Islam is Green!

When I was thinking of the name for this blog “Islam’s Green” came to mind and I liked it, because it said two things in one sentence.

I’m a Green. That’s my family name. So I’m a Green that belongs to Islam. Then of course Islam is Green. Green is, at least according to some, the colour of Islam, but more importantly here Islam is a religion that naturally teaches the human how to live in harmony with the natural world. This is not something contrived or forced upon us, but an inevitable extension of living the Islamic way of life.

I remember some years back when I was working as a cabbie for Badgers of Battersea, I had a passenger who I was dropping off to Heathrow who I came to find out was part of the senior management of Greenpeace.

“I have to say, I really respect you guys. Some of the stuff you do to raise awareness is amazing.”

“Well, thanks, that’s nice of you to say so.”

“No I mean it. The environment is such an important issue. The way our planet is being destroyed with Global warming, pollution of seas and atmosphere, destruction of species…It’s an issue we have to deal with.”

“Of course, that’s what Greenpeace is all about!”

“Yea, sure, but you know I actually think you guys are part of the problem not part of the cure!”

Up until this moment my passenger had been sitting relaxed in the back, but now he sat up. I could see the shock on his face.

“What do mean?” He looks puzzled.

“Well all the stuff you guys do as brave as it is is just dealing with issues. Save the whale, save the rain forest, stop dumping hazardous chemicals, but these are symptoms of the disease. You make people think that by stopping these things they are going to make a difference. So they donate some money, think they are doing something for the environment, but all the while the real disease, the cancer is still eating away. You’re part of the problem because you cover the symptoms, but it means the root problem is ignored.”

“Well, what is the real problem?”

“It’s the way we live. It’s the ideal of consumerism, that by and through material things, we are taught, that this is the way to happiness. This is the real disease.”

“Well I agree, in fact we are beginning to discuss exactly these issues, but what is your solution then?”

“Well I know that this is going to sound unlikely, but I believe that the solution is the religion of Islam!”

“Go on…”

“It’s because we have turned away from our Creator, lost our purpose our souls seek satisfaction in the material. But we can never find it there, so we consume more and more, hoping that if I just have this or that then I’ll be happy, but we are never fulfilled. I’m sure you know better than me that it’s our Western consumer societies that are destroying the world, causing the pollution and destruction.  It’s only when we understand the true purpose of our life and surrender to the will of our Creator can we find true happiness. Just see how everything follows the laws and patterns and systems laid down for them by the wise Creator. They all submit to God. It is only when we too follow the guidance and system and patterns laid down for us by the Creator can we also be in harmony with the Universe and world around us.

Also, Islam teaches that we are responsible and accountable for everything we do. Our bodies, our health, our lives, our wealth, the planet and all that is in it has been entrusted to us, and Allah is going to ask us about what we done with it. This is the real solution. We have to change completely the way we think!”

We arrive at the airport.

“I wish you we driving me up to Scotland because I could really talk to you all day!” He says. I smile. Well that's how the conversation went, more or less. It was about ten years ago!

 

Just by being Muslim you are already on the first and most important step to being truly "green". You know that this word is a test, a prison for the believer. You know that in good deeds and obeying your Lord and seeking His pleasure is the real path to happiness and success, and as you live that and feel that you become content with what Allah has provided you and are happy with what suffices.

This is of course only the beginning. Part of being a Muslim is being conscious, aware and realising that one is accountable. We have the cure, but that doesn’t mean we should forget to clear up the symptoms!

So from time to time you are going to find here some tips on living a sustainable lifestyle and some practical steps you can take that inshallah will also make your deen better. We always say it, it's become a cliché. We don't have a religion we have a way of life! Cliché or not, it's true. Islam, the deen, should permeate every moment of our existence. There is nothing that we think or say or do, but it should come to our mind "Is this pleasing to Allah or not?"

"What are the consequences for me on the day I meet Allah?" "What will my Lord say to me, how will I answer for this when the deeds are laid bare?"

Last summer the Rev. Ian Johnson, the Rector of Southampton spent a week with us in the mosque, and amongst the many things that we found we had in common was the realisation that both our faiths demanded a commitment to sustainability. He's caused quite a stir amongst his elderly parishioners by berating them for the waste they cause, and he mentioned that the average Muslim household in his area produces less than half the waste compared to white communities. The reason is because they tend shop locally, buy in bulk and purchase fresh fruit and veg from stalls. All this means they don't accumulate all the packaging, plastic wraps, polystyrene boxes etc…that one inevitably picks up from supermarkets. Muslims tend to reuse more and throw away less. Why should it not be like that?  It should be normal for us to visit our local halal butcher, to get as much produce from our Muslim brothers as possible,  to support their business rather than spend our money in huge supermarkets.  This also means we tend to walk, not drive to the shops, and then there is always the added benefit of spreading the  salams.  As the Messenger told us: "You will not enter paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you how to increase the love between each other. Increase the greetings of salams ."  Umar used to go to markets just to greet the people there!

It always shocks me to see how much food people leave and throw away. We know from our deen that wasting food is feeding Shaitaan, and that Allah warns us of wastefulness in the Quran and that spendthrifts are the brothers of Shaitaan. So a Muslim even remotely aware of their deen, will feel a tug at their conscience at producing waste.

One of the sustainability buzz words flying around at the moment is your "footprint." It relates to the impact that you leave on the planet, the environmental damage that you cause and are responsible for.

Try these sites and see what sort of impact you are making on the planet:

http://www.myfootprint.org/

This will tell you that if every one lived like you how many planets would be need to sustain such a life style.

For your carbon footprint try this fun and informative  questionare:

http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9008204&contentId=7015209

Just make sure you read the little note at the end about what actually constitutes a tonne of carbon.

Shocking, even if my results were just below the UK average!

some ideas on how to reduce you footprint from Jack of UEA (see blog Beyond Misconceptions:)

www.Flyless.info - How and why to travel the world without flying.

May Allah help us to live in obedience to Him. Ameen

 

Comments

[Yahya]

likin that article, cool pic aswell!! im ok with my results (ignorin the fact that if every1 lived like me we would need 1.4 earths), i hav a carbon footprint of 5 tonnes, nearly half the U.K. average (again, ignorin the fact that im 15, and therefore dont own a car, and walk quite a bit... allthough i do travel around 5 and a half miles a day by bus). not bad 'eh? any1 wanna compare? wat about u Green? c'mon! lets c wat u got! *

* i dont realy know enough about football to review the game with the lads, but i do like it, n have 2 vent my competative spirit somehow. sorry. :)

[Yahya]

i just got checked 4 robotism... does that just apply 2 automated computers, or automated ppl aswell? has ur own 'land of the living dead' concept got a little out of hand, ARG? i think SUM1 has been readin 2 many goosebump stories before bed!

ARG comment: bro, you totally lost me there! Who checked you for robotism, and what is that, and who is SUM1?

[Yahya]

ur 'plz type 2 make sure not auto comp' thing cheked me, robotism is the act of bein a robot, and SUM1 is u (SOMEONE). ahh well. it was kinda funny in my mind. barakallah fiqh.

Yahya.

[Leena J.]

This is a great post. Much love from a fellow Green Muslim. :-)

ARG comment:I love your pics, especially the macro's. Thumbs up for managing to be a veggie and a Muslim!

[Jack]

Great post ARG, very interesting to read the Islamic perspective on this- it does make a lot of sense.

The comments on the 'ideal of consumerism' and mistaken paths to happiness are very familiar to me.

In a sense I can be positive about the destruction that's happening to our planet in that it gives us (society en-masse) a tremendous opportunity to wake up and examine what we're doing with our lives and what's really important.

The solution is, like you say, to fix the cause not the symptoms and it's most satisfying to see and understand how the all-encompassing solution is right there to see.

We adjust the paths of our lives towards a more meaningful existence. We re-examine what's important in our lives, we nurture our respect and love for each other, and ourselves, and we realise our ever-present responsibility.

The individual actions towards sustainability then become completely linked. Like you describe we buy local - for the economy and air miles, but also for the health of our communities and ourselves, to see, speak and engage with each other.

By taking a stand on the food we eat we utilise our respect- food grown without fertilizers and pesticides is healthier for us and for the land, both in terms of carbon emissions and the life and biodiversity of the hedgerows, rivers and all that surround our farms.

We respect life by rearing our animals humanely, this means our meat is more expensive- so perhaps we'll eat it less and appreciate it more, which in turn minimises our impact or 'footprint' on the planet.

By walking and cycling more we become healthier. By 'slow travelling' by train or even boat we have time to reflect, to talk and interact with other people, and again we minimise our footprint.

Even car-sharing makes sense environmentally and socially in terms of interaction. I've hitch-hiked twice in the UK in the past few weeks - once with my bicycle in tow as well.

I want to belive in and live in a world where I can trust 'strangers' to give me a lift, and give them a lift in turn.

And, of course, we find a way towards peace - commercialism and greed has bred international conflict, the 'wars for oil' rationale can be obliterated if we stand up and effectively say 'not in our name' by changing the way we live - forsaking the wanton excess that is so prevalent in our Western lives. One simple way to do this is to demand much less oil.

In doing this and in uncovering the essense and basis of what it means to be 'green' we will uncover what is really important in life: living with love, respect, peace, and, in order to get there from here, living with courage.

This is a truth of a most fundamental kind. I've been increasingly drawn to learning about Islam-thankyou ARG- (and other 'religions' to some extent) to understand the nature or basis for this truth. But that it is the truth, I have no doubt.

Perhaps more than ever in the history of humanity it is vitally important that our generation put this truth into practice.

ARG comment:
This comment deserves to be a post!

[Sister]

I think, I see everything in negative way than a positive...you see, I read your article, it was amazing...and I loved the way you spoke to Greenpeace member. One of my brother in Islam works for them....frankly goes to jail for them...you know..whichever country he goes, he never misses the jail in them :)).

But coming to the point what I noted, There is an error in your title....Am I right to inform u tat, or you wanted to leave it tat way?

ARGcomment: Inshallah, I hope your borther get rewarded with good.
Ok, where exactly is tat error!! oopps. Sorry about all the typos and errors in my works. I have mild dyslexia.

[Umm Ibrahim]

MashaAllah, great post.

Alhamdulilah, my family and I have been recycling for a few years now. It helps that our council send a van round to our area to collect and recycle paper-products. Everything else we just give to our local Muslim charity shop, or send to not-so well-off relatives abroad. Maybe its an idea to have a similar Muslim service, whereby someone comes round to your home and collects the things you dont need. I know my family have loaadsss of brand-new (un-opened) items at home. Even some of my friends have told me theyve got clothes and handbags theyve never even worn, or used. Astagfirullah. I know it would be time-consuming, but perhaps once every 6 months or so, a brother with a van (bit like Del-Boy, but with a conscience :D) could drive around his local area and pick stuff up from ppls homes and drop it off at a local charity shop, or arrange to have it taken to poorer countries.

Im sure many of us have books from our childhood days and from college/uni: so maybe donate them to a Muslim school (theyre usually in need of books for their students).

Another thing i do is re-use envelopes (only when i send things to ppl i know well tho, i wouldnt recommend it if you're sending some official documentation to someone important).

Also, encouraging resturaunts and takeaways to use less disposable containers and cutlery. My mother's always told me tht putting hot food into polystyrene (cups/plates, etc) is very bad for ones health, as the residue from such containers invariably gets into the food or drink. In fact, im thinking of taking a china plate with me whenever i go out to eat :)

I suppose all these things require EFFORT on our part. Im sure theres much we could do to help change things, we just need to find that "get-up-and-go".

ARGcomment: masahllah..lots of good ideas there!
Yes in the end it all about convenience, but is our fast life style really any better in the end?

[Umm Khulood]

Bism Illah wa as salaamu alaikum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatuh.

Masha'Allah, finally I'm finding like minded Muslims on this issue. Ive been promoting going back to the Sunnah for the past few years in our lifestyle and food, which is effectively "green living." In fact, I've written so much to my sisters about the earth and our bodies being an amanah from Allah, azza wa jal, and being accountable for everything we do to them, that I imagine they roll their eyes by now. As I witness the continued distance from the real Sunnah, I become very frustrated with us as an Ummah. I recently did a post about all this, which you may appreciate. It is a wake up call, if you will. May Allah open our eyes and minds to the reality and impact of our decisions and actions - ameen.
_________

Non-Muslim Sunnah

Why are all the non-Muslims raving about the Sunnah?

What, you ask? Is there a group of non-Muslims that have learned about the Sunnah and love it? No. There are masses of non-Muslims who swear by living the Sunnah - but they don't know it is the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet. They just know it is the best way to live.

So, I ask you...why do they know and practise, and we don't?

Why is it that when you go to the doctor, they tell you to eat whole, unrefined grains, natural foods, fruits, vegetables, like olive oil? Sunnah food! We are warned day in day out about avoiding chemical-laden, refined and processed foods like white sugar, white flour, white rice, etc? Why are they telling us to use honey, which we have ahadith and Quran ayaat about? Why are they giving us tips about how to eat mindfully, when we have extensive ahadith about the etiquettes of eating that tell us these things?

Why is it that the Green Revolution is telling us to build houses out of earth, just as they built the first masjid in Madinah? In the secular world, we are reminded that every day is Earth Day. In Islam, every day IS Earth Day because we have been given this earth as an amanah (trust) from Allah. They tell us not to use dangerous and harmful chemicals...subhaan Allah, it's as if they read the ayaat in the Quran "and do not destroy yourselves."

We turn up our noses at the "primitive" squat toilets used in the Middle East, but the west says that they are the healthiest toilets to use for proper elimination and even sell steps to use in front of western toilets to give the same effect of crouching. Subhaan Allah! We are even told that conventional toilets are a huge waste and composting toilets are the way to secure our earth's future.

Just go online and you will see articles and blogs about giving up material things, getting rid of the clutter. Non-Muslims are raving about the virtues and value of giving up unnecessary things to better appreciate what is important in life. So now, we have non-Muslims taking practical steps towards Az-Zuhd, while we are out shopping and filling our homes.

Non-Muslims are recycling, living for a year without throwing anything away to see how they can reduce their impact on the earth. They have gone back to the materials used in the time of the Prophet - iron, steel, glass, pottery - and shunned the plastic, aluminum, and teflon found to be so dangerous to our health. They even went back to the Sunnah in the cloth they use - cotton, hemp, linen, wool, silk, leather, while we buy Japanese polyester abayas and thobes.

Frankly, I think we look like a bunch of fools. What have we come to that the rest of the world is doing what was sent us by Allah, in the form of our Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and his Sunnah, as the best example of how to live?