Hima as ‘Living Sanctuaries’: An Approach to Wetlands Conservation from the Perspective of Shari’a Law

Hima means a protected area. Access to a protected area was normally forbidden to others by the person or group who owned it in the pre-Islamic era. The objectives of this paper are to highlight aspects of the protected areas as seen from the perspective of Islamic laws; and how it then turns the protected areas into living sanctuaries. It is a combination of exploratory and library-based research. The Holy Qur’an and the Hadith (or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad SAW) are also included in the discussion of protected areas.