Ethical and Legal Protection of Drinking Water Resources in Islamic Jurisprudence (with Emphasis on Drinking Water Resources in Kabul)

Abstract

Water is a vital resource for all living beings. The increase in population and decrease in rainfall in many cities around the world have led to serious water scarcity and pollution of wells and water resources in countries. The expansion of industrial production has resulted in the release of pollutants into surface and groundwater in cities and farmlands of countries. Therefore, this research has been conducted in a library way to examine the views and solutions of Islamic jurisprudence on resolving the problems and preserving the health of drinking water resources and wells, especially in Kabul. The findings of this research are that to preserve the health of water resources, a legal or spatial boundary between neighboring wells or farmers is required to be 500 meters in soft land, but in hard land, at least 250 meters between them is necessary to prevent the resulting damages. However, the distance between a well and a septic tank is 2.5 meters in hard land, and at least 7 cubits or 3.5 meters in soft areas. This is to purify water pollutants and prevent the resulting damages to neighbors. The legal boundary approach has been stated to compensate for the damage caused by a well or a water canal. Moral boundary means the growth of human responsibility to prevent water and environmental pollution in Islamic jurisprudence. Natural pollutant filters for well and canal water are the elements of soil, sand, abundant or flowing water, and oxygen present in water in Islamic jurisprudence.