. The question is: what are the causes behind this pollution of society?
First of all, human beings are social by nature. They depend on each other to fulfil their needs. While living in society, every person needs others. Islam describes this mutual cooperation (تعاون للبقاء)as a system essential for human survival. This is a complete and comprehensive principle. Without it, progress in any field is not possible.
However, the reality today is different. The principle of cooperation for survival has been ignored, and instead, the principle of conflict for survival( تنازع للبقاء) is being followed. In this system, the strong oppress the weak and try to harm them in every possible way. As a result, the weak and oppressed struggle to protect their dignity, freedom, and basic rights.
By following conflict instead of cooperation, human beings are polluting society. The concept of cooperation for survival exists in all religions, and all religions reject conflict and oppression. Despite this, the way society is being polluted today is very dangerous. This situation clearly shows that society is moving away from religious traditions and moral values.
Islam strongly supports cooperation for goodness and righteousness.
The Qur’an says:
وَتَعَاوَنُـوْا عَلَى الْبِـرِّ وَالتَّقْوٰى ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوْا عَلَى الْاِثْـمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللّـٰهَ ۖ اِنَّ اللّـٰهَ شَدِيْدُ الْعِقَابِ ۔ ( المائدہ: 2)
“Help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in punishment.”
This teaching is very important and complete. If people follow it, injustice, oppression, exploitation, and disrespect will disappear. Society will become pure and clean. Cooperation promotes unity, kindness, and reform, while conflict leads to oppression, injustice, and exploitation. Therefore, to protect society from pollution, we must follow cooperation and remove conflict.
To keep society safe from pollution, we must follow divine laws and teachings. Generally, laws are of two types: man-made laws and divine laws. Human-made laws are never perfect because they are influenced by human desires and emotions. On the other hand, divine laws consider human needs but do not encourage wrong desires.
When we compare both, it becomes clear that if society follows divine laws, it will remain clean and balanced. But if human-made laws are given priority, the balance and beauty of society are disturbed. Today’s social problems are largely due to ignoring divine guidance and following human-made systems. Because of this, evils like interest, gambling, alcohol, and other social problems have spread widely. These evils pollute society.
Following divine laws not only increases human dignity but also brings peace and removes social evils. Today’s lifestyle often conflicts with religious teachings, as people are following paths that lead to rebellion and disobedience. We forget that human beings are representatives of God on earth. This means we should live according to His guidance.
If humans act against divine will and follow only their own systems, society cannot be free from pollution. Therefore, to eliminate social pollution, we must follow the values and principles given by God and abandon harmful practices created by humans for their own interests.
Another major cause of social pollution is lying and dishonesty. When people turn away from divine guidance, many bad habits develop. Lying and cheating are among the most harmful. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described lying as a sign of hypocrisy.
Sadly, lying has become common today. Even respected people sometimes lie in a very convincing way and deceive others. In a society built on trust, honesty and truthfulness are extremely important. When these values weaken, society becomes polluted.
Lying distorts reality, and dishonesty breaks trust. These behaviours damage relationships and weaken the foundation of society. When truth is not valued, justice cannot exist. False testimonies in courts, dishonesty in business, and deception in daily life create confusion between right and wrong.
Dishonesty is not limited to financial matters; it has spread into all areas of life, including education, politics, business, and family systems. When people deceive others for personal gain, social harmony is destroyed. This leads to mistrust, jealousy, and hatred. As a result, both relationships and social progress suffer.
That is why Islam considers truthfulness as the foundation of faith and lying as a cause of destruction. Honesty, trustworthiness, and truthfulness are essential for building a healthy society. If lying and cheating are not controlled, they will corrupt society completely.
Everyone wants a peaceful and clean society, and this desire is natural. However, when people try to fulfil their selfish desires in unnatural ways, social pollution appears in the form of conflict, rejection of divine laws, and dishonesty.
These are the main causes that are polluting society today.
—
Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi is an Islamic Scholar, Author and Regular Columnist for New Age Islam.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-environment/social-pollution-our-attitude-and-islam/d/139903
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism