11
Water in Cultural Perspective
with Special Reference to Islam
Ravi S. Singh and Sarah Ahmad
Abstract
Water is regarded as the ultimate source of life
in all the world religions including Hinduism,
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Apart from being considered as a major
source of survival, the religious perspectives
on the water are diverse and unique and play
an important part in religious traditions and
rituals. The most common characteristic of
water to be found common in all religions is
the source of purity and is reflected in most of
the Hindu rituals as well as Baptism (Christianity), ablution (Islam), Mikvah (Judaism).
Majority of the known works on the water are
from economic and technological perspectives, whereas fundamentally it is the culture
which defines water usage. The present chapter provides a run-through of water symbolism
of world religions followed by focusing on the
various facets of water in Islam. It explains the
numerous themes of water, which prevail in
the Islamic world on the basis of the two
major relatable sources: the holy Quran and
the hadiths.
Keywords
Water Á Symbolism Á Religion Á Islam
11.1 Introduction
Water is an essential element for the survival of
living creatures on the globe. Our dependency on
the water can be seen from the daily chores to
economic activities such as agriculture, industries, or public health, safety, and recreation
(Singh 2015). In almost every religion, water
signifies and acts as a symbol of purity. It is used
for cleansing and purification of the physical and
spiritual bodies. In Islam as well, we see the
relevance of water in various perspectives. Water
is referred to as a gift from the almighty and as a
source of blessing which should be appreciated
and used sustainably. The Quran which is the
holy scripture for Muslims and hadiths, which
are the records of Prophet Muhammad (the
founder and the last Prophet in Islam) are the two
reliable sources for Muslims all over the world.
The Quran reminds the significance of water, as a
sign of mercy for living creatures, its significance
can be clearly seen as it has been mentioned in
the text 63 times. The Quran and hadiths refer to
various facets of water from the biological world
dealing with water being an important element as
the source of life and food for various living
R. S. Singh (&) Á S. Ahmad
Department of Geography, Institute of Science,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP,
India
e-mail: ravis.singh1@bhu.ac.in;
ravisingh.geog@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
B. W. Pandey and S. Anand (eds.), Water Science and Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57488-8_11
147
Water in Cultural Perspective
with Special Reference to Islam
Ravi S. Singh and Sarah Ahmad
Abstract
Water is regarded as the ultimate source of life
in all the world religions including Hinduism,
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Apart from being considered as a major
source of survival, the religious perspectives
on the water are diverse and unique and play
an important part in religious traditions and
rituals. The most common characteristic of
water to be found common in all religions is
the source of purity and is reflected in most of
the Hindu rituals as well as Baptism (Christianity), ablution (Islam), Mikvah (Judaism).
Majority of the known works on the water are
from economic and technological perspectives, whereas fundamentally it is the culture
which defines water usage. The present chapter provides a run-through of water symbolism
of world religions followed by focusing on the
various facets of water in Islam. It explains the
numerous themes of water, which prevail in
the Islamic world on the basis of the two
major relatable sources: the holy Quran and
the hadiths.
Keywords
Water Á Symbolism Á Religion Á Islam
11.1 Introduction
Water is an essential element for the survival of
living creatures on the globe. Our dependency on
the water can be seen from the daily chores to
economic activities such as agriculture, industries, or public health, safety, and recreation
(Singh 2015). In almost every religion, water
signifies and acts as a symbol of purity. It is used
for cleansing and purification of the physical and
spiritual bodies. In Islam as well, we see the
relevance of water in various perspectives. Water
is referred to as a gift from the almighty and as a
source of blessing which should be appreciated
and used sustainably. The Quran which is the
holy scripture for Muslims and hadiths, which
are the records of Prophet Muhammad (the
founder and the last Prophet in Islam) are the two
reliable sources for Muslims all over the world.
The Quran reminds the significance of water, as a
sign of mercy for living creatures, its significance
can be clearly seen as it has been mentioned in
the text 63 times. The Quran and hadiths refer to
various facets of water from the biological world
dealing with water being an important element as
the source of life and food for various living
R. S. Singh (&) Á S. Ahmad
Department of Geography, Institute of Science,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP,
India
e-mail: ravis.singh1@bhu.ac.in;
ravisingh.geog@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
B. W. Pandey and S. Anand (eds.), Water Science and Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57488-8_11
147