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.