Ecology and Islamic values - III

"Tawheed" and 'Adl, "Unity" and 'Justice"
Allah's Tawheed or Unity is central to the Quranic message, and with
that unity comes perfect justice. The idea that everything in this
world, indeed everything in all of the many worlds that surround us in
space and time, and perhaps other dimensions as well, stems from
asingle source, is a powerful message of unity. Since all of us, and
everything around us, are creations of the one Creator – Allaah, we
must respect the hidden unity that links the many to The One, and
recognize that whatever we do to that which is outside of ourselves,
we are ultimately doing to ourselves. If we abuse other people, we
abuseourselves—though the full effectsof that abuse may not be
apparent until the last day. Likewise, if we abuse nature, we also
abuse ourselves, and the consequences of that abuse will in the end be
fully felt, and perfect justice dispensed by Allaah when we return to
Him. Those who reject this knowledge rationalize their behavior by
saying, "Well, I'm not going to curb my wasteful lifestyle now,
because this catastrophe you're predicting probably won't happen
during my lifetime." Theydo not believe that they will suffer the full
consequences of their own actions. But the Quran stands as a clear
warning that this is not the case, amplifying the inner voice of
conscience Allaah built into our deepest nature: "Then each will see
what he had done in the past; and theywill turn to Allaah, their true
Lord, and all the lies they had fabricated will be of no avail to
them." [Quran, 10:30]
Zuhd, "Renunciation, asceticism"
Zuhd is an especially hard word to translate into English because the
closest cognate, asceticism, carries traces of Christian attempts to
"mortify the flesh." Mortification implies self-torture aimed at
making us feel revulsionfor our physical, earthbound existence. Islam,
however, has nosuch tradition of self-torture. Instead, Zuhd describes
a balanced, judicious approach to abstaining from excesses of
ease,comfort and pleasure-seeking, in order to detach the soul from
potential addictions and instead turn towards Allaah. The wise
detachment of Zuhd is meant to be practiced not just by a few
self-flagellating monks in hair shirts, but by each and every Muslim.
That is why Ramadhaan is a universal requirement, not anoption:
Fasting is a perfect lessonin moderation and self-control, as well as
compassion for the less-fortunate. This moderate, universal Zuhd
could, Allaah willing, help us create a genuinely sustainable world,
by healing the current order at both the spiritual and physical
levels. (These two levels, of course, are intimately connected.) Zuhd
teaches us that giving up our excesses is a blessing, not a
curse—especially if we do it voluntarily, rather than waiting for
Allaah-given natural limits to do it for us. In practicing Zuhd, we
are following a very important Sunnah. Though the leader of a
powerful, rapidly-expanding community, the Prophet Muhammad , lived
and died in a small, hardly-furnished house, leaving behind virtually
no material possessions. He was moderate in his consumption of food
and drink, careful not to waste a drop of water when performing
ablutions, fasted frequently, and prayed devoutly late into the night.
Let us pray that humanity soon discovers the wisdom of hisexample.
Fardh, "Obligation"
Islam prescribes certain specific obligations: prayer, fasting,
bearing witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah and
that Muhammad is themessenger of Allaah, paying almsgiving, and
performing pilgrimage are the best known. fardh has been viewed by
some scholars as involving general as well as specific obligations,
that is, obligations from Allaah that may not be specific enough to be
enforceable by the community: being charitable, just, and merciful,
remembering Allaah, putting ones family, community, and planet ahead
of oneself, and so on could be viewed as obligations in the general
sense. In the more common, specifically legal sense of fardgh, there
are obligations incumbent on everyone (fardh al-'ayn) and others that
can be fulfilled for thewhole community by some of its members (fardh
al-kifaayah). Because these obligations are from Allaah, they demand
to be taken seriously. Thus the Islamic world-view emphasizes the
notion of obligation, in contrast to the Western preoccupation with
individualism and rights at the expense of obligations and
responsibilities. The notion of obligation is obviously essential to
any serious attempt to save our environment. If we are governed by the
principle of individual "rights" we will not want to infringe on
anyone's"right" to consume more and more material goods—and to cutdown
forests, dig mines, exterminate animals, spew pollutants, and ravage
ecosystems in pursuit of those goods. An ethic built on obligations
before rights, like theIslamic ethic, seems better suitedto a world in
which is more than six billion people pursuing their"right" to
unlimited material consumption will spell doom for the planet as a
whole. In particular, the obligation of the fortunate to care for the
less fortunate must be universally acknowledged if we are to limit
planetary consumption in a humane, rational manner. Clearly the
Islamic ethic of obligation is well suited to saving the world by
correcting the unbalanced Western, and especially American, ethic of
"rights" whosebottom line is the right of the wealthy and powerful to
unlimited consumption of the planet's resources. - - ▓███▓
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Ecology and Islamic values -II

Living with and loving Allaah's Creation
Let us think about some of the ways that Islam's spiritual orientation
and its concrete rulesfor social and economic life, offer potential
solutions to concrete problems that face us.
Islam asks us to submit to Allaah,to bend toward our creator as a reed
bends in the wind. Put in another way, this suggests we should live
with divinely-ordainednature, not opposed to it. We should not strive
to create radically artificial environments, but instead adapt
ourselves moreflexibly to the natural environments we have. Allaah has
made this easy for us in manyways: We have been given a lunarcalendar
to keep us in touch withthe natural lunar rhythms, and a daily
time-keeping system based on the sun, whose position is thekey to the
timing of the five daily.By orienting our time-frame around these
divinely provided systems, we automatically move in harmony with the
solar and lunar rhythms that are, accordingto the Quran, among the
most powerful signs of Allaah.
At a more mundane level, we have to ask ourselves questions like: Does
living in harmony with nature mean that we should give up air
conditioning? Certainly if we attain gratitude and inner peace by the
grace of Allaah, we will be less desperate to make every last detail
of our physical existence as comfortable and luxurious as possible.
Since air conditioning will always be a luxury that only a tiny
percentageof the world's population will ever be able to afford,
perhaps we should at least be frugal (and grateful) in our use of it,
and try to use our wealth to feed our hungry fellow human beings.
Likewise, we should build modestly with local, natural materials, and
eat modestly with locally-grown, natural foods. We should use
mechanical transport with moderation, relying as much as possible on
such healthy, pollution-free, non-fossil-fuel burning means as walking
and bicycling, and as little as possible on private auto-mobiles.
Social and Political Activism
None of these individual actions, however, will save the planet if it
continues to be dominated by ruthless exploiters. We need to become
Islamic-environmental activists, organizing and agitating for both
Islamic and environmental causes and showing how the two are closely
linked. By demonstrating concernfor our planet, and a commitment to
finding solutions, we will be spreading a positive image of Islam to
all. Together, the rising army of eco-warriors and the awakening
Muslim Ummah will carry the green banners of Islam and
environmentalism to every cornerof the planet, creating the basis for
the sustainable, balanced, harmonious society of the future.
Quranic Concepts: The Deepest, Purest Source of Environmental Wisdom
Meezaan "Balance"
Literally "the scale of balance." The word Meezaan expresses the
harmony of Allaah's creation. It expresses the perfect equilibriumand
absolute justice of creation, which humans, as successors are obliged
to help maintain. Allaah Says (what means): "The sun and moon revolve
to a reckoning/and the grasses and trees bow in adoration/He raised
the sky and set the balance/so that none maytransgress against the
balance." [Quran, 55:5-8] Humans must helpmaintain the cosmic balance
by acting justly toward nature as well as toward each other. The built
environment and the natural environment should be inperfect harmony,
as suggested bythe fact that Meezaan also means, "ground design" in
architecture. Traditional Islamic architecture, especially masjid
architecture, harmonizes building, landscape and sky in many marvelous
ways. The most famous and influential 20th century architect, Frank
Lloyd Wright, drew heavily on traditional Islamic architecture ashe
revolutionized Western architecture. Wright refused to build the usual
rectangular boxesthat squat like alien presences onthe landscape.
Instead, he used graceful Islamic-derived forms to harmonize and
balance indoors with outdoors, building with landscape, and humanity
with the rest of creation.
Ayah, "Sign"
The word ayah means, "sign" as well as "Quranic verse." The first way
the early Muslims recognizedthat the Quran is the word of Allaah was
due to the miraculousbeauty of its verses. Likewise the Quran invites
us to look at the beautiful world around us as a sign pointing to its
Creator. We are meant to "read" these signs and gain ever-deeper
knowledge and appreciation both of creationitself, and especially of
the Creator Who set such signs before us. The Quranic revelation began
with the command "iqra'","read!" This commanded Allaah's last
messenger, Muhammad , to begin reading/reciting the words of Allaah.
It also commanded the people to whomthe message was sent to
becomeliterate—and within a few generations Arabic, with the Quran as
its central influence, hadbecome the world's leading written medium of
expression. Finally, at the most general level,"iqra'!" commanded all
humans to "read" the book of Allaah's creation to decipher its truth
andbeauty, which always points beyond itself toward its Creator. If we
look at the world around usas an ever-shifting panorama of signs of
Allaah, rather than as a meaningless heap of dumb brute matter, we
will contemplate it with awe and act as cautious andrespectful
stewards rather than hyperactive, transgressive exploiters.
Haraam, "Forbidden, Off-Limits"
The concept of Haraam, whose legal meaning is "forbidden," suggests
the necessity of setting limits that must not be transgressed.
Traditionally the"Haraam" was the intimate part of the house which was
off-limitsto strangers and casual visitors. Westerners, colonialists,
wishing to transgress whatever limits they found in the lands they
invaded, projected their own fantasies upon the private areas of the
Muslim home, turning this innocent word into the salacious English
word "Haraam." But the original word Haraam, with its implication that
limits sometimes need to be drawn, is the word Western culture really
needs to borrow from Islam. Among the places where limits need to be
drawn, and spaces setaside, are the earth's remaining natural areas.
Nature parks, game preserves, wilderness areas, and so on are
absolutely essential to the future of our planet. Yet when a secular
government says, "Don't transgress in this area because the law says
so", many people, driven by greed or desperation, will not listen.
Under an Islamic system, when an area is declared Haraam, and Quranic
precepts invoked to protect it, Muslims will be much more likely to
sacrifice their immediate self-interest and respect the linesthat must
not be crossed. This is just one example of how sacred law, which
touches our hearts and carries Allaah's imprimatur, is more effective
than secular law, which requires ever-greater armies of
ever-more-corrupt police, soldiers, bureaucrats and prisons to try to
enforce it. In theabsence of Allaah's guidance, man imagines himself
self-sufficient and is driven to violate limits. Allaah Says (what
means): "No! (But) indeed, man transgresses, because he sees himself
self-sufficient. Indeed, to your Lord is the return." [Quran, 96:6-8].
When humans understand that they are not self-sufficient, but utterly
helpless and dependent on a marvelously beautiful and unimaginably
complex natural world—a natural world which, like us, is utterly
dependent on Allaah for the tiniest nanosecond or smallest subatomic
particle of its existence—they will be overtaken by awe and accept the
limits that sustain the balance (meezaan) of Allaah's creation. - -
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Ecology and Islamic values - I

I could understand "do not drink the water." Or even "no
swimming—polluted water." But"do not touch the water"!? Something
about that sign, and the reality it pointed to seemed deeply,
irrevocably wrong. The fact that it was the nearest campground to
Disneyland somehow made the whole situation even creepier.
The memory of that toxic waste dump campground remained with me for
years. I gradually realized that the place was not just the perfect
anti-campground, but also an image of anti-paradise: a place where the
flowing water is too filthy to be used to purify ourselves before
prayer, and where the natural plants and creatures are poisoned and
dying. The Quran tells us that the Paradise promised to believers, isa
garden with rivers flowing beneath. It is filled with fruits and
flowers and growing things, offering nectar better than the finest
earthly wine, and beauties and pleasures beyond earthly imagination.
While we can never create such a perfect paradise on earth, Muslim
architects, land-useplanners and artists have sometimes used this
image as a model for their efforts to preserve and celebrate the
natural beauty of creation. Why not? The Quran tells us that all of
nature is a sign of Allaah, reflecting some of His mercy and
magnificence.
Indeed, all of nature, in the Islamic view, is in a state of
continuous worship. Trees and grasses, fish and animals, are all
bending in a sweet, invisible breeze that wafts their worship back
toward their creator. Human beings can learn from thisprocess and seek
harmony with itby joining creation in worship of the Lord of all
worlds and creation. Or else, they can obstinately rebel, imagining
themselves cut off and self-sufficient, and persist in transgressing
the bounds that Allaah has set for them until the inevitable payment
comes due.
In contrast to the prevailing view of nature in the West as a
savage,fallen chaos that must be tamed by conquest, Islam insists that
nature is respected and invites humans to learn from it and join it in
harmonious coexistence.
The polluted-campground experience awakened me to the fact that
something is very wrong with the way of life that produced such a
place, and that Islam holds the keys to understanding the root causes
and solutions of our current environmental dilemma. It convinced me
that we Muslims should be putting Islamic environmental activism at
the very top of our social and personal agenda. Our planet is in a
state of environmental crisis, and as Muslims we are the custodians of
Allaah's last revelation, a revelation that gives humanity the
knowledge and inspiration it needs to live in peace and harmony—in
this life and the next.
The Quranic solution to the problem of environment is, in a word,
holistic and comprehensive. Living a truly Islamic life requires
avoiding the evils of extravagance and the insanity of materialism,
and that we attain harmony with our surroundings and have compassion
for other creatures.
It all begins, however, with the right orientation towards life:
complete submission to Allaah, The One Creator of all, and that this
submission should be marked by pious awe, loving gratitude, inner
peace, the struggle to do good, and the constant awareness that Allaah
isgreater than any aspect of His creation. The Quranic orientation
provides the key to restoring the lost balance between humans, nature,
and The One who created both (i.e .Allaah)
Materialists and atheists say that nothing is sacred, which implies
that there are no limits to what humans can do to gratify their
material desires. Materialist culture, as my wise humanities professor
once said, has two distinguishing characteristics: A tremendous drive
to achieve more and more control over the natural world, and an
equally energetic drive to re-make and perfect human society.
Humans as trustees and keepers of the Earth
Islam teaches that we are the successors and trustees of Allaah on
this beautiful earth, not prisoners in a flawed world that needs to be
radically re-made. As successors, our task is to preserve and
appreciate the beauty and goodness we find, in grateful submission to
its Creator. All of our planet's scientists are needed for a more
obvious and simple task: Taking care of the planet Allaah has given
us, and taking care of our fellow human beings. This meansfinding ways
to live, and live well,while expending far less physical energy, and
making far less obtrusive changes to our physicalenvironment, than is
customary today. It means finding ways to redistribute the planet's
wealth more equitably, in the environment of zero economic growth or
even negative growth that will surely be upon us in justa few short
years, when oil production peaks and starts to decline.
"Allaah loves not the wasters"
So, too, is the Islamic injunction:" Waste not!" Both Quran and Sunnah
make it absolutely clear that avoiding waste and prodigality is a
matter of the highest importance. For example,Allaah Says (what means)
: "Do not be extravagant, for Allaah does not love the wasteful "
[Quran, 6:141]. And He Says (what means): " But waste not by excess,
for Allaah loves not the wasters" [Quran, 7:31]. And (whatmeans):
"Squander not in the manner of a spendthrift. For wasters are the
brothers of the Satan, and the Satan is to his Lordungrateful "
[Quran, 17:26-27]. Here we see that the root of wasting is
ingratitude: those who respond to the marvelous beauty and bounty of
Allaah with gratitude and amazement are happy with a little, while the
ungrateful one is never satisfied no matter how much he has, so he
abandons himself to an ever-increasing cycle of consumption and waste.
If humanity is to survive, it will have to move from the spiritual
state of ingratitude to gratitude and give up its wasteful ways, as
the Quran urges.
Conserving food and water
Along with this Quranic teaching, the Sunnah (prophetic tradition)
provides us with the best example of living in a state of gratitude
and avoiding waste. The Prophet Muhammad was famous for his attention
to conserving and avoiding waste. He was careful not to waste a crumb
of food, licking the last morsel from the utensils so that nothing
would go to waste. He urged believers to avoid using more water than
necessary whenperforming an act of worship likeablution. If we must be
careful not to waste a drop of water in our ablutions, how much more
necessary must it be to avoid waste in less-important activities.
Unfortunately the dominant way of life among well-off people
everywhere, especially in the West, is marked by unbelievable waste
and extravagance. We eat more than what is good for us, buy things we
do not really need,throw away things that either still work or could
be repaired, buy over-sized large vehicles and drive short distances
instead of walking or bicycling, build larger houses than we need and
heat and cool them far beyond minimal comfort standards, waste huge
amounts of water maintaining herbicide-sprinkled lawns and golf
courses, and so on. In perhaps the single most absurd display of
extravagance inall history, we are, at the USA, currently burning up
fossil fuels at a rate that will ensure that oureconomy, our
environment, or both will completely collapse in the near future.
(See: peakoil.comfor details.) This lunatic way of life, whose
seductive pleasures and comfortsdisguise its utter madness, its
complete lack of sustainability, was not developed by Muslims.
To be true to our religion, we must change our ways, and makean effort
to conserve, educate, and build alternative institutions to mitigate
and help cope with the coming economic and environmental meltdown,
preserve and strengthen of our Islamic communities and institutions,
and think about howthey can be of service in the struggle to help
humanity exercise responsible stewardship over our corner of creation.
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Dought & Clear, - Resurrection after death.

After death, until Yaum Al-Qiyama, are the human beings reborn in any
other form?.
Praise be to Allaah.
When the son of Adam dies, his body disintegrates and vanishes apart
from the tailbone, which is a bone at the base of the spine. When the
Resurrection begins, Allaah will cause the bodies to grow by means of
rain from the earth which will make these bones grow until each
person's body is restored to the way it was before he died.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: "The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said, 'What is between the two Trumpet-blasts will be forty.'
Somebody asked, 'Forty days?' But I could not answer. Then he asked,
'Forty months?' But I could not answer. Then he asked, 'Forty years?'
But I could not answer." Abu Hurayrah added, "Then (after this period)
Allah will send water from thesky and then the dead bodies will grow
like vegetation grows. There is nothing of the human body that does
not decay except one bone; that is the little bone at the end of the
coccyx from which the human body will be recreated on the Day of
Resurrection."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4651; Muslim, 2955).
Al-Nawawi said:
"The Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) said, 'What is
between the two Trumpet-blasts will be forty.' Somebody asked, 'Forty
days?' But I could not answer…" What is meant is that he refused to
specify whether it would be forty days, or years, or months. Rather
what he was sure of wasthat it would be just forty. It is explained in
another report narrated by someone other than Muslim, which says that
it will be forty years.
The phrase "the little bone at the end of the coccyx" refers to the
small bone at the base ofthe spine, which is the end of the coccyx.
This is the first part of a person that is created, and it is what
will be left of him so that he will be created anew from it.
Sharh Muslim, 18/92
When a person comes forth from his grave and is gathered and brought
to account, his body will remain the same as it was before he died.
Then when the people of Paradise enter Paradise and the people of Hell
enter Hell, Allaah will change their forms.
Description of the people of Hell:
It was narrated from AbuHurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "The distance between the shoulders of
the kaafir [in Hell] will be that of three days' swift travelling."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6186; Muslim, 2852).
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The molar of the kaafir –
or the eyetooth of the kaafir – will be like Uhud, and his skin will
be as thick as three days' travelling." (Narrated by Muslim, 2851).
Description of the people of Paradise:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "The first group to enter Paradise will look like the moon
when it is full; then those who follow them will look like the
brightest star in the sky. They will not urinate or defecate, spit or
blow their noses. Their combs will be of gold, their sweat will be
musk, their incense burners will be of aloes-wood. Their wives will be
al-hoor al-'iyn and they will all look alike, like their father Adam,
sixty cubits tall." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3149; Muslim, 2834)
It was narrated from Mu'aadh ibn Jabal that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The people of Paradise will
enter Paradise hairless and beardless, with kohl-rimmed eyes, all
thirty or thirty-three years old." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2545).And
Allaah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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