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Muslim's ignorance of how Islam cares for the environment:
Dear brothers, talking about the environment touches our emotions, because if the environment where we live is corrupted, our health will be corrupted too, and if it is clean and healthy, we will be healthy too. It seems that the whole world is preoccupied with how to take care of the environment. Islam with its Divine Method is also involved in this issue, and even there are religious instructions which will make us in a better situation if we apply them. The fiqhi rule on which the issue of environment depend is the following Hadith:
"There should be no harming nor inflicting of harm."
This fiqhi rule is concise and comprehensive; it means that causing harm to anything whatsoever is forbidden. As for the other part of the Hadith, it means that it is also prohibited to remove the damage by causing another one. This rule is essential concerning our relation to the environment.
Dear brother, the whole world is facing the same problem presented by the pollution of water, soil and air, expanded desertification, food shortage, spread of diseases, lack of cleanliness, extinction of plants and animals, climate change, the damaged ozone layer, wrong human practices and a tuning away from the heavenly instructions.
Dear brother, the environmental changes are all caused by the natural, chemical and desert effects which cause damage to the marine life, air, plants and the social environment. We have never felt such cold in winter nor have we heard of many diseases that some people suffer from. We are running out of water and the temperature rises in an unprecedented manner. Scientist explains this phenomena by calling it climate change, which mainly caused by human beings. Listen to the following ayah, please:
(…I will order them to change the nature created by Allah.")
Allah wants this environment to be always clean, but man has polluted and ruined it by his secular and materialistic ambition.
Environment is the apparent and hidden graces which Allah has bestowed upon mankind:
Dear brother, Almighty Allah says:
(See you not (O men) that Allah has subjected for you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, (both) apparent (i.e. Islamic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks, etc.) and hidden [i.e. One's Faith in Allah (of Islamic Monotheism) knowledge, wisdom, guidance for doing righteous deeds, and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise, etc.]?)
The clean environment, clean air, clean water, clean life, the normal situation, the plant that grows with no need of fertilizers, no chemicals and no carcinogens and the fruit that grow without hormones are all Allah's graces. However, Allah's creation has been changed; a hen grows one kilo in forty days by hormones. These hormones accumulate in the human body and cause diseases. I believe that a lot of diseases are caused by the change in our food and drink. A big mistake is committed nowadays, so on the Environment's Day with which the whole world is concerned, Islam should have its view and instructions. Almighty Allah says:
(…and has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, (both) apparent (i.e Islamic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks, etc.) and hidden [i.e. One's Faith in Allah (of Islamic Monotheism) knowledge, wisdom, guidance for doing righteous deeds, and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise, etc.]?)
The environment is both the apparent and hidden graces.
Deforestation is one of the causes which ruin the environment:
Dear brother, deforestation is one of the causes which ruin the environment. Believe it or not, the forests are only twenty-four million square kilometers, while they were thirty-seven square kilometers. Eighteen million hectares turn from agricultural lands into desert lands every year. This is called desertification, which is nowadays invading our environment besides overgrazing, pesticides and carcinogenic chemical pesticides. Moreover, tropical trees are cut down; the area where those trees are cut down every year is equal to that of Austria. Almighty Allah says with regard to corrupting the environment:
(And whoever changes Allah's Favour after it had come to him, [e.g. renounces the Religion of Allah (Islam) and accepts Kufr (disbelief),] then surely, Allah is Severe in punishment.)
A man who wants to be god-like in this worldly life and intends to ruin the environment for his own interests will be punished severely:
(And whoever changes Allah's Favour after it had come to him, [e.g. renounces the Religion of Allah (Islam) and accepts Kufr (disbelief),] then surely, Allah is Severe in punishment.)
Some of the instructions of the Prophet concerning the environment:
1- Cultivate the land and never keep it barren:
One of the instructions of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, can be concluded from the following Hadith: It was narrated on the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Whoever has a land should cultivate it himself or give it to his brother gratis; but if he refuses then he should keep his land."
The land should be cultivated, because of the positive results of its cultivation is innumerous. Cultivating the lands change the weather for the better and causes rain to fall. Ninety countries face desertification which makes the world agricultural production declines 40% each year. Dear brother, it has been indicated that the losses of desertification are twenty six thousand million each year.
2- Land Reclamation:
Dear brother, Aeyshah reported, the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Whoever cultivates land which is not the property of any one has a better title to it."
Perhaps the meaning is related to the concept of reclamation; if you have a land, you should cultivate it.
"Whoever cultivates land which is not the property of any one has a better title to it."
This is one of the Prophetic instructions: whoever cultivates a barren land which is owned by no one has the right to make it his. We should turn the color of the lands from brown to green. Unfortunately, in the developing countries the green color of the lands has turned into brown. I repeat the above mentioned Hadith:
"Whoever cultivates land which is not the property of any one has a better title to it."
3- Planting trees:
Pay attention to the following Hadith please: Anas said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"There is no Muslim who plants a tree or cultivates land, then there eat of it birds or a man or an animal but it is a charity for him."
What is happening nowadays? People makes money from buying and selling land which is uncultivated, barren, and arid, and from which no water was extracted, yet the price rises hundreds of folds. The profit is but false and it is the main cause of inflation, which is the scourge of our time. People trade with fixed values and without benefiting the society. If someone plants apples in his farm and he sells them when they are ripe in the markets, he will help reduce the price of apples. Unlike this man who benefits his society, the one who buys lands and sells them is causing harm to people since he prevents them from making use of the lands. This kind of trade should be forbidden by those who are responsible for these matters.
"There is no Muslim who plants a tree or cultivates land, then there eat of it birds or a man or an animal but it is a charity for him."
One of the most eloquent As7adeth regarding cultivation is the following one:
Al Bukhari reported on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"If the Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment) has just begun and anyone of you has a seedling in his hand and it is possible to implant it before the Hour is established, he should plant it."
I was told that in one of the Gulf countries, whoever cuts a tree will pay what equalizes one million Syrian Liras fine, which is a very huge amount. A tree changes the weather for the better, brings rain, provides shadows and gives natural beauty. It looks like a factory which offers you fruit, gives you shade, gives you charming scenery and makes no noise whatsoever:
"If the Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment) has just begun and anyone of you has a seedling in his hand and it is possible to implant it before the Hour is established, he should plant it."
Taking care of trees is one of the instructions of this great Deen:
Almighty Allah says:
(And it is He Who produces gardens trellised and untrellised, and date-palms, and crops of different shape and taste (its fruits and its seeds) and olives, and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in taste). Eat of their fruit when they ripen, but pay the due thereof (its Zakat, according to Allah's Orders 1/10th or 1/20th) on the day of its harvest,)
It means that the tree is one of Allah's graces which benefits are countless. Thus, one of the instructions of this great Deen is taking care of trees.
The latest research on olive oil, which is on top of the fatty material in our lives, has indicated that oil softens the arteries and delay sclerosis. Sclerosis is a fatal disease, and if a man keeps healthy all his life he cannot escape death out of this disease
Olive oil prolongs the life of the arteries for many years. This recent research shows us how valuable the olive oil is. There are families who are excellent at cooking, never use fat, they use olive oil instead.
Desertification is one of the factors which destroy the land:
Dear brother, cutting the trees causes the destruction of the environment, Almighty Allah says:
(And when he turns away (from you "O Muhammad"), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein...)
This destruction can be noticed in Ghouta, in Damascus; people have turned it from charming and picturesque into industrial. We should have left this green land as it is and built the factories and buildings in the west road of Damascus which is originally a barren land. Had we done that, our environment would have been in a better situation. Taking care of the environment is a very crucial subject matter, dear brother:
(And when he turns away (from you "O Muhammad"), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allah likes not mischief.)
Some scholars said that there is a reference to uprooting trees in this ayah. In the following Hadith, the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], Allah will send him to Hellfire."
This is the punishment of the one who cuts a tree with no justification.
The Prophet's prohibition of cutting down fruit-bearing trees:
I would like to assure you dear brother that in our country whoever cuts a tree will be fined a big amount of money:
(And when he turns away (from you "O Muhammad"), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allah likes not mischief.)
Listen again to the aforementioned Hadith, please:
"He who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], Allah will send him to Hellfire."
There is a great prophetic prohibition. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, warned the army leaving on an expedition saying: "Do not uproot or burn palm trees, or cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not slaughter a cattle or sheep except for the purpose of food…" (Ibnu’l-Asir)
While I was in a European country, I was attracted to the giant trees there. I noticed that the streets are designed according to the locations of the trees; the directions of the streets whether right or left are based on the places where the trees are. You can see how a street is split into two parts if a tree grows in the middle of it. Protecting trees is a good deed, it is civilization and it is basic in our Deen: "Do not uproot or burn palm trees, or cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not slaughter a cattle or sheep except for the purpose of food."
I do not want to go into details with the ruling on hunting, but I would like to tell you that those who hunt birds for the purpose of training and then throw them away in waste baskets will be punished: "If a bird was hunted for the purpose other than food, it will come on the Day of Resurrection with the sound of bees and say, 'O Allah ask him why he killed me.' "
You are allowed to hunt but for the purpose of eating not for fun. It is unacceptable to hunt many kinds of unique birds and throw them away:
"If a bird is hunted for the purpose other than food, it will come on the Day of Resurrection with the sound of bees and say, 'O Allah, ask him why he killed me.' "
Instructions for water conservation:
1- Do not pollute water by urinating in it:
We have talked so far about protecting plants and animals, but how about water? It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"None of you should urinate into still water and then perform Ghusl from it."
We purify our bodies by water, so none should urinate in it. I remember that in the fifties people who lived near Yazid River used to drink form it, because they were pious people. No one urinated in it, threw wastes in it or pour dirty water into it. However, this river turned now into black. When people understand their Deen very well, they will be able to take care of water. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, prohibited people from urinating in both running and stagnant water.
There is another Prophetic instruc tion in the following Hadith: Abu Hurairah related that Allah's Messenger said:
"None of you should bathe in standing water when he is in a state of major ritual impurity."
This Hadith is related in Sahih Muslim, Sunan an-Nasa'i, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan ad-Daraqutni, Sunan al-Bayhaqi, and sh3er. In all of the narrations except that of al-Nasa'i, the Hadith continues with the narrator Abu as-Sa'ib asking Abu Hurairah: "So what do we do then?" to which Abu Hurairah responded: "Water should be taken out as needed."
If a mother wants to bathe her son, she should not put him in the pot of the hot water which is intended to be used for bathing. Otherwise, this water will be already used, which is unacceptable in Islam. She should ta ke out water from this pot.
2- Do not put your hands in water after waking up:
The teachings of this great Deen are very precise; narrated Hurairah: Allah's Apostle, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"If anyone of you performs ablution he should put water in his nose and then blow it out and whoever cleans his private parts with stones should do so with odd numbers. And whoever wakes up from his sleep should wash his hands before putting them in the water for ablution, because nobody knows where his hands were during sleep."
What an instruction! Once you wake up, you should wash your hands before doing anything. Almighty Allah says:
(And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain), and We send down pure water from the sky...)
((Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him, and He caused water (rain) to descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering, evil-suggestions, etc.) of Shaitan (Satan), and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm thereby.)
Listen again, "To clean you."
Water is the greatest blessing on earth:
You will be astonished if you study the properties of water. As you know, it has no color, which is good. We use water almost in everything; if it had color, the things which are used with it would be affected by its color. Water has neither taste nor smell. It evaporates at 14 C; if it evaporated at 100 C, it would need the whole summer to get dry when used in washing the ground in winter. Water is the most penetrating liquid:
(and We send down pure water from the sky…)
((Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him, and He caused water (rain) to descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering, evil-suggestions, etc.) of Shaitan (Satan), and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm thereby.)
(That We may give life thereby to a dead land, and We give to drink thereof many of the cattle and men that We had created.)
Water is considered the greatest blessing on earth; inhabitants are used to gather in a region where water spring is available. Al-Figah (a name of a city in Damascus Countryside) derives its value from al-Figah spring. This spring extends from al-Figah to Homs and from Lebanon to al-Badiyah. It supplies al-Figah with water, and its abundance is estimated sometimes at forty cubic meters each second. During drought it is estimated at one cubic meter. This spring is one of the Signs of Allah's Greatness. You are provided with drinking water for free in this unique city. You do not have to be worried about the purity of this water, because it is one of the purest water in the world.
3- Do not drink from the mouth of water-skin directly:
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, forbade drinking from the water-skin directly, because this makes it stinky. You should fill a glass of water with water and drink from it instead of drinking from the bottle directly. Doctors say that influenza, typhoid, gonorrhea and syphilis are transmitted through the saliva and the lips.
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, forbade turning the water-skin upside down and drinking directly from its mouth.
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, used to have a mug that was made from wood for Mrs. Aeyshah, may Allah be pleased with her, and him to drink from at home.
4- Cover the food vessels and water pot:
Covering the food vessels and water pot is one of the instructions of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him:
"Cover the food vessels and cover water pot, because there is a night in the year when epidemic appears, if it comes across an uncovered food vessel or uncovered water pot it would over whenever it."
In another Hadith, the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Beware of dust, because it may contain Nasma (Microbes)."
It has been proved scientifically that dust can contain germs, so if we keep ourselves away from dust, we avoid being infected and our health will be better.
5- Remove harmful objects from the road:
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Iman has sixty odd or seventy odd branches. The uppermost of all these is the Testimony of Faith: 'La ilaha illallah' (there is no true god except Allah) while the least of them is the removal of harmful object from the road. And shyness is a branch of Iman."
Dear brother, many accidents were caused by a big stone which was put in the middle of the street. Some truck-drivers put a big stone behind the wheel when they repair their truck, and after they finish they forget to remove the stone from the street causing by that the death of many people. Therefore,
"Iman has sixty odd or seventy odd branches. The uppermost of all these is the Testimony of Faith: 'La ilaha illallah' (there is no true god except Allah) while the least of them is the removal of harmful object from the road. And shyness is a branch of Iman."
The reward of whoever removes harmful object from the road:
I know many people who stop and remove a stone to the edge of the road. Those people will have great reward. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Whoever removes anything troublesome from the path of the Muslims, a good deed will be recorded for him, and whoever his deed is accepted will be admitted to paradise."
In another Hadith the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Verily, the believer will be rewarded for removing harmful object form the road."
Also, it was reported on the authority of Aeyshah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Everyone of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah (i.e. saying Allahu Akbar), praises Allah (i.e. Al-hamdu lillah), declares Allah to be One (i.e. La ilaha illallah), glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah (i.e. Astaghfirullah), and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people's path, and enjoins good and forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty, will walk that day having rescued himself from Hell."
All these are good deeds. Sometimes a peel of fruit causes femoral neck fracture, and this fracture is very serious, particularly for old people. Some people may cause a permanent disability to sh3er because of throwing carelessly a peel of the fruit on the road.
"Everyone of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah (i.e. saying Allahu Akbar), praises Allah (i.e. Al-hamdu lillah), declares Allah to be One (i.e. La ilaha illallah), glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah (i.e. Astaghfirullah), and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people's path, and enjoins good and forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty, will walk that day having rescued himself from Hell."
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"While a man was walking, he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it and Allah appreciated his action and forgave him."
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, never spoke of his own desire, but all of his sayings are inspired. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"I saw a man going about in Jannah (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims."
Abu Sa'id al-khudri reported: The Apostle of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
" 'Avoid sitting in the roads.' The people said: 'Apostle of Allah! We must have meeting places in which to converse.' The Apostle of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: 'If you insist on meeting, give the road its due.' They asked: 'What is the due of roads, Apostle of Allah?' He replied: 'Lowering the eyes, removing anything offensive, returning salutation, commanding what is reputable and forbidding what is disreputable. ' "
Kinds of destructions which human life suffers from is mentioned in the Noble Quran:
Dear brother, destruction of the environment, water, air and morals which our contemporary human life suffers from are all mentioned in the Noble Quran:
(And when he turns away (from you "O Muhammad"), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allah likes not mischief.)
Dear brother, concerning the Sea:
(And He it is Who has subjected the sea (to you), that you eat thereof fresh tender meat (i.e. fish), and that you bring forth out of it ornaments to wear. And you see the ships ploughing through it, that you may seek (thus) of His Bounty (by transporting the goods from place to place) and that you may be grateful.)
You know that the marine life is endangered when an oil ship sinks in the sea causing a huge oil slick that stretches for hundreds kilometers in the sea. Containing the oil slick needs effort and huge amounts of money. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Allah is Good and likes everything that is good. He is Clean and loves cleanliness. He is Generous and love generosity. You must clean your houses and do not follow in the footsteps of Jews."
Also, he, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
"Avoid the three actions that bring people's curses: defecating in water sources, on roads, and in the shade."
Some people urinate under a tree, on the street or in the water. Listen again to the following Hadith:
"None of you should urinate into still water and then perform Ghusl from it."
Dear brother, call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh your deeds before they are weighed against you, and know that the Angel of Death has passed over us to reach sh3er, and will pass over sh3er to reach us, so let us be cautious. The smartest among you is the one who condemns himself, and works towards what is after death; and the incapable is the one who follows his desires, and then expects to be rewarded by Allah.
***
The second Khutbah:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. And I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, the Protector of the righteous, and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger who is endowed with a Great character. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him, his folks and his companions.
Prohibition of waste and extravagance:
Dear brother, the scholars have differentiated between extravagance and waste extravagances means exceeding the permissible limits, while waste is committed with the prohibited things. Both extravagance and waste are prohibited.
(And those, who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes))
(…and waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance…)
(Verily, spendthrifts are brother of the Shayatin (devils), and the Shaitan (Devil - Satan) is ever ungrateful to his Lord)
Abdullah Ibn Umar narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, passed near Sa'ad Ibn Abi Waqqas when he was performing his ablution and said:
"What is this waste?' And the latter replied: 'Is performing ablutions an extravagance?' The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: 'Yes, even if you are (doing them) at a running river.' "
Damascus consumes seven hundred and fifty thousand cubic meters per day, while the production of the spring is almost five hundred thousand cubic meters. This means that there is deficit; fifty thousand cubic meters are wasted per day. Believe me we can make up for this deficit if we control wasting water at home and if we make ablution with half of the water that we used to waste. By following these instructions, we will be able to save half square meter per day.
Electricity also is wasted; the director of electricity told me that if each citizen turns off one lamp of hundred watts, there will be no need for a generator that costs five hundred million dollars. The cost of the oil which this generator consumes is five hundred million dollars. Its price is equal to its annual consumption of oil. You can see how many lams are on in rooms that are vacant. Saving and conservation of consumption are signs of having faith and being civilized.
Dear brother, I ask Almighty Allah to make this sermon in which we tackle issues related to the environment, water, electricity and basic needs, a method we apply to our lives, so that Allah may have mercy on us. Never ask about the good things you may do if you spend money moderately, you just have to do what Allah orders you.
Supplication:
O Allah, we beseech You to show us the way of righteousness together with those to whom You showed it; and to give us good health together with those whom You have healed; and to be our Protector, as You are of those whom You protect; and to bless what You have bestowed on us; and to save us from the affliction that You have decreed, for You rule with justice and You are never judged; and he whom You protect shall never be humiliated and he whom You make Your enemy shall never be elevated. Blessed and dignified are You! And we thank You for what You have decreed, we ask Your forgiveness and we repent to You.
O Allah, please lead us to the good deeds for no one leads to them but You; please lead us to the good conduct for no one leads to it but You; please make us do well in the Deen, which is our dignity, and make our lives good for it is our existence, and grant us safety on the Day of Judgment, for it is our Final Destination. Please supply our life with all good things and make our death a rest from every evil.
O our Master, the Lord of all Worlds! Please, make me desire what You have made lawful and reject what You have made unlawful, and make me by Your benevolence independent of all sh3er, and make my obedience to You turn me away from my disobedience; and by Your generosity and mercy elevate high the word of rightness and of the Deen; lead Islam to victory, and grant Muslims dignity in every place on earth. Show us Your strength against Your enemies. O Allah, the Most Generous!
