One of the stories concerning the environment is the instruction by Abu Bakr, the first Caliph (Khalif) of Islam to his armies. In addition to telling them not to harm women, children and the infirm, he ordered them not to harm animals, destroy crops or cut down trees.
There were two elements present in this decree: the first, to establish justice even as the Muslim armies fought, and the second, to recognize the value of nature.
Islam requires the environment to be productively used. There are numerous traditions of the Prophet which show his intense concern with these aspects. Here are some:
The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said : “Whosoever plants a tree, he will be rewarded with as much reward as is relevant to its yields” (Bukhari).
On another occasion
The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: “whosoever plants a tree, or grow crops, and a man, bird or an animal or a beast of prey eat its fruits, it is a charity for him” (Bukhari).
According to another Hadith, plantation is so important that even if doomsday starts and a person has a palm seedling or palm shoot in his hands he should plant it (Bukahri).
There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree, or sows a seed, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats thereof, but it is regarded as having given a charitable gift [for which there is great recompense]. [Al-Bukhari, III:513]
There are several hadiths of the Prophet stating the importance of protecting the environment and keeping it clean and fruitful.
This principle of cleanliness applies internally to the mind, physically to the body and externally to the environment.
In order to keep the environment free of pollution and therefore pleasant :
the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has said “Picking up a bone from the way is a Sadaqah (Charity)”. He further said “Removing a harmful and dangerous thing from the way is also Sadaqah.