Respected Brothers / Sisters!
Peace be upon you
An excellent topic, must be taken for Friday Sermon, and pasted on Masjid walls, and floating of flyers.
An excellent topic, must be taken for Friday Sermon, and pasted on Masjid walls, and floating of flyers.
Climate change is a far greater threat to
the world than international terrorism - (Sir David King)
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."- From The Great Law of The Iroquois Confederacy
"For the Muslim, humankind's role on earth is that of a Khalifah - vicegerent or trustee of Allah. We are Allah's stewards and agents on Earth. We are not masters of this Earth; it does not belong to us to do what we wish. It belongs to Allah and He has entrusted us with its safekeeping." His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef
As the world moves into the umpteenth generation of technological progress, and globalization converts the entire planet into one big market, the gap between those who possess wealth and riches, and those who suffer illness and death due to lack of basic needs widens. Today, the richest 20 percent account for three quarters of the income in the world; the poorest 40 percent make do with only 5 percent. At least 80 percent of people live on less than $10 a day. And 22,000 children die every day due to poverty alone.
Poverty is not a state of life that is God-given. God has provided more than enough resources to his creations to enable them live comfortably. And most of His creations do use the resources they need in just the amount necessary. It is only human beings who consume in excess, over and above their requirements. They not only use far more than what is their due share, they also waste much of it – leaving little or nothing at all for others, and thus usurping their rights. The poor are thus made poorer because the rich get richer. Resource distribution in the world becomes even more inequitable, and paradoxically, economic and financial institutions and policies that claim to work for poverty reduction actually manage to increase both the incidence and depth of poverty.
Institutional and public failure to reduce poverty owes its roots to degradation of moral and ethical values. And none more so than the tendency to accumulate wealth, spend and “show off” worldly and material goods to society. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Islam calls upon its followers to spend wisely and in moderation, Muslims are one of the most afflicted by the evil of excessive consumption. Even to satiate may be considered overly indulging oneself. God has warned against the accumulation of wealth in the Qur’ān. Real wealth is the good that human beings do towards others, and the love for God and the purity of spirit.
Yet, throughout the world in developing countries that house the world’s poorest populations, Muslim rulers, the so called elite, business groups and rich billionaires and millionaires live in ostentatious palaces, change new makes of cars every few months, collect jewels and ornaments, and spend a fortune on their wardrobes and perfumes. The lavish lifestyles of Muslims in South and East Asia and the Middle East would shame the most spendthrift of royalty in the west.
In an article published in London in 2012, it was reported that the weeks leading up to Ramadān saw millionaires and billionaires flock to London from across the Middle East. They came to relax, party and show off their wealth with a change of the most expensive of cars for each shopping destination, thousands of pounds of shopping at each shop, even buying and furnishing flats worth millions of pounds.
Compared with the average British shopper who spends £120 during a trip to the West End of London and an American £550, an average Arab spends £1,900. In the month before Ramadān, the amount spent by Middle Eastern visitors will be double that in other months!
This is not unique to the Middle East. The rich in Pakistan go to Dubai to shop for a wedding, spending amounts that would be enough to keep hundreds of families in comfort for their whole lives. Rulers are known to possess wealth and assets worth millions of dollars, even wearing personal ornaments that range in the millions. The greed for more feeds on itself, and the desire to show off is an evil that has taken over society almost completely. There is little attention to obtaining sound education, and spending time and effort on research, thought and reflection and invention. Both men and women are bent upon obtaining material wealth. The race never seems to end.
The excessive consumption of the rich in the world has taken away from the poor what they need for basic survival, and has further robbed the earth of its valuable resources that God had provided so plentifully. Water that was so abundantly available has been extracted to levels where it is no longer possible to recharge dried up soils and the burden has fallen upon the poor who depend on agriculture and livestock. Scarce energy resources are exploited wastefully by those who care little for conservation. Forests are cut to benefit the timber mafia, and corporate farming is carried out at the cost of poor and small farmers. The feudal landlord system continues to prove to be a stranglehold on landless farmers who work as labourers, often bonded on the farms that they till, in exchange for a little food and terrible living conditions.
If Muslims could understand that they will be accountable in front of God for every piece of additional resource they consumed above their need or wasted, and for every additional personal expenditure that they incur, they are trespassing on someone else’s right, perhaps Muslim societies could be more fair and just, and perhaps God would be inclined to improve their lot.
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@the heart of Environment abuse is an economic system that's predicated on unlimited growth (through Automation/GMO/Harmones), while encouraging unimaginable waste (due to Cheap prices and High Incomes).Question to ask Will we meet our doom by exhausting our available resources or suffocating in our waste?"
There is a weekly opportunity, the Friday prayer, to address the public. In a field survey in Amman, Jordan, 63.5% believed that the imam of a mosque should have an important role in environmental education and public awareness. The Fiqr for conservation of natural resources must be global and interactive and include all stakeholders, religious, political and informal community leaders . In member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council it was concluded that conservation of natural resources is a principal component of Islamic teaching, & media and the educational system must include this. There is a specific religious legal opinion, that environmental education is wajeb(obligatory ) that must be followed by all Muslims.
Natural conservation efforts involve all people and behavioural changes are required. It involves effort and cost. It requires the full cooperation and integration of efforts of all . Therefore, scattered activities will not achieve tangible results.
The relationship between man and the environment should be as sincere and upright as practical and rightly poised. Any deviation from this sensible and middle-path philosophy will invariably result in pushing man to the extremes on either side, all of which, however, are resolutely rejected by Islam. Not only does this doctrine apply to man's relationship with the environment, but also to everything else related to each and every segment of his existence. This is so because Islam as a universal code of life, and with it the whole Islamic community (Ummah), is made justly balanced, "that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves." (al-Baqarah 2:143)
Man must respect the environment in that he is dependent on it. As God subjected it to his use, so did He make it an indispensable field of the vicegerency activities entrusted to man. To put it in a nutshell, man cannot but coexist with the environment, giving away and receiving in return proportionally to what he offered. From this partnership, man is bound to attain either peace, happiness and prosperity in this world, plus salvation in the Hereafter, or frustration, disgrace and chastisement in both worlds. For this reason will it be apt to depict this world as a plantation, or a farm (mazra'ah), which must be diligently taken care of, should its owner harbor any hope of an abounding harvest on the Day of Judgment. The Qur'an proclaims: "But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief." (al-Qasas 28:77)
Man's rights over nature are rights of sustainable use based on moderation, balance and conservation. Nature's rights over man, on the other hand, are that it be safe from every misuse, mistreatment and destruction. Greed, extravagance and waste are considered a tyranny against nature and a transgression of those rights. Ali b. Abi Talib, the forth Muslim caliph, once told a man who had developed and reclaimed abandoned land: "Partake of it gladly, so long as you are a benefactor, not a despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer."
The creation of nature and its perfect equilibrium preceded the creation of man. Nonetheless, no sooner had man come into existence than he became an integral part thereof. The guardianship of nature, besides, became placed in his care, constituting the essence of his vicegerency assignment. Inasmuch as he is endowed with the power of free will and the other outstanding capacities, such as intelligence and knowledge, man is capable of steering his own bark. Provided he uses his abilities and talent rightly, man furthermore puts himself in a position to attain, to some extent, mastery over the forces of nature and subdue them to his services. If the perfectly executed environmental equilibrium is sustained, man should be commended for that, for he lived up to the demands of his reputation as the vicegerent and custodian of the earth. But if the same becomes disturbed and damaged, it is man again who must be held responsible for the disorder, in that he committed a breach of the sacred trust put on him. The state of the earth is a testimony of man's either success or failure while on it.
Man must respect the environment in that he is dependent on it. As God subjected it to his use, so did He make it an indispensable field of the vicegerency activities entrusted to man. To put it in a nutshell, man cannot but coexist with the environment, giving away and receiving in return proportionally to what he offered. From this partnership, man is bound to attain either peace, happiness and prosperity in this world, plus salvation in the Hereafter, or frustration, disgrace and chastisement in both worlds. For this reason will it be apt to depict this world as a plantation, or a farm (mazra'ah), which must be diligently taken care of, should its owner harbor any hope of an abounding harvest on the Day of Judgment. The Qur'an proclaims: "But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief." (al-Qasas 28:77)
Man's rights over nature are rights of sustainable use based on moderation, balance and conservation. Nature's rights over man, on the other hand, are that it be safe from every misuse, mistreatment and destruction. Greed, extravagance and waste are considered a tyranny against nature and a transgression of those rights. Ali b. Abi Talib, the forth Muslim caliph, once told a man who had developed and reclaimed abandoned land: "Partake of it gladly, so long as you are a benefactor, not a despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer."
The creation of nature and its perfect equilibrium preceded the creation of man. Nonetheless, no sooner had man come into existence than he became an integral part thereof. The guardianship of nature, besides, became placed in his care, constituting the essence of his vicegerency assignment. Inasmuch as he is endowed with the power of free will and the other outstanding capacities, such as intelligence and knowledge, man is capable of steering his own bark. Provided he uses his abilities and talent rightly, man furthermore puts himself in a position to attain, to some extent, mastery over the forces of nature and subdue them to his services. If the perfectly executed environmental equilibrium is sustained, man should be commended for that, for he lived up to the demands of his reputation as the vicegerent and custodian of the earth. But if the same becomes disturbed and damaged, it is man again who must be held responsible for the disorder, in that he committed a breach of the sacred trust put on him. The state of the earth is a testimony of man's either success or failure while on it.
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In most cases, however, it is they who rebelled against God and His will that rebel against, and ill-treat, the environment and the flawless forces that govern it. They thus intend to satisfy their personal delirious greed and secure some societal short-term gains at the expense of the long-term vision and objectives of the whole of mankind. When consequently Allah's wrath descends on such men, and when the favorable position in which Allah has placed them, changes, there is no turning back. Only a substantial change in their conduct and attitude may give those men a reasonable hope of God's clemency, and a possible turnaround in their fortunes. The Holy Qur'an is pretty clear about this: "Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hand of men have earned, that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil)." (al-Rum 30:41)
"If the people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed have opened out to them (all kinds of) blessings from heaven and earth; but they rejected (the truth), and We brought them to book for their misdeeds." (al-A'raf 7:96)
"Allah sets forth a parable: a city enjoying security and quite, abundantly supplied with sustenance from every place: yet was it ungrateful for the favors of Allah: so Allah made it taste of hunger and terror (in extremes) (closing in on it) like a garment (from every side), because of the (evil) which (its people) wrought." (al-Nahl 16:112)
"And remember! your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): "If ye are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you; but if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed." (Ibrahim 14:7)
"...Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (al-Ra'd 13:11)
Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi, while discoursing on the theme of "the principle of the economic order", concluded that Islamic responsibility demands that no damage occurs to nature in the process of man's utilization of it. He said: "Islam teaches that nature's materials and forces are gifts granted by God to us. The gift, however, is not transfer of title. It is a permission to use for the given purpose. The owner is and always remains Allah (SWT). As the Mesopotamian used to say: 'He is the Lord of the manor, and man is merely the servant.' This attitude is perfectly Islamic as well. The gift then must be returned to the Creator at our death or retirement, improved and increased through our production. At the very least, it must be returned intact, as it was when received. The Qur'an has emphatically reiterated that to Allah (SWT) everything in creation returns."
From the Islamic perspective, man's treatment of the environment is closely related to his faith. The more is he attached to the normative teachings of Islam in carrying out his daily acts, the healthier is his relationship with the environment. Similarly, whenever a person distances himself from Islam and its beliefs and value system, his behavior degenerates. This deeply affects his surroundings - comprising all animate and inanimate beings - and his fellow human beings. So significant is man's relationship with the environment in Islam that in some instances the same is capable of taking precedence over the other deeds of a person, placing him then on the highest, or dragging him to the lowest, point of existence. For example, under certain circumstances certain noble environmental acts can obliterate a person's past misdeeds and ensure him Paradise, whereas some atrocious environmental acts of a person under certain circumstances can make his past good deeds gain naught, promising him nothing in return in the Hereafter but Hellfire. On the subject of animals, for example,
the Prophet (pbuh) once said: "A woman was sent to the Fire because of a cat. She imprisoned her and neither fed her nor set her free to feed upon the rodents of the earth."
The Prophet (pbuh) also related the story of a woman from among the Children of Israel guilty of fornication, who found a dog near a well panting with thirst. She took of a shoe, tied it with her veil, and then managed to collect some water for the dog which it drunk. The dog quenched its thirst, and, as a result, God forgave the woman her sin.
Dr. Spahic Omer, a Bosnian currently residing in Malaysia, is an Associate Professor at the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia. He studied in Bosnia, Egypt and Malaysia. His research interests cover Islamic history, culture and civilization, as well as the history and philosophy of the Islamic built environment. He can be reached at spahico
yahoo.com; his blog is at www.medinanet.org
yahoo.com; his blog is at www.medinanet.org
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Muslims have many scriptural imperatives that demand we work for the preservation and health of our environment. As we enter an era where the prospect of environmental catastrophe is perhaps greater than the prospect of disaster from any other source, it is especially important that we make environmental protection one of our most pressing priorities.
In a talk I gave at the London School of Economics on Islam and the environment, I said that when one considers the dismal record of the Muslim nation-states in dealing with environmental issues, and the virtual lack of any significant grassroots environmental organizations in those countries, one may find it strange that a Muslim should speak about this topic.
This sentiment is only reinforced by the fact that the various Islamic movements, which have become the main opponents of the regimes governing those states, lack even the semblance of an environmental agenda. However, the informed Muslim can easily speak on Islam and the environment for a number of reasons. First of all, Islam is described in the Qur'an as the religion of nature. God declares: "Therefore, orient yourself, with all due sincerity and uprightness towards the natural religion; this is consistent with the nature He (God) has created in humankind. Never will there be any change in that nature, this is the straight way. However, most of humanity realizes it not." (30:30)
Having created us, and then through the institution of religion oriented us towards Him, our Creator then situated us in a delicate, intricate system where our success, and indeed the perpetuation of that system, rests in maintaining a balance between all things. He says in the Qur'an:
"The Merciful. He has taught the Qur'an. He has created the human being. He has taught him elocution. The sun and moon flow along in their established orbits. The stars and trees recline themselves humbly in prostration. He has raised aloft the firmament of the sky and established the balance. Therefore, cheat not in maintaining the balance. Establish just measure and do not fall short in maintaining the balance." (54:1-9)
In this group of verses, God enumerates some of His Blessings to humanity. He starts by mentioning the Majestic Qur'an. As Muslims, we believe that the Qur'an contains the enduring message of God to humanity. Its guidance defines the worldview of the conscientious believer. God reminds us: "Remember the blessing of God upon you, and the Scripture and Wisdom that He has revealed unto you, by way of admonition. Be mindful of God, and be assured that He knows all things." (2:231)
He then mentions His creation of the human being. This creation is mentioned after His teaching the Qur'an. In other words, God has facilitated our success before our actual creation. From this we should understand that God desires that we succeed in this life. This is consistent with His saying: "God has made faith beloved to you, and adorned it in your hearts. And He has caused you to hate disbelief, corruption, and sin." (49:7)
"We have raised aloft the firmament of the sky and established the balance..." "Therefore, cheat not in maintaining the balance."
"If you give thanks [for My blessings], I shall increase you in them, and if you refuse [to thank Me], you should know that my punishment is quite severe." (7:167)
In the past, Muslims were among the leaders in utilizing earth, wind, sun, water and shade to develop ecologically friendly systems of air conditioning, refrigeration, heating, energy generation, farming and construction.
The protection of natural habitat, the well-being of forests and animals, and related responsibilities were often overseen by appointed officials. For example, Imam Taj al-Din al-Subki, in his instruction manual to the appointed officials advises "The person entrusted with stuccoing the walls must first ascertain that no animals are living in them. Otherwise, he might inadvertently cause the death of animals that he has no right to kill, small birds and the like. Were he to do so, he would betray God by killing those animals.......Among the rights owed to these beasts is that you are sincere in serving them. You must exercise the trust you have concerning them fully. They have no tongues with which to complain to you [concerning abuses], they can only complain to God."
This careful attitude towards the environment is countered contemporarily by one of avarice, greed and neglect facilitated by a global economic climate that allows gross corporate ecological irresponsibility. This shift has led to unimaginable abuse of the Earth's resources and people. At the heart of this abuse is an economic system that is predicated on unlimited growth, while encouraging unimaginable waste. Our planet's finite resource base and limited absorption capacity cannot long endure such a scheme. Unless we change, perhaps the only question left for us to answer will be, "Will we meet our doom by exhausting our available resources or suffocating in our waste?"
Muslims, especially here in the West, have an important part to play in addressing the growing ecological crisis. As we know, the overarching objectives of Islamic Law (Maqasid ash-Shari'ah) determine that religion has been instituted to preserve six things: religion itself, life, intellect, wealth, lineage and honor. If the environment that sustains our life and is the primary source of our wealth, is destroyed, then religion is effectively voided as there would be no life, lineage, or wealth left for it to safeguard. Even if we were to limp along, barely surviving in a toxic, ecologically ravaged wasteland, we would have lost our honor, with our wealth and lives likely to follow in short order.
How can we change? First of all, as Muslims, we must realize that our religious teachings provide us with a valuable source of meaningful ecological consciousness. Our rich history provides us with many brilliant models, which can serve as the basis for significant strategies in developing alternative energy sources, organizing holistic communities, as well as significant direction in other vital areas.
Secondly, we should know that it isn't necessary for us to "reinvent the wheel." There are many non-Muslim groups that are active in addressing a large variety of environmental issues. We can both learn from their experiences and join with them to augment their strength.
If we act now, we can help to avert many looming disasters, such as global warming and the associated climate changes, which are already beginning to wreak havoc on our world. If we fail to act, we are only hastening our collective doom.
Imam Zaid Shakir is amongst the most respected and influential Islamic scholars in the West. As an American Muslim who came of age during the civil rights struggles, he has brought both sensitivity about race and poverty issues and scholarly discipline to his faith-based work.
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