Panel Three: Presentation by Shaykh Riaz Walji on the creation and the environment in Islam. (Part 3 of 3)  

Shaykh Riaz gave a thorough analysis of the Quranic verses on the origin and purpose of creation. He emphasised that the objective of the verses was to remind people of the majesty of God as the universe is the manifestation of God, often described as the ‘face of God’. Shaykh Riaz enumerated verses alluding to the creation in conformity with the scientific knowledge of existence such as the occurrence of the big bang and the expansion of the universe, which he supported by hadith literature. He concluded with discussions on the environmental crisis, quoting scholars who consider it to be indicative of a spiritual crisis arising from the misconception that the cosmos is lifeless unconscious matter.    

Shaykh Riaz is a lecturer at Al-Mahdi Institute. He teaches Islamic philosophy and Mysticism, Theology, and Usul al Fiqh. He has an MA in Islam in Contemporary Societies at the University of Warwick and is a graduate of the Institute’s Hawza programme. He currently serves as a research assistant to the Director of the Institute, helping with educational projects and papers with contemporary relevance for Muslims.