The Spiritual and Metaphysical Dimensions of the Environment in Sufism

Abstract

This paper undertakes a critical examination of environmental consciousness in Sufi thought, with particular emphasis on the metaphysical and ethical dimensions underlying the human–nature relationship. It argues that fundamental Sufi principles—namely compassion, ascetic restraint, and the aesthetic apprehension of divine beauty—form the epistemological and existential foundations of an environmentally responsive worldview. Nature, in this perspective, is not a passive backdrop to human existence but a locus of divine self-disclosure, manifesting the sacred Names and Attributes of God. Accordingly, the study posits that Sufism offers a spiritual paradigm capable of nurturing ecological awareness and ethical responsibility amid the accelerating materialism and environmental degradation of the contemporary world.