As part of the 6th anniversary of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam Botanical Research Centre (UBD BRC), a symposium on plants mentioned in the Al-Quran and Hadith, organized by the UBD’s Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER) and in collaboration with the UBD’s Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Centre of Islamic Studies (SOASCIS), was held at the Senate Room, Chancellor Hall, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Present as Guest of Honour to launch the symposium was Yang Mulia Dr. Haji Azman bin Ahmad, Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) at the Ministry of Education. In attendance was UBD Vice Chancellor, Dr Hazri bin Haji Kifle and other senior officials.
The symposium welcoming remarks was delivered by Dr. Hussein bin Haji Taha, IBER Director. In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Hussein highlighted the UBD BRC as playing a key role in the efforts to promote conservation, research, education and outreach to the wider community in line with its mission and vision and contribute towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. One of the objectives of the symposium is to further explore the understanding of plants mentioned in the Al-Quran and Hadith in botanical and scientific aspects and also to highlight the concept of nature in Islam.
The symposium launching event also included a launching of the ‘Al-Hadeeqah Al-Mubaarakah’ zone in the UBD Botanical Research Centre. This zone is dedicated to the display of selected plants that have been mentioned in verses of the Al-Quran and also narrated in Hadith with information on their uses and importance available for the visitors to the garden. This section will also function as an ex-situ site for the conservation of these plants for research and educational purposes. Currently, researchers at IBER are working on high impact collaborative projects with international institutions related to these plants.
A plenary session was presented as part of the launching ceremony. Afterwards, a tree planting ceremony was carried out at the ‘Al-Hadeeqah Al-Mubaarakah’ zone. The Guest of Honour planted Pokok Bidara (scientifically known as Ziziphus), which is one of the plants mentioned in the Quran and hadith. It is also known for its ethnomedicinal value. The launching event was followed by seminar presentations by speakers from IBER and SOASCIS.