TIK RE H G EN N

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K UB H H TA
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B MU E BN S Y NE AI R

All Praise be to Allah, to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and earth, and praise be to Him in the life to come. He is the All Wise, the All Aware. He knows all that goes into the earth and all that comes out of it; He knows all that comes down from the heavens and all that goes up to them. He is the Merciful, the Forgiving. (Quran 34:1 - 2).

We praise Him with praises that are abundant, excellent and blessed.

We attest to His Oneness - there is no god but Allah - and we attest Muhammad, peace be on him, is His servant and final Messenger.

We respond to Allahs call in the Quran to Remember Gods blessings on you

(Quran 5:7)

by expressing our profound gratitude to Allah for all the graces He has

blessed us with.

We thank Him for guiding us to His way. We thank him for the blessings of health and well-being. We thank Allah for all the blessings He continues to give us.

Today, in recognition of Earth Day 2012, we dedicate this khutbah to celebrate the wonder, grandeur and beauty of Gods creation.

This day, also is a time for us to reflect on the fragility and fine balance of the creation and to remind us to be good stewards of Gods creation.

What a wondrous universe Allah has created! - "in the alternation of night and day,"(Quran 2:164); "in the water which God sends comes down from the sky to give life to the earth when it has been barren"(Quran winds,"
(Quran 2:164); 2:164);

"in the changing of the in the birds with wings we cannot be but

"in the mountains over you

(Quran 2:63);

outspread,

(Quran 24:41);

in the gardens, springs

(Quran 26:147)

awe struck by these Quranic descriptions of Creation. 1

However, we are failing this Trust from Allah and in our stewardship of the planet and its environment.

We now know that our affluence and extravagant lifestyle comes with a high environmental cost.

From our use of water to our extraction of fossil fuels to our creation of vast amounts of waste, we know that our unsustainable behavior defiles Allahs creation.

The Earth is warming and humans are the cause - that's the conclusion of scientists.

The climate change crisis is pushing the world to address the most daunting crisis facing humanity - which is to sustain life as we know it.

Scientific reports about what to expect due to the climate crisis reads like a description of end-of-time signs: increasing temperatures, severe water shortages, rising sea levels and the flooding of coastal cities, and ecological upheaval as many species become extinct and vast expanses of once-frozen tundra in Northern regions turn into forest.

Between 1980 and 2006, the number of climate-related disasters has quadrupled.

By 2030, climate change could push food prices up by 50-90 percent more than they would otherwise be expected to rise, according to a recent report by Oxfam.

The number of people affected by climate-related disasters is expected to reach 375 million per year by 2015. Our actions are not only threatening our own health and quality of life but our future generations.

The environmental crisis is not just a scientific problem or an environmental one but consequences of a deep, inner crisis of the soul - it is a moral issue. As the Prince Charles rightly said in a speech on 9 June, 2010 titled Islam and the Environment - the solution to all of our worldwide crises does not lie simply in more and better technology, but in the recovery of the soul to the mainstream of our thinking. Our science and technology cannot do this. Only sacred traditions have the capacity to help this happen. We need to return to our sacred sources, the Quran and Prophetic traditions, as well as the example of our righteous predecessors, to re-calibrate our relationship to the Earth, its environment and all of Gods Creation.

We begin by reminding ourselves that all Creation belongs to Allah:

Everything in the heavens and on earth, everything between them, everything beneath the soil belongs to Him. (Quran 20:6).

He created the Universe in perfection: [He] who created the seven heavens, one above the other. You will not see any flaw in what the Lord of Mercy creates. Look again! And again! Your sight will turn back to you, weak and defeated. (Quran 67:3-4).

All created things, including humans, obey and glorify its Creator:

The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His praise, though you do not understand their praise. He is forbearing, most forgiving. (Quran 17:44).

Humans need the earth in order to subsist: He has subjected all that is in the heavens and the earth for your benefit, as a gift from Him. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect. (Quran 45:13).

But the earth has no need for humans: The creation of the heavens and earth is greater by far than the creation of mankind, though most people do not know it. (Quran 40:57).

All that Allah has created are nations or communities unto themselves: All the creatures that crawl on the earth and those that fly with their wings are communities like yourselves. We have missed nothing out of the Record in the end they will be gathered to their Lord. (Quran 6:38).

All the elements in the universe are interdependent and connected. The earth and what it contains is a means of subsistence for all creatures, not only for humans: As for the earth, We have spread it out, set firm mountains on it, and made everything grow there in due balance. We have provided sustenance in it for you and for all those creatures for whom you do not provide. There is not a thing whose storehouses are not with Us. (Quran 15:19-21).

Indeed, the signs (ayaat) in the Universe are "messages for those who reason and think" testifying to the presence and infinite generosity of the One God Who has laid out the Universe as the outspread book (al-kitab al-manshur) containing signs mirroring the signs of the written book, the Quran (al-kitab almastur). 4

This is the Earth, the natural world and the environment that Allah has entrusted to us to be its stewards: It is He who made you successors (Khalifa) on the earth and raises some of you above others in rank, to test you through what He gives you (Quran, 6:165).

The Trust or amana was accepted by humans: We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains; yet they refused to undertake it and were afraid of it; mankind undertook it they have always been inept and foolish. (Quran 33:72).

As successors and vicegerents (khalifa) on earth, we must fulfill that trust placed on us by Allah by acting justly with all His Creation.

The environmental crisis is asking us to look at ourselves - how we act, behave and live.

Those who violate or abuse the Trust are described in the Quran as those who corrupt, degrade and bring ruin on earth (mufsidin fil-Ard).

The corrupters (mufsidin fil-Ard) abuse the Trust (amana) and are in clear contrast to the stewards of the earth (khulafa fil-Ard).

Allah warns us against such actions: Corruption has flourished on land and sea as a result of peoples actions and He will make them taste the consequences of some of their own actions so that they may turn back. (Quran 30: 41).

These Quranic teachings are clear and unequivocal we must be, not just friends of the earth, but its guardians and equal partners. 5

We have responsibilities to the earth, other creation and the environment as we have responsibilities to our families and other human beings.

And we will be held accountable for what we do to the earth, other living creatures and the environment.

As such, a Muslim cannot be but eco-conscious if he/she is a believer in God. In the numerous traditions reported from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, on protecting the earth and the environment, we come to the conclusion that all Muslims are to be eco-Muslims: The Prophet said, "If any Muslim plants any plant and a human being or an animal eats of it, he will be rewarded as if he had given that much in charity."
(Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 41).

We turn to Allah seeking His forgiveness for our actions which have disrupted His creation that He has endowed for the propagation and sustenance of life.

PART 2 All Praise be to Allah and His choicest blessings on our beloved, Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, and on his family, companions and the righteous ones until the Last Day.

We are being challenged, more than ever before in human history, to respond to the environmental crisis.

Each one of us should be looking to live a simple, sustainable life and to become good stewards of the Earth and its environment.

We must resist the desire for more possessions, as the more we buy, the more we must manufacture, and the more pressure we put on the environment Striving for more distracts you until you go into your graves. (Quran 102, 1- 2).

We must resist our greed that leads us to abuse Gods resources for one day the Earth will unburden itself and tell all When the earth is shaken violently in its [last] quaking, when the earth throws out its burdens, when man cries, What is happening to it?; on that Day, it will tell all because your Lord will inspire it [to do so]. (Quran 99, 1 6).

We conclude with a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, that is the strongest and most striking statement in the religious traditions about the environment.

This statement summarizes the Islamic ethics with regard to the environment.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, is reported to have said, "If the Judgment Day comes when one of you is holding a seedling in his hand, if you are able to plant it before the Day arrives, do so. "
Mufrad (479)). (Imam Ahmad, Al Bukhari in Al Adab Al

We ask forgiveness of Allah for every blessing which He bestowed upon us but which we used in disobedience to Him. We ask forgiveness of Allah for every stumbling on our part, and for every slip, and for every error.

We ask His forgiveness for those of our words which have not been matched by our deeds.

O Allah Forgive us, have Mercy on us, Guide us, Support us Protect us, provide for us and elevate us.

Our Lord, accept our repentance, cleanse us of our misdeeds, answer our prayers, substantiate our pleas, guide our hearts, straighten our tongues and banish all ill-will from our breasts.

And we send peace and blessings on our beloved Prophet Muhammad.

Reference: Abdel Haleem M.A.S (2005). The Qur'an. Oxford University Press. Other useful resources: http://khaleafa.com/greenkhutbah/

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