International Fiqh Conference on Water Takes Place in Oman

The water preservation methods, campaigns towards wise consumption of water and knowledge sharing initiatives were hailed by Muslim scholars who are attending the 3-day International Fiqh Conference on Water which is currently being held in Muscat, Oman.

Organised with the core theme of “Water Fiqh in the Islamic law, its Legal Provisions, Civilised Prospects and Contemporary Issues” under the auspices of His Eminence Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate, by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, nearly 55 religious scholars are attending the conference.

“Usage of water in the light of Islamic Fiqh has been very enlightening where highly resourceful persons from different continents shared their experiences with the production, technology in use, distribution, increasing demand and a lopsided supply of water. Oman has a sound track record of effective and very efficient water management system from the aflaj (traditional water channels used for irrigation) which is still existing till today’s highly advanced water distribution system”, Pir Noor-ul Haq Qadri, Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan, told the Observer.
Speaking to the Observer, Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, Grand Mufti of India and Head of Council of Religious Scholars, said that when others talked about the importance of water in our lives, Oman took one step ahead and invited some 55 scholars from across the world to shed more light on the importance of water and help the third world countries focus on their reserves. Oman has been able to cope up with the increasing demand for water, which is rising at least by 15 per cent per year and the network is getting bigger and wider by the year, according to Sheikh Abubakr.
“Certainly, water will be a rare liquid in the years to come and if we don’t act now, it will be too late and our future generations will have to pay the price for it, said Sheikh Abubakr who pointed at the initiative in his home town where 100,000 saplings were recently planted as a way to support the environment and promote afforestation.
“We campaigned for afforestation and striking environment balance which resulted in the planting of some 100,000 saplings around the Markaz. Additionally, we have set a huge water plant which purifies the sewage water and is sent to nearby agricultural as well as cleaning purposes”, Abubaukr added.
On the second day, scholars representing 36 countries presented their papers which highlighted different aspects of usage of water starting from the prehistoric period.
Dr Mohammed Kamaluddin, Imam and Professor of Faculty of Law at Alexandria University, said that the abscess system in the Islamic State is a continuation of the pre-Islamic financial systems, some of whom saw that in Syria and Egypt a continuation of the Byzantine regime, others considered that in Iraq and the Levant a continuation of the Sassanid regime.
“The word ‘water’ has been mentioned in the Holy Quran sixty-three times, out of which it is said twenty-two times as it is the one who came down from the sky and brought us out of it and brought us plants. This itself is a great indicator how much influence water has in our lives and it indicates the need to preserve this unique resource by a moderate usage”, Dr Mohammed Kamaluddin added.
The high level 3-day conference will conclude today, after bringing about a set of recommendations to various countries of the world based on the status of their water sources.

source: omanobserver