Suleiman Hani – Islam & The Environment

			There are countless topics we could address every Friday hopeless topics that we are in need of in
terms of a reminder in terms of the state of the heart in terms of the state of society, in terms of
our families and relationships, in terms of ethics and morality in terms of causes and campaigns of
injustice or oppression or hardship all around the world in countless places.
		

			But of course, with limited time, we must always choose one or two topics, for the sake of the
betterment of our community in one way or another.
		

			And I want you to imagine, if you will,
		

			in the Euro 1520, proximately, 500 years ago, in the Euro 1520, an ottoman young man
		

			took the reins of leadership,
		

			came to the throne and became the sole pawn of the Ottoman Empire.
		

			And his name was Sudha, Eman al pannone Solomon, the law giver.
		

			And in Western academia, so the man the magnificence, he was the longest ruling Sultan of the
Ottoman Empire. I went to imagine years before that, as a child.
		

			had he taken something that we see today, as simple as a plastic bag,
		

			or a plastic bottle of water.
		

			And got rid of it
		

			in a way that was not suitable for the environment, got rid of it by littering got rid of it,
throwing it into the oceans,
		

			that it would have taken almost 500 years if not longer, according to some studies. During our times
that same plastic bag, that same bottle of water thrown and decompose in the wrong way would finally
disintegrate 500 years for a single plastic bank. And again, possibly longer.
		

			And if we think about the consumption of plastics around the world, and the use of different
materials around the world, almost 500 billion bottles of water globally, if not more, billions of
bags, just in the United States on an annual basis, if not more,
		

			and the way that they are treated, the way that we think about the way that we are or are not
mindful of these ingredients of these chemicals of these tools of the supplies that we have, that
often times are made for comfort and convenience in one place in the world, without any regard
whatsoever to what it's doing to the earth, to the environment, and not just to the Earth itself, to
think of it as something that we are caretakers of but to all future generations of people who live
on this earth. That the ripple effect of one bad action this world can be seen and observed 500
years later, it can be seen and observed 1000 years later. If we think about the intertwining the
		

			interconnectedness, a little play about the tying in together, of countless factors in the universe,
with every single moment that you are living, interacting, breathing, even sleeping, there is
something of a ripple effect. And there are many things happening behind the scenes. And this is one
topic that is separate from our main discussion today. That the tying in of everything in the
universe and every potential ripple effect from your actions and decisions today should also give
you comfort when it comes to suffering, that there are wisdoms beyond our imagination and Silver
Linings beyond our imagination that outweigh one moment in which suffering was experienced in one
		

			place in the world. But in terms of our topic, I want you to fast forward from that incident that
moment in 15 2500 years ago. Fast forward to your 2003
		

			in which there was the hottest heatwave in Europe. For the last 500 years. 70,000 people died during
that heatwave. And during that Heatwave, almost 10% of the agriculture of the European Union was
destroyed again, a source of livelihood living a source of benefit for people. And during a study
that you're after that in looking at human activity in post industrial societies since the 1850s
onwards, in looking at human activity, the researchers concluded that our activity doubled sometimes
tripled, the risk that we would experience and the harm that we would experience
		

			With a heatwave, like the one that we saw in 2003, and that's just one incidence. That's one
example. Today, people are looking at numerous examples around the world. And we have current events
right now, around the world locally and globally, in terms of the effects of climate change and the
effects of destroying the environment that we are as Muslims supposed to be preserving, and
caretaking. When we think about some of these risks, and we say our earth is at risk, a person might
wonder, someone here might wonder, someone listening might wonder, why is this topic that important
that we have to address it, and a Friday, whatever.
		

			And if we're not aware, we should be aware,
		

			because it's an opportunity for us to solve a problem and to prevent something worse from happening.
If you don't think that environment is something Muslims should care about, and there's something
missing in your understanding of Islam. And I hope and I pray that that's not the case, that we are
all aware that there are within our disciplines our studies in terms of Islam, just in the field of
ethics and morality, different disciplines that benefit from a discussion on ethics. For example, in
the ninth century, some scholars started publishing writings on this is the third century of the
hijra, started writing on ethics in the economy, economic ethics or justice. And in that same
		

			century, some of the physicians who put forth some of the groundwork and develop some of the
scientific fields that we have today, again, contributions from some of the greatest Muslims of that
time, wrote about medical ethics as well, amongst many other topics,
		

			the field of environmental ethics did not really fully manifest until the last 100 years. Why
because of the damage that clearly we are causing to the environment. Why, because of the post
industrial societies that we live in. And of course, this varies from place to place and person to
person. If you go online and do some basic research, if you've never done this before, if you've
never heard about this before, if you've never come across a single reference to some of the damage
that we are causing to the world and to the changes in climate around the world, then look into it.
That's not something that today we should be unaware of, especially as Muslim Americans.
		

			We find, for example, the rise in global temperature year after year, and that in the last 20 years,
we have 17 of the 18 hottest years on record. We have almost every year in the last two decades,
something that's happening of an extreme weather event that is clearly rising and increasing due to
the again activities of humans around the world. And oftentimes when we talk about these examples,
and the warming of the oceans, that melting of the ice sheets, to the extent that Greenland and the
Arctic, glaciers and and Arctic are melting in a way that obviously would give a rise to sea levels
and affect people in different places around the world and lead to an increase in flooding, and so
		

			on and so forth. A person might again wonder, what can I possibly do?
		

			Why should I care? Why should Muslims be aware and what can I possibly do? What is what is the
Islamic perspective, when we talk about the destruction of coral reefs more than 50% of which were
destroyed in the last 50 years, and more than 90% of which will be destroyed in the next few
decades? What is the point of all of this? Allah subhana wa Tada reminds us and again, this is under
the discussion on Islamic ethics and the environment. Allah subhanaw taala reminds us that we are
wholly caretakers successors, and has different connotations in different places, successors on this
earth. Allah subhanho wa Taala reminds us through the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that there
		

			are ethics when it comes to the world around us and not just human ethics or human interactions, or
contracts or finances or more ama that even when it comes to animals, yes, we believe that animals
were created for a purpose, and every animal has its own purpose. But even then, there are
conditions there are guidelines, there are requirements, there are boundaries, we cannot transgress
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam informed us in the Companions about a woman who tortured her
cat until the cat died. Basically, she she put the cat in a place in which the cat was not able to
eat until it starve to death. She tortured the cat, the Prophet sallallahu, Alison said Allah
		

			subhanaw taala punished her. Allah subhanaw taala punished her. That's a cat a single cat.
Companions were traveling for one of the expeditions passing by a tree and the Prophet sallallahu
Sallam saw a bird flying around him. And the companion is asked what's going on? And then he says
hello, I sent him who took her babies from her who took the live babies from this mother give them
back to her as a Rama for her. This is one example of many are there? Are there examples of how to
deal with animals in Islam? And do we believe that animals have a purpose and some animals can be
consumed in
		

			even then there are guidelines for the slaughtering of animals in the Most Merciful way possible.
Yes.
		

			And of course, there's an entire discussion on the guidelines and ethics and the filth of pets for
example, what about the environment? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was asked about animals
and later on the environment, is there a reward for doing good with animals? Is there a word for
being kind and just an ethical towards animals and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said
there is a reward in doing good to every living being, there is a reward. There's a goodness there's
an agent for doing good to every living beings. When we say we are caretakers on this earth law
subhanaw taala reminds us in the Quran and again this, this can be applied in many different ways
		

			when a Tutsi will fill early about the slaughterhouse do not cause corruption by the Slavia after it
was fixed after something was rectified do not cause corruption on the earth and facade here can be
as a morality, but often times again, due to our lack of development in environmental ethics as
Muslims. When we say facade and corruption, oftentimes our minds go to human behaviors with other
human beings or between them and God. And oftentimes, we forget there are rights towards other
things as well towards animals towards the environment.
		

			When Allah subhanho wa Taala reminds us about some of the harms that we experienced today and the
disasters and calamities and so on and so forth. It all goes back to the foundation of why we're
here. Why were you created? Let the holler Kalamata well Hialeah blue accom, a ucommerce anomala the
One who created death and life in order to test you to see what's best in their conduct, what is the
best of conduct and why do we experience some of the things that we experienced today things that
are increasing around the world? Allah subhanaw taala reminds us waha Alpha do feel bad the will
battery Bhima cassava ad NAS liyu. The oppo homebuilder Lydia AMILO, the alarm, your JIRA, that
		

			corruption, facade has spread in the lands and in the sea, because of what people have done because
of human free will and activity. And that's part of the test that some of us will say, Well, we're
following and doing what's right. Why is there still corruption in the world and corruption of the
very earth that we live upon? It is because of human agency. And that is a part of the test. What
will you do to respond to that corruption? What will you do to prevent it? What will you do so that
you are not a part of it? May Allah subhanaw taala protect us and guide us along that I mean, we're
living upon this earth, this blessing of an Earth for a temporary time, but we recognize that it is
		

			a place and a home for future generations as well. And we can follow through with some action some
principles number one,
		

			we should not be wasteful of any resource. Do not be wasteful with any resource. While our two
sniffle Allah says do not waste too Do not be excessive. In Allah Allah your hidden mystery fiend,
Allah subhanaw. Taala does not like the wasteful. We're living in America, in which you can order
something on your app today on your phone today, and it'll arrive to your home within an hour. You
can order something today and probably get it sooner. You order something as soon as you desire it.
We're living in a hyper consumer society in which people think that their happiness and their
validation comes through that moments that you purchase, something comes through that moment you
		

			walk into that store, and I'm not talking about needs I'm talking about once because for many
people, for many of us, it's a matter of wants and not a matter of needs. And we know this because
as Muslims, we are perhaps the most aware community of some of the hardships affecting other people
locally. And many of our brothers and sisters and family members around the world in different
countries, we are aware of that. We're aware that some people don't have even a roof over their
heads and some people don't have water that's guaranteed for that next week. We're aware that some
people are literally using water tanks clean water for one week, one month at a time until somebody
		

			from America Canada somewhere else is donating that 2030 $40 So they can have access to clean water.
We're aware of that. We're aware that some people have electricity for an hour or two a day and the
rest of the day it's caught off. There's no AC, there's nothing else and for some people, there is
no electricity. We're aware there are many homeless people around the world who would wish to have
some of the things that we throw away some of the food that our children and some of the parents
throw away as well. We're aware of that, that for many people, the waste that we have here is enough
to take care of an entire kingdom, the waste that we have in America, especially as Muslims, in
		

			which for most Muslim Americans, they are living at least at the average or above average in terms
of their income, we're aware of how much is wasted. We're aware of how much food gets thrown away.
May Allah subhanaw taala forgive us, may Allah subhanaw taala guide us may Allah Subhana Allah keep
us grateful for the blessings that we have that you want and desire something new and immediately
you throw away the old rather than recycling rather than donating rather than finding someone to
utilize to
		

			give that amount to May Allah subhanaw taala guide us and protect us from ever wasting,
		

			even water. Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed by a companion, who was making a will do.
		

			And the Prophet sallallahu sallam said, What is this excess? This wastes going above and beyond what
is necessary what is the success? And the companion sounded on the hola Juan he said yellow sola is
there excess with the water in willowblue? Is there such a thing as wasting water when you're making
a will do the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said yes, even if you are on the banks of a
flowing river, meaning even if you had as much water as you needed, and you were in a river on the
banks of a river, yes, there is such thing as access in will do Subhanallah you would think back
then that that example that example would be beneficial for that companion in one way. And yet for
		

			us 1000 years later, 1400 years later, it's irrelevant to us with our current systems and our
current infrastructure and so on and so forth and how we waste and utilize water. May Allah subhanaw
taala protect us from ever wasting a drop of water even while you are making will do brushing your
teeth taking a bath. Yes, there is access in that as well. Allah subhanaw taala reminds us Yeah,
Benny Adam, oh Children of Adam, all of the descendants of Adam until the end of times. Who there
was in Atacama in the Aquila masjid, in what Kulu wa shabu basically where your nice clothes when
you go to the masjid and whenever you're in a state of worship, eat and drink quinoa shootable so
		

			that is for the blessings of Allah in this world that you are given food and drink. Could you wash
it up one or two sleeve but do not waste do not go above and beyond? Do not waste do not go above
and beyond what you need in a hula your husband was sniffing Allah subhanaw taala does not like and
Muslim even when you ask what is it that I can do so that Allah will love me we have examples will
Allah who your head will solve it in and motorically and Alexa and so on and so forth. Allah does
not love those who wastes Do not be amongst those who wastes do not it for our children show and
teach and exemplify a lifestyle of easily thrown away food, like it's not a problem of easily
		

			wasting things like it's not a big deal of ordering more than you need buying more than you actually
need. May Allah subhanaw taala guide us and forgive us along I mean, number two, after emphasizing
not wasting, we emphasize another principle here, which is something as simple as our treatment and
our perspective on plants are trees, on gardens and so on and so forth, preserving them, protecting
them in certain ways and utilize them in other places around the world in different ways. Something
as simple as planting a tree or planting something in general the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam
said the one who plants a tree or sews a field and then a human bird or animal eats from it or
		

			benefits from it in some way, it will be considered as a charity from him or for her. What does this
mean? A simple act of worship that provides benefits and oxygen as well as we know today in many
other things. It's something that continues as a sort of Algeria and the believer in more than 16
variations of the Hadith in Sahih Bukhari the believer is likened to the palm tree for the benefits
that we give to the world around us and for the ongoing steadfastness as well. May Allah subhanaw
taala allow us to benefit from this reminder along the Amin number three is to also recognize the
nations of animals. Does this mean that Muslims are vegans and we believe it's haram to eat meat and
		

			so on and so forth? Absolutely not. And anyone who makes such a claim is trying to reform something
that is Puranic in terms of the Maxim's however, there are guidelines. However, there are changes in
some societies that will and should cause us to step back and think about the way that we are
consuming certain things about the way that we are treating certain things about the dangers and
harms of other things. As of today, humans are consuming more than the earth actually has meaning
what we are over consuming, and this doesn't mean the Earth doesn't have enough. That means that we
are over consuming and wasting as well. Even animals when we think of them, and the pets that you
		

			may have or your neighbors may have or your children may have Allah subhanaw taala refers to all
living beings on earth, and even the birds that fly as well in Oman, and third of them they are
nations like you. They are nations like you and of course we know they glorify Allah subhanaw taala
in ways we don't understand what I can learn of Kahuna to spear hum we don't fully understand how
they glorify in terms of the language, how they glorify Allah subhanahu wa Tada. And finally, for
our last point here, it's important for all of us to recognize that there is an Amana a
responsibility upon every one of our shoulders, old and young. People think once again, that that
		

			single bottle of water or plastic bag, that single change you made in your home. What's this going
to do when we think of all the harms and dangers at the political level? Meaning what the fact that
certain things are even legal, the fact that there are companies corporations that have billions of
dollars in the
		

			fossil fuel industry that are buying out politicians and judges and people of all at all levels,
federal and state in different states, this is known that they're bought out and they're causing
damage in a way that we think individually, we cannot change. And there's a course of action for
that as well. But Allah subhanho wa Taala does not expect us individually individually, that your
act of good is necessarily the single act that changed everything or stopped everything, but
preventing some harm is better than not preventing any harm at all. And when the Prophet salallahu
Alaihe Salam commands us to stop harm law, whenever you know, there should not be any harm or
		

			reciprocating of harm, it doesn't mean that if you're only going to make a point zero 1% chance of
change, that you should not do anything at all. Because if everyone thought like that, then nothing
will change. And if you thought like that, then you would be part of the problem that's taking
place. Rather, look at what it is that you can do for Tapachula, who must have to be mindful of
Allah to your greatest capacity? What can you change in your home, for your family, for the
organizations that you work with, or can volunteer or suggest to, we can say, number one, discuss if
you will, and if you have not to before, discuss with your family, with your children, the
		

			importance of this topic, preserving the earth is preserving potentially and protecting future
generations as well. It is part of our faith, the rights of the environment is a part of Islam. Now,
if you want to get into the deeper details of what those rights are, obviously, it's a longer
discussion. But the rights of the environment in general are rights that we care about. And there
are there are approximately 25% of the world's population, or practically 2 billion Muslims in the
world. That means that if we alone and we should be at the forefront, if we alone all took the
individual responsibility to the highest standard, we would see clear changes in society, if it's
		

			something that we became more educated about, and our communities were more involved in, in terms of
awareness in terms of actions, yes, we would see changes in the world. And we ask Allah subhanaw
taala to make us all part of that process of change and improvement along I mean, if you live with
family members, talk about what it is you can change within your home, research, do some research
online, what are some things you can change within your home so that you are disposing of things in
a better way, recycling things in a better way, utilizing things in a better way conserving and so
on and so forth? Rather than wasting? What is it that we can do when it comes to our food habits?
		

			are we throwing away any morsel of food? Are we buying so much food that some of it is spoiling and
as a result, somebody was prevented from that 510 $50 Every time that we bought food, or and I know
that this may seem insignificant to some people. But when I hear that $50 for some people is food
for an entire month. We're talking here about a NEMA a blessing that Allah gave us that if you stop
being grateful for it, you should worry that that blessing will not remain. And the one who is
grateful for it does not waste it. May Allah subhanaw taala keep us grateful. Number two, depending
on where you live, and especially for us here in Michigan, it's important for us to always be aware
		

			of politically, to be aware of certain candidates and their views on the environments, their views
on this one value of many other things as well that matter to us so that we are changing things at a
structural level. If you want to affect change at a societal level, we have to look beyond just the
family and beyond the individual unit, look at and study and understand who it is that's bought out
by the fossil fuel industry with billions of dollars. And this is not some conspiracy. This is the
reality. This is what's been exposed in the last 2030 years, look at who is bought out who's causing
more damage to our environment and our future generations and the earth and all the extreme events
		

			that we are experiencing, and look at who's not. And I ask Allah subhanaw taala to guide us to be
more involved in that process of change. And finally, number three, reach out to your local
organizations. And yes, I will voluntarily say starting with the masjid here and the messages that
are around you, starting with Islamic schools that your children go to or even the public schools
that they go to starting with a place that you work out, there is nothing embarrassing about
reaching out and asking what are some of the policies in place that will make us inshallah Tada that
will cause this organization or institution to preserve the environment more and be a little more
		

			cautious in how we do certain things. I understand. And I say this first and foremost about myself.
We're talking here about things that we are accustomed to things that are not always easy to change,
things that oftentimes a person will say are insignificant to change, or why are you making a big
deal out of something like the environment or the way that we're drinking or eating certain foods.
It's not that big of an impact. It's not that big of a deal. But if we don't think it's important,
and we don't take action, we're not solving the problem. We're not doing what we can possibly do.
And the Command of Allah is clear for top law Mr. Thought to do your best and may Allah subhanaw
		

			taala reward you for taking that step and that action and educating other people as well. And may
Allah subhanaw taala make us feel amongst those who are preserving all the blessings that we have in
this world and protecting future generations from the harm that is caused there.
		

			In our times, and may Allah subhanaw taala guide us and forgive us asking for forgiveness. He is the
Ever Merciful, the oft forgiving acquittal holding that was stuck for too long you would have
confessed video in the Hall of Fame.
		

			hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam o Allah rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi woman wa now
		

			remember, if you will, that 500 years from now, if there is silly civilization on earth, 500 years
from now, our actions will have ripple effects, 50 years, 100 years, 200 years, and every one of us
has our own life, mission and life journey and life experiences and our own stories, our own
decisions that we make on a daily basis. All I ask of my community here is for us to be a little
more aware, to make other people a little more aware, but the Islamic perspective on preserving our
Earth and preserving our societies and preserving future generations as well. Because one of the
greatest risks that yes will affect the lives of potentially millions of people in the future, is
		

			how we treat the earth. And I ask Allah subhanaw taala to guide all of us to the actions that are
best and not necessarily the most convenient, because it is difficult to make certain changes when
you're accustomed to them. And again, I say that about myself. First and foremost, it is difficult,
and some things are easier, no doubt. But what's easier is not necessarily always what's best. And
we know this as Muslims, what's easier is not necessarily what's best in every situation. So focus
on what is true, what is best what is right. And ask the Lord to guide you, your family, your
community, your local organizations, as you advise them. Ask Allah subhanaw taala to preserve us and
		

			make us part of the process of solving some of the world's problems. And rather than sitting on the
sidelines and critiquing everything else that's happening, we are doing something in this one facet
of change. And in addition to this, I remind those who came in later today that yes, there are many
important topics we can cover and we will cover every Jumar but this is one topic that's under
addressed in our communities, and it's beyond time. It's long overdue.