Sunday, April 28, 2019

Securing the Future of the World


The Future of our Planet

Earlier this week, on 22 April 2019 there was the International Mother Earth Day which commemorates the Earth and all the riches it has brought us through the sheer grace of God Almighty. It comes as a reminder that the Earth is in danger that we all humans have the absolute duty to protect it, each at our level!

Indeed, nature is a gift of God given to mankind to enable each and every individual lead a joyful, prosperous and peaceful life. However, the greed of people and/ or nations to accumulate wealth by all means, coupled by superfluous consumption has prevented them to make a judicious use of the free natural resources at their disposal and has put humanity in the situation it is in today.

Never before has the human race found him to be so uncomfortable, so insecure and so uncertain about the future. Calamities like flood, drought, tsunami, earthquake, tornado, fire, smoke....(Like on Monday 15 April 2019 in Paris where part of one of the largest cathedrals of France and the world, Notre Dame de Paris burned in a fire. France and the Christian world in general have witnessed the destruction of one of their biggest symbols - gone up in smoke!...)

And also intense heat and cold in every nook and corner of the world and occurring even in odd seasons and in unexpected places, are taking everyone by surprise. Disaster of such dimension never occurred before. Many experts say that such changes (i.e. climate change), brought by the hands of man itself have destroyed the ozone layer protecting our Earth, thus causing global warming and bringing in its wake many other calamities. Such natural calamities as they are termed by man have transformed into divine reminders for them to change their evil ways and to embrace a righteous way of life.

God Almighty says in the Holy Quran: Calamities have appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of the people have earned, so that He (Allah) makes them taste some of what they did, in order that they may return (to the right way).” (Ar-Rum 30: 42).

The Excesses of the Powerful


Everyone is conscious that excess release of carbon and other toxics in the atmosphere as a result of fast-expanding industrialization to create wealth and abusive use of offensive weapons are having a destructive effect on the ozone layer resulting in increased temperature, melting of icebergs and climate change. Everyone accepts this scientific fact and is conscious that if such a state of affairs persists, our planet will not take long to be devastated and there will be no place to live in. In other words, we are heading directly towards doomsday.

Despite this glaring truth and the holding of several international conferences day in day out, those who have the destiny of this world in their hands are stubborn and unwilling to make enough concession to save our and their souls. They have been blinded by the idea of preserving and extending sovereignty, creating wealth, appropriating as much natural resources by whatever means and do not care about the children of tomorrow. 

They are ready to make an excessive use of fossil energy and spend recklessly on arm race, sophisticated war craft and destructive weapons, and they go to people like themselves without any remorse....And they do not realize that such vital resources could have instead been used to help those who are homeless, who are hungry and above all the down-trodden. But who cares? Really, very few people! 

Man forgets his own soul and those of others in the race to power. Man should have been humane. That was the basis of his creation, to worship God Almighty, the Unique and All-Powerful God and not ascribing any partners in His worship. And he moreover was created to feel empathy for the entire human race. But in the race to power, with his greed for money and climbing the stairs of material success, he has agreed to sell his soul to the Satan for a paltry price! 

He wants this world at the cost of the other, absolute world and in his ride to material freedom, he crushes his fellow human beings, forgetting that they were like him, and that he shares the same blood as them. Thus, injustice, crime, fraud and corruption of every kind appeared on the scene of this world. The Earth became a witness to its own destruction.

The Signs of Disasters

Religious history has shown that whenever injustice and immorality have prevailed, divine justice has set things right after giving clear warning. God wants man to realize that he has no control over nature. He cannot do things that make innocent people suffer according to his whims and caprices. Any injustice done to mankind will have to be accounted for. All the signs from God are messages of warning to man to enable him to take corrective measures, before the worse comes. Climate change accompanied by global warming and natural disasters is one message.

Time has come to wake up and bring a change in attitude and shift in mindset and think globally. Religion, especially the perfect way of life that Islam represents has a great role to play in changing the selfish greediness of man into heartfelt generosity. True faith in God and in the preservation of humanity has to emerge as the major force to protect environment, bring social justice and equity and to strive for a more caring society. 

Towards a Theology of Ecology

Only true religious belief and trust in the Unique God can have a great impact in converting stone-hearted individuals into saviours of the future generations. And the best model who showed this to us is the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh). Many other great souls also have graced this world who have also showed us the way to God Almighty and the preservation of the ties of brotherhood among the human race, to enable each and every one of us humans to feel connected, to feel empathy towards one another.

The day the human race realizes that he will be accountable to God Almighty for his actions and reduces drastically all injustice and immorality, the Creator Who has complete control over the whole universe will surely inspire us to find innovative solutions to mitigate climate change and reduce global warming just as He showed precious miracles and signs in the times of His Chosen prophets and guided them and their followers to victory in faith and humanity.

It has thus become the duty for every individual to bring in his contribution to protect this world by creating an eco-friendly environment and a more responsible and tolerant society. Religion, especially Islam and Muslims can contribute immensely in this endeavour and give the world an apercu of the true sense to life as revealed throughout the centuries to all the beloved prophets of God and to follow their guidelines to a better life, be it at physical, moral and spiritual level. When out interior is reformed, our perception of the world will evolve in a positive light and we shall be in a better position to help the world progress by leaps and bounds until our last breath on earth and until God Almighty calls back the world back to Him.

May Allah help mankind to realise the grievous predicament it faces nowadays and to take drastic steps to secure the future of this world and the lives of billions of people worldwide. Insha-Allah, Ameen.

---Extracts from Friday Sermon of 26 April 2019~19 Shabaan 1440 AH delivered by Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.