{"id":114976,"date":"2022-12-01T21:42:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T21:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/?p=114976"},"modified":"2022-12-02T09:27:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T09:27:23","slug":"saving-planet-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/2022\/12\/01\/saving-planet-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Planet Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Saving-Planet-Earth.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-114982\" src=\"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Saving-Planet-Earth-266x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"266\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Saving-Planet-Earth-266x300.jpg 266w, https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Saving-Planet-Earth-332x374.jpg 332w, https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Saving-Planet-Earth.jpg 423w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Khutbah: Saving Planet Earth<\/p>\n<p><em>Arshad Gamiet Friday 2<sup>nd<\/sup> December 2022<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cA-\u016bthubill\u0101hi minash shay<\/em><em>\u1e6d<\/em><em>\u0101nir raj\u012bm.\u00a0Bismill\u0101hir Rahm\u0101nir Rah\u012bm<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Alhamdu lil L\u0101hi nahmaduhu wanasta\u2019eenahu, wanastagh-firuh\u016b, wanat\u016bbu ilayhi, wana\u2019\u016bthu Bill\u0101hi min shur\u016bri an-fusin\u0101, wamin sayyi \u0101ti a\u2019m\u0101lin\u0101. May- Yahdil-lahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falantajid\u0101 lahu wal\u012byan murshid\u0101. Wa ash-hadu an L\u0101-il\u0101ha ill-All\u0101h, wahdah\u016b l\u0101 shar\u012bkalah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan \u2018abduh\u016b waras\u016bluh<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All Praise is due to All\u00e1h, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by All\u00e1h\u00a0is truly guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but All\u00e1h, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.<\/p>\n<p><em>Bismill\u0101hir Ra<\/em><em>\u1e25<\/em><em>m\u0101nir Ra<\/em><em>\u1e25<\/em><em>\u012bm! Y\u0101 Ay-yuhal-lath\u012bna \u2018\u0101manut taqul-l\u0101ha, <\/em><em>\u1e25<\/em><em>aqqa tuq\u0101tih\u012b wal\u0101tam\u016b tun-na, il-l\u0101 wa-antum Muslim\u016bn.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><u>O You who believe, \u2013 be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, and die not except as Muslims.<\/u><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cY\u0101 Ay-yuhal-lath\u012bna \u0101manut taqul-l\u0101ha, waq\u016bl\u016b qawlan sad\u012bd\u0101. Yuslih-lakum a\u2019m\u0101lakum wayaghfir lakum thun\u016bbakum, wamay yu\u2019-til-l\u0101ha waRas\u016blah\u016bu, faqad f\u0101za fawzan ath\u012bm\u0101.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><u>O You who believe, \u2013 Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.<\/u><\/p>\n<p>In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa\u2019, Allah says:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cY\u0101 ay-yhan n\u0101sut-taq\u016b Rabbukumul lath\u012b khalaqakum min nafsin w\u0101hidati(n) wa khalaqa minh\u0101 zawjah\u0101 wabath-thamin hum\u0101\u00a0 rij\u0101lan kath\u012bran wanis\u0101-\u0101. Wat-taqul-L\u0101hal lath\u012b tas\u0101-al\u016bna bih\u012bwalarh\u0101m. Innal L\u0101ha k\u0101na \u2018alaykum raq\u012bb\u0101.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c<\/em>O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;\u2015 Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.<\/p>\n<p>My Dear Sisters and Brothers,<\/p>\n<p>Last week\u2019s Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt involved a lot of talk, but once again it made very little progress. After many years of conferences like this one, the rich nations who consume the most and pollute the most, are still unwilling to pay their fair share to put things right. It\u2019s the poor nations who consume the least and who pollute the least who suffer the most.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, the effects of climate change are getting more extreme. Floods, landslides, drought and forest fires are driving millions from their homes. The world\u2019s refugee population, already swelled by war and now by climate breakdown, \u00a0has grown to around 90 million. That\u2019s about one and a half times the UK population. Clearly, it seems that we\u2019re doing something wrong and planet Earth is complaining. But are we listening? Are we taking responsibility for our actions?<\/p>\n<p>For today\u2019s khutbah, I\u2019ve chosen some verses that clearly address the subject of our environmental crisis. These verses explain the role of human beings in the grand scheme of things. They urge us to faithfully discharge the honour, the Trust that we have been given by All\u0101h to be good custodians, good stewards of all that our planet Earth has to offer, In Sura Al Baqara we read:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>And when your Lord said unto the angels: Behold! I am about to place a <em>khal\u012bfah<\/em> on the earth, they said: Will You place therein one who will do harm and will shed blood, while we sing Your praises and sanctify You? He said: Surely I know what\u00a0 you do not know<\/u>.\u201d (Quran 2:30)<\/p>\n<p>In another chapter, the Quran declares:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWa laqad karamna Bani Adam\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation<\/u>.\u201d (Quran 17:70)<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid of this Trust: but Man undertook it;- He was indeed unjust and foolish.\u201d<\/u>\u00a0(Quran 33:72)<\/p>\n<p>In chapter 36, Yaseen, the Noble Quran reminds us;<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSub\u2019h\u0101nal lath\u012b khalaqal azw\u0101ja kul-lah\u0101 mim-m\u0101 tun bitul ard, wamin an fusi him wa mim m\u0101 l\u0101 ya\u2019alam\u016bn.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge<\/u>.\u201d\u00a0(Quran 36:36)<\/p>\n<p>That evocative and lyrical chapter known as\u00a0<em>Sura\u00a0<\/em>Al Rahman, The All Merciful, begins like this:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>Allah, The Most Merciful! It is He Who taught the Qur&#8217;an. He created human beings: He taught them speech (and intelligence). The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed; And the herbs and the trees \u2013 both (alike) bow in adoration. And the heavens has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), In order that you may not transgress the balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance. It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures: Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes (enclosing dates); Also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants. Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?<\/u><\/p>\n<p><em>(Fa bi ayyi \u0101l\u0101 iRabbi hum\u0101 tukath- thib\u0101n?)\u00a0<\/em>(Quran 55:1-13)<\/p>\n<p>My dear brothers and sisters, I think these verses speak for themselves. They don\u2019t need my explanation. Allah has conferred on us a great honour to be the Trustees of planet Earth. But in\u00a0<em>Sura Al Ruum,<\/em>\u00a0Allah also warns us about misusing and abusing His sacred Trust:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Dhaharal fas\u0101du fil barri wal bahri bim\u0101 kasabat aydin n\u0101s\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned, so He (Allah) may let them taste some of [the consequence of] what they have done, that perhaps they will return [to right conduct].\u201d<\/u>\u00a0(Quran 30:41)<\/p>\n<p>My dear brothers and sisters:<\/p>\n<p>Bear in mind that these verses were revealed by the Angel, Gabriel, to Prophet Muhammad, 1,400 years ago. They do indeed speak to us, as if they were revealed only yesterday!. The lesson is clear: To deal with our climate crisis, food insecurity, species extinction and ecological disaster, we must change our personal habits. We must change our attitude, change our lifestyle. We must stop being so wasteful. We have to stop treating Planet Earth as if it\u2019s just another giant shopping mall orbiting the sun!<\/p>\n<p>Islam not only explains our role as human beings in our precarious relationship as stewards of the environment. Islam also provides us with practical advice. It shows us how we can fulfil our God-given role as caretakers of Planet Earth, in a way that is sustainable for future generations.<\/p>\n<p>One simple example: Don\u2019t waste water. Prophet Muhammad was standing next to one of his companions, who was washing himself, preparing for prayers. He reminded his companion not to waste water. His companion asked,\u00a0<u>\u201cEven if I\u2019m using water from a river<\/u>? The Prophet replied:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>Don\u2019t waste water, even if you\u2019re by a river<\/u>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My Dear Sisters and Brothers, let\u2019s remember that good advice.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAlhamdu lillahi Rabbil \u2018Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-\u2018alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma\u2019een.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ammaa ba\u2019ad:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cInnall\u00e1ha wa malaaikata yusall\u00fana alan nabi. Y\u00e1 ay yuhal latheena \u00e1manu sall\u00fa alayhi wasalli m\u00fa tas leema. Allahumma salli al\u00e1 Muhammad, wa ala \u00e1li Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim.\u00a0Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil \u00e1la meen, innaka hameedun majeed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAllah and His angels send greetings on Prophet Muhammad, O you who believe, send greetings on him, and salute him with a worthy salutation! O Allah, send peace on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent peace on Abraham and his family. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent blessings on Abraham and his family. In both worlds, You are Praiseworthy and Exalted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Second Khutbah:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSoob\u2019 h\u0101nall\u0101hi wal hamdu lill\u0101h, wal\u0101 hawla wal\u0101 quwwata ill\u0101h bill\u0101h yu althi yual th\u012bm\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><u>Glory to Allah!\u00a0 Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>My dear sisters and brothers,<\/p>\n<p>As a great teacher and exemplar, Prophet Muhammad lived and ate very frugally. He advised us that the worst thing we can fill is our stomach. In a well known Hadith, he said that we should only fill one third with food, one third with water, and leave one third empty. Nowadays, with growing problems of obesity and diabetes, medical professionals confirm that this is really good advice. \u00a0It\u2019s a simple matter of priorities. Before we buy something, let\u2019s ask ourselves: \u201cAm I fulfilling a Need, or just Greed? Need must always prevail over greed. That\u2019s why, fasting is so important. If we can control our appetite for food, it becomes a lot easier to control our appetite for so many other things\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>On planting trees, Prophet Muhammad said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>The Earth is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you his stewards over it. The whole earth has been created a place of worship, pure and clean. Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded. If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and humans and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is love on his part, an enduring charity<\/u>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Again, on planting trees and keeping focussed on our duty, even in times of calamity, he said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<u>If the day of Judgement comes upon you while you are holding a little seedling in your hand, then go ahead and plant it<\/u>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (Saheeh Muslim)<\/p>\n<p>In other words, Don\u2019t panic. Be Islamic! Trust Allah. Love, worship and adore Him.\u00a0<em>Biyadikal khair,\u00a0<\/em>Says the Quran: In His Hand is all good. History is safe in His hands! He is our generous Landlord who has entrusted us with the keys to His property. We are the tenants. We\u2019ll be held to account. We have to treat all the other tenants well. The other tenants are: fellow human beings, the animals, the plants, the soil, the water we drink and the air we breathe. We enjoy all this as a gift from the Generous Life-Giver. We abuse it to our own peril.<\/p>\n<p>Islam invites us to treat every human being, every animal, plant and natural resource with respect. When we do so, we show a courtesy to our Generous Benefactor. In Islam, sharing the earth\u2019s resources in an environmentally sustainable and responsible way isn\u2019t just a catchy slogan. It\u2019s a moral obligation, a spiritual imperative.<\/p>\n<p>My dear sisters and brothers; let us fulfil this awesome responsibility of caring properly for our living environment. Let\u2019s avoid waste. Buy and use only what we need. Our needs are limited. Our desires are endless\u2026 So, let\u2019s take control of our desires and keep them in check. Avoid waste, and be conscious of the impact our actions have on others, not only now, but in the years to come.<\/p>\n<p>Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:<\/p>\n<p><em>InnaAll\u0101ha, Yamuru bil \u2018adel, wal ihs\u0101n, wa \u012bt\u0101-i zil qurb\u0101; wa yanh\u0101 anil fuhsh\u0101-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-kar\u016bn. (Sura 16:90),<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fadth kur\u016bn\u012b adth kurkum, wash kur\u016bl\u012b wal\u0101 tak fur\u016bn [2:152].<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-L\u0101hu ya\u2019lamu m\u0101 tasna\u2019\u016bn.\u201d [29:45].<\/em><\/p>\n<p><u>\u201cSurely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.\u201d<\/u><\/p>\n<p>(Allah says),\u00a0<u>\u201cand remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.\u201d<\/u><\/p>\n<p><u>\u201cand without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.<\/u>\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Am\u012bn.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aq\u012bmus sal\u0101h<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Last week\u2019s Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt involved a lot of talk, but once again it made very little progress. After many years of conferences like this one, the rich nations who consume the most and pollute the most, are still unwilling to pay their fair share to put things right. It\u2019s the poor nations who consume the least and who pollute the least who suffer the most.,,&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,45,46,11,43,12],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-114976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-good-character","category-current-affairs-and-politics","category-inspiring-feel-good-khutbahs","category-khutbah-type","category-short-khutbah","category-text-khutbah","tag-arshad-gamiet","column","twocol","has-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114976"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114984,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114976\/revisions\/114984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khutbahbank.org.uk\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}