Wasting water is Haram: Ulema

TEHRAN,June 29(MNA)--Six religious scholars say at the current time that there is shortage of water and the country has faced repeated droughts the “waste” of water is haram (sinful), the Hamshahri newspaper reported on Saturday. In separate meetings with Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian on Saturday the ayatollahs urged citizens to help conserve water as one of the earth’s most valuable resources by using it efficiently and sensibly. Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpaigani asked people to be watchful on the amount of water they use every day. He said the only way to tackle the problem is to use water properly and efficiently. “The only way to deal with problems arising from water shortage is to save and manage water,” Ayatollah Golpaigani added. Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi Shahroudi warned of excess water usage, saying in the next few years water shortage would be of greater concern than deficiency in other sources of energy like petroleum. Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi also said the waste of national resources is harmful to the country. He said it is necessary to inform people about the scarcity of resources so that the people become aware of their duties and know that the country is in a “special condition”. Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani also said like a lie the waste of water is haram. “We should change the pattern of (water) consumption,” he said, adding in places where there is shortage of water a kind of crop should be cultivated which needs less water. Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Saeidi also said even when there is abundance of God’s blessings, people should not take them for granted and overuse them. Chitcian also said should the temperature rises over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and should people continue water usage at the same rate, the Energy Ministry will have to “consider rationing water as one of the options on the table.” About half of the vast plains in Iran are in critical water shortage, Iran’s energy minister said, adding that the only way to combat the issue is through getting water sources from the neighboring countries and by desalination of seawater, a process which turns salt water into fresh water for drinking. Over 90 percent of the country’s national resources are used in agriculture.