A one-of-akind botanical garden featuring the plants mentioned in the Holy Quran is being built in Doha, Qatar, the host nation for the upcoming 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 8th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol from November 26 to December 7 this year.
Labeled the ‘Quranic Botanical Garden‘, it is an ongoing project under the umbrella of the global Qatar Foundation Green Project.
The exotic garden coming up in the ‘Education City’ in Doha will serve not only as a place of meditation, but as a research centre for students, apart from educating people about the rich Islamic heritage.
The garden is first of the four components of the Green Projects program designed to promote conservation and further understanding of the country’s natural resources, Gulf Times reported.
Being first of its kind in Qatar, the Quranic Garden will comprise all the plant species mentioned in the Quran, and those in Sunnah(Deeds of the Prophet) and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet).
It will also exhibit botanical terms mentioned in the Holy Quran, explaining to them the context of modern science.
It will be used to educate people about the importance of conservation and raise awareness about the moral importance of environmental stewardship as well.
<
span style="color: #000000;">“There are so many botanical terms in the Holy Quran, we have to share it with the public,” Fatima Saleh Al-Khulaifi, who works on Green Projects at the Quranic Gardens, said.
UNESCO proposed the idea of this project in 2008. And, the proposal was accepted by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Misnad, the chairperson of Qatar Foundation, who planted the first tree of the project, a Sidra tree.
The Holy Quran is rich with plant life and its sacred words refer to plants native to the region of the earliest Muslims, including those in desert and Mediterranean climates.
It (Quran) also refers to tropical plants from other regions, such as the banana tree and ginger plant. The proposed garden will also feature plants such as the lentil, sesame, pomegranate, fig and henna, among others.
According to Al-Khulaifi, the garden will be ready to open three years from now.
The first tree (Sidra) planted here, the symbol of Qatar Foundation, is an important part of Qatar heritage. It was the traditional meeting place for scholars and travelers, who would gather to share knowledge under the shade of the Sidra. Its fruit and leaves also have medicinal properties.