1

Greening Our Deen

Consume less Conserve more Care for the environment

) (
Praise be to God, 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). I bear witness that there is no deity, no object worthy of any act of worship except Allah, the One without any partners, associates or equals. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

You who believe, be mindful of God, as is His due, and make sure you devote yourselves to Him, to your dying moment. (Quran 3: 102).

People, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and from it
2

created its mate, and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another. Beware of severing the ties of kinship: God is always watching over you. (Quran 4:1).

) ( )(
Believers, be mindful of God, speak in a direct fashion and to good purpose, and He will put your deeds right for you and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys God and His Messenger will truly achieve a great triumph. (Quran 33: 70-71). -- &&& -Todays Khutbah is dedicated to the Green Khutbah Campaign which aims to mobilize Muslims to become responsible stewards of the environment by caring for all of God's creations. The Green Khutbah Campaign, which coincides with Earth Day 2013, is asking all of us to join the growing world-wide movement of Muslims who are returning to a simpler lifestyle with a 3 Cs action plan - consuming less, conserving more and caring for the environment. We will look to the Islamic principles to 'Green Our Deen' and promote greater environmental awareness. This day is also is a time for us to reflect on the fragility and fine balance of the universe and to remind us to be good stewards of Gods creation.
3

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 2:164); "in the changing of the winds," (Quran 2:164); "in the mountains over you (Quran 2:63); in the birds with wings outspread, (Quran 24:41); in the gardens, springs (Quran 26:147) we cannot be but awe struck by these Quranic descriptions of Creation. But . We are failing this Trust from Allah. We are failing in our stewardship of the planet, upsetting the balance of the environment. Our affluence and extravagant lifestyle comes at a high environmental cost. Our consumption, indeed overconsumption, has done a great wrong and a great injustice to the planet. Human beings are defiling Allahs creation - from our use of water to our extraction of fossil fuels to our creation of vast amounts of waste. The Earth is warming and we, humans, are the cause - that's the overwhelming and undeniable conclusion of scientists.

Our actions are not only threatening our own health and quality of life but our future generations.

)(
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) The environmental crisis is not just a scientific problem or an environmental one but the result of a deep, inner crisis of the soul - it is a moral issue. 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 will be doing this today by looking to these sources to understand what it means to live a Green Deen. Let us be reminded that . Islam is based on the understanding that Allah is One (Tawhid), and everything comes from Allah He is the Creator and Sustainer. Everything in the natural world is a sign (Ayat) of Allahs creation. Islam seeks for us to establish justice (Adl) and to maintain the Earths delicate balance (Mizan).
5

We are required to honor the trust we have with Allah (amana) and be stewards of the Earth (Khalifah).

The six principles of a Green Deen, which many scholars and Muslim environmentalists have studied and discussed, are covered in the book Green Deen What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet by Ibrahim AbdulMatin. This years Green Khutbah Campaign is based on the principles in this excellent book. What are the six principles of a Green Deen? 1. Living a Green Deen means recognizing that Allah is the One God who is the Creator and Sustainer of everything (Tawhid) - that He created us and the natural world and the universe.

)(
Everything in the heavens and on earth, everything between them, everything beneath the soil, belongs to Him. (Quran 20:6). 2. Living a Green Deen means seeing everything in the natural world as a sign (Ayat) of our Creator.

)(
6

There truly are signs in the creation of the heavens and earth, and in the alternation of night and day, for those with understanding. (Quran 3:190). 3. Living a Green Deen means understanding that Allah created us directly from the Earth and we must be stewards of the earth (Khalifa) - taking care of it, protecting it and managing it in a sustainable way.

)(
It is He who made you successors on the earth and raises some of you above others in rank, to test you through what He gives you [Prophet], your Lord is swift in punishment, yet He is most forgiving and merciful. (Quran 6:165). 4. Living a Green Deen means knowing that we have undertaken a trust (Amana) with our Creator to protect the planet.

)(
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). 5. Living a Green Deen means treating the Earth like a mosque and the natural world with fairness and justice (Adl).
7


God commands justice, doing good. (Quran 16: 90).

You who believe, uphold justice.. (Quran 4: 135). 6. Living a Green Deen means recognizing and respecting the perfect balance (Mizan) that Allah has created the universe with and living in balance with the natural world.

) ( ) ( )( ) ( )( )( )( )(
He created man and taught him to communicate. The sun and the moon follow their calculated courses; the plants and the trees submit to His designs; He has raised up the sky. He has set the balance so that you may not exceed in the balance: weigh with justice and do not fall short in the balance. (Quran 55: 3 10). These 6 principles for a Green Deen are reminding us that to be a Muslim means affirming the integral relationship between our faith and the natural world.

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 al-mastur). We cannot be Muslim without a connection to all of creation. We cannot be Muslim without being responsible stewards of the environment by caring for all of Allah's creations. Although the evidence of environmental damage is stronger than ever, the public is starting to tune out due to the recent economic crisis and a lack of political leadership. Recent findings, which were gathered by a GlobeScan Radar annual tracking poll, show that concerns about the environment have reached a two-decade low since the start of the financial crisis. But Muslims cannot tune out from the environmental damage. It is a matter of faith tuning out would mean that we are disregarding our moral responsibility to Allahs creation. 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).
9

The corrupters (mufsidin fil-Ard) abuse the Trust (amana) and are in clear contrast to the stewards of the earth (khulafa fil-Ard). As such, we must be, not just friends of the earth, but its guardians. Let us supplicate .. O Allah, forgive us for every blessing which You bestowed upon us but which we used in disobedience to You. O Allah, we beg Your forgiveness for those of our words which have not been matched by our deeds. -- &&& -PART 2: Conserve More Consume Less Care for the Environment 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. The environmental crisis is asking us to look at ourselves - how we act, behave and live. This years Green Khutbah Campaign, is requesting each one of us to live a simple, sustainable lifestyle by committing to follow the 3 C action plan: 1) Consume less
10

2) Conserve more and 3) Care for the environment Let us resist the consumer-based culture and thinking that seeks to preoccupy and distract us in a vicious cycle of consumption.

) ( ) (
Striving for more distracts you until you go into your graves. (Quran 102, 1- 2). We must resist 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). Living simply is the Islamic way.

..but do not be wasteful: God does not like wasteful people. (Quran 6: 141).
11


..and eat and drink[as We have permitted] but do not be extravagant: God does not like extravagant people. (Quran 7:31). Consuming less is the Prophetic example. The Prophet, peace be on him, said: No man fills a vessel worse than his stomach. A few mouthfuls that would suffice to keep his back upright are enough for a man. But if he must eat more, than he should fill one third (of his stomach) with food, one third with drink and leave one third for easy breathing. [Ahmad]. One area of conservation Muslim must spearhead is water conservation as water is integral to Muslim life, worship and practice.

.We made from water every living thing (21:30). Here are a few practical suggestions to help us conserve water Turn the water off while you are brushing your teeth or making wudu. Do not let water run continuously. Have a shorter shower. Ensure that you turn the taps off tightly to avoid dripping. Turn the temperature on your water heater down.
12

Other simple suggestions which are easy to implement. Reduce waste by ensuring that your household is implementing a recycling program. Find further uses for things instead of just discarding them. Re-use items. Save items that you will use again. Be consumer wise buy in bulk to reduce waste. Purchase products and services from companies that are environmentally conscious. Purchase products that have been recycled or are recyclable. Living a sustainable life means conserving more. Save energy by turning off lights when you leave a room. Ensure that windows and door frames are sealed properly to avoid heat or cool air from escaping. These seemingly small steps will lead you down the road to becoming an ecoconscious Muslim and live a Green Deen. We conclude with a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, that is a most striking statement in the religious traditions about the environment.

13

This tradition summarizes the ethical position of Islam 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. " (Imam Ahmad, Al Bukhari in Al Adab Al Mufrad (479)). -- &&& -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, peace be on him. -- &&& -References: Abdul Matin, Ibrahim (2010). Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Protecting the Planet. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Abdel Haleem M.A.S (2005). The Qur'an. Oxford University Press. Environmental Concerns "At Record Lows": Global Poll (2013). Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://www.globescan.com/commentary-and-analysis/press-releases/pressreleases-2013/261-environmental-concerns-at-record-lows-global-poll.html Other useful resources: http://khaleafa.com/greenkhutbah/

14