Go Green!

It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures:
055.011 Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes (enclosing dates);
055.012 Also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants.
055.013 Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?
055.014 He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery...(surah-i-rahman)

We celebrated earth day. It was an activity in school. A celebration on television. A promotional activity for many brands... I admired the three plants that I own. Every morning I rise for fajr; draw open the curtains of my sitting area to allow sunlight to enter and fall on my still developing plants; and water the dry, thirsty soil of each plant. I dont even know their names. They are simply my plants. I purchased them while they were little buds sprouting from a handful of soil stuffed in tiny bags. Four months later they are small plants. All by the grace of Allah swt. The one and only who can give life to human babies, animals, earth worms, butter flies, lady bugs and all that survives and thrives on this planet and beyond!

Yet, we celebrate the "earth" day in an effort to "preserve" our planet!

Is that really our job? Can we really protect our world from the calamities that we, ourselves, have invited upon it? Are these calamities the result of pollution and de-forestation only? Can we help reconstruct the Ozone? Or is it possible for us to bring back the exticnt creatures?

The answer to all these questions is a firm "no". Yes, we can quit making the same mistakes over and over again. But will that save the planet? Ofcourse not! Allah swt is the sole savior of mankind and all of Creation. It is Him who controls our lives and the lives of each plant and animal.

I fall in love with His Creation with renewed joy and admiration every morning! I sing nasheeds joyously when I witness a new leaf unfurl! The purples, greens and oranges of these plants have filled my life with color! They are the only precious pieces of decoration that adorn my sitting area. Gone are the days when I had nightmares of dead, droopy, wilting plants when I initially had trouble figuring out the needs of my tiny plants. They seemed unhappy, and gave a sad-face effect with their droopy leaves. There was something wrong. I had bought them so healthy and young, what could possibly have gone wrong??!!! I re-checked my watering habits and changed their location. I did everything I could to help them grow but to no avail. Finally one morning, really quite suddenly, my plants seemed to blossom. The droopy ends of the tiny leaves seemed to perk up suddenly. The color appeared in their brown tips. It waa a transformation. Allah swt had saved my dear plants! Alhamdolillah. The fresh leaves and their colors breathed new life in us.

SubhanAllah. All praise is for Allah swt who has filled our lives with color. We can protect our environment by following the sunnah and the Quraanic teachings. Excessive use of water or any other amenity is advised against in our deen. Similarly, polluting the land is prohibited in islam. As for calamities, we also need to mend our ways to protect the earth from unwelcome environmental developments! Our actions and deeds have a huge contribution in these happenings. Science just provides an explanation for everything in our deen. It cannot provide solutions or cures to these problems. A simple study of deen will solve all our problems and help us recognize the might and power of Allah swt.

May Allah swt keep our world green and beautiful always, Ameen