The memory of that camp, toxic waste dump, stayed with me for years. Gradually I realized that the place was not only the perfect image of an anti-camp, but was also the image of an anti-paradise: a place where water is too dirty to use for purification before prayer and where plants and other creatures are poisoned and die. The Quran tells us that Paradise promised to the believers is a garden with flowing rivers, is full of fruits and flowers and growing things, providing a nectar better than the finest wine of the earth, and beauties and pleasures beyond imagination. Although we can never create such a perfect paradise on earth, architects, land planners and Muslim artists have sometimes used this image as a model in their efforts to preserve and celebrate the natural beauty of creation. Why not? The Quran tells us that all nature is a sign of Allah, reflecting part of His mercy and magnificence.
In fact, all nature, from the Islamic point of view, is in a state of continuous worship. Trees and herbs, fish and animals, all are moving in a smooth and invisible breeze that bears his worship to his Creator. Humans can learn from this process and seek harmony with him to join in the creation in worship of the Lord of the universe. Or, they may rebel stubbornly believe they are isolated and self-sufficient, and insist on transgressing the limits that Allah has set for them, until you reach the inevitable time of payment.
In contrast to the Western view that sees nature as wilderness, a chaos that must be overcome by conquest, Islam insists that nature is respected and invites human beings to learn from her and join her in a harmonious coexistence.
contaminated camp experience awakened me to the fact that something is very wrong with the way of life that produced this kind of place, and that Islam is the key to understanding the causes and solutions of our current environmental dilemma. This convinced me that we Muslims, we should put environmental Islamic activism in the top of our personal and social agenda. Our planet is in a state of environmental crisis, and we as Muslims are the guardians of the last revelation of Allah, a revelation given to humanity the knowledge and inspiration they need to live in peace and harmony in this life and in the other.
Koranic solution to the problem of the environment is, in short, holistic and comprehensive. Live a truly Islamic life means avoiding the evils of extravagance and folly of materialism, seeking harmony with what surrounds us and have compassion for other creatures.
all starts, however, the correct orientation to life: complete submission to Allah, the sole Creator of everything, and this submission must be marked by fear and pity, gratitude, love, inner peace, effort to do good and continuous awareness that Allah is greater than any aspect of His creation. Qur'anic guidance provides the key to restore the lost balance between humans, nature and who created them both, ie Allah.
materialists and atheists argue that nothing is sacred, which implies that there are limits to what humans can do to satisfy their material desires. Materialistic culture, once said my wise professor of humanities, have two distinguishing characteristics: a tremendous boost for more and more control over the natural world, and a similar boost of energy to rebuild and improve human society. The
human beings as stewards and guardians of the Earth
Islam teaches that we are successors and administrators of Allah on this beautiful land, not prisoners in a flawed world that needs to be radically reconstructed. As successors, our task is to preserve and appreciate the beauty and goodness we find in grateful submission to their Creator. All scientists of our planet are needed for a task most obvious and simple: look after the planet that Allah has given us and care for our fellow human beings. This means finding ways to live and live well, while spending far less physical energy and produce much less annoying changes to our environment, which are so common today day. This means finding ways to redistribute the planet's wealth more equitably, in an environment of zero growth or even negative growth, which probably will experience in just a few years when oil production begins to decline.
"Allah loves not the wasters"
Then, "no waste" is also an Islamic commandment. The Qur'an and Sunnah make it absolutely clear that waste and waste is a serious matter. For example, Allaah says (what means in English): {... and do not waste, because Allah loves not the wasters.} [Quran 6:141] And He says (what means in English): {... And eat and drink with moderation, because Allah loves not the wasters.} [Quran 7:31] {aid to relatives, also the poor and the wayfarer, but do not give disproportionately because exceed those are the same demons who follow Satan, and Satan was certainly ungrateful to his Lord.} [Qur'an 17:26-27] Here we see that the root of waste is ingratitude: those who respond to wonderful beauty and bounty of Allah with gratitude and awe, they are happy with little, while the ungrateful are never satisfied, no matter how much you have, so indulge in an endless cycle of consumption and waste. If humanity must change to survive spiritual state of ingratitude by one of gratitude, and give up his lavish lifestyle as mandated by the Koran. Caring
water and food
Along with this teaching the Koran, the Sunnah provides us the best examples of how to live in a state of gratitude and avoid waste. The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, was famous for his care in preserving and avoid waste. Was careful not to waste a scrap of food, even licking the utensils so that nothing is wasted. He instructed believers to spend no more water than necessary when performing an act of worship such as ablution. If we must be careful to not waste even a drop of water in our ablutions, how much more necessary must be to prevent waste in less important activities.
Sadly, the lifestyle prevalent among affluent people everywhere, especially in the West, is marked by an incredible waste and extravagance. We eat more than we need, we buy things that we need not actually throw away things that still work or can be repaired, buy oversized vehicles to drive short distances instead of walking or cycling, build bigger houses than need, we spend enormous amounts of water for watering lawns and golf courses etc. In the U.S. we are witnessing the deployment of perhaps the most absurd extravagance of the whole story: the actual burning of fossil fuels at a rate that assures us that our economy, our environment, or both, will collapse in the near future (see peakoil.com for details). This crazy lifestyle, whose seductive pleasures and comforts hide their madness and their complete lack of sustainability, it was developed by Muslims.
To be faithful to our religion must change our ways and make an effort to preserve, educate and build alternative institutions to mitigate and help address the economic and environmental crisis that ahead, preserve and strengthen our communities and Islamic institutions, and think about how they can be useful in the struggle to help humanity to exercise responsible stewardship of our corner of creation.
http://www.islamweb.net/esp/index.php?page=articles&id=158106
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