In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
One of the fundamental principles of Islam is that we human beings - we mortals who live on this planet we call the Earth - are God's vicegerents. That is, we have been appointed by Allah as custodians of this world of ours. We are the Khalifah of Allah on this planet which is our mortal home. This principle, and its consequences, are outlined in the noble Quran - the most central, and most sacred, reality of the Way of Life which is Al-Islam.
"Behold - your Rabb said to the Angels: 'I will create a vicegerent on Earth'." Sura 2: 30(1) (Interpretation of meaning.)
Allah has created this world, with its bounteous life, for us just as He created us, as human beings, so that we may be put to the test:
"He [Allah] created life and death that He might put you to the test and find out which of you acquitted himself best." Sura 67: 1-2. (Interpretation of meaning.)
"Every soul shall taste death. We shall try you in good and bad ordeals." Sura 21:35 (Interpretation of meaning.)
Those who acquit themselves are those who will enter Paradise - who will gain for themselves a joyous eternal life.
"Verily, the most honourable of you in the sight of Allah is the
one who has At-Taqwa." Sura 49:13(2)
(Interpretation of meaning.)
As the vicegerents of Allah we have certain duties and responsibilities - and a Muslim is a human being who accepts Allah as the Creator, the Sustainer, of all life and all existence, who accepts the duties and responsibilities given to us by our Creator, and who strives to uphold their responsibilities and do their duty.
These duties and responsibilities are to ourselves, to fellow Muslims,
to our fellow human beings, to this planet with its diversity and abundance
of life and to Allah Himself.
"And He [Allah] has set up the balance [of Justice and Honour] in order that you may not transgress this balance. So observe this balance with honour - do not stop short of this measure." Sura 55: 7-9 (Interpretation of meaning.)
This striving to be human - to uphold the natural balance - means us restraining ourselves, being just, being civil (that is, having manners) and being reasonable. This is a striving to live in an honourable way, for honour is nobility of spirit: an outward expression of our duty to do what is right, what Allah has asked us to do.
"Allah is with those who restrain themselves and those who do good." Sura 16:128 (Interpretation of meaning.)
This striving to be restrained, to be just, to be civil, to be reasonable, and to do what is good as ordained by Allah - in brief, this striving to be honourable - is the central practical, everyday reality of the Way of Life which is Al-Islam, a reality exemplified, and first made real, by the Prophet Muhammad nearly one and half thousand years ago. And it was this practical example of honour, set by Muhammad, then followed by other Muslims, which won converts for Islam and which created and maintained the great Islamic civilizations.
All Muslims acknowledge this personal ideal of honour and all strive
to follow the perfect honourable example of Muhammad. In the same way,
all Muslims acknowledge - or should acknowledge - that an Islamic ruler
or government exists only to follow and make real this example for a community
who live in a particular area: that is, to implement Islam in a practical
way through Islamic law, with the aim of such a ruler or Islamic government
being to ensure the conditions necessary to allow and encourage people
to be Muslims, to do their duty, as Muslims.
"This present life is only like water which We send down from the clouds so that the luxuriant herbage sustaining man and beast may grow; until when the Earth puts on its lovely garment and becomes adorned, and its people believe that they are its masters - down then comes Our scourge upon it by night or in broad day, laying it waste as though it had not blossomed yesterday. Thus We make plain our revelations to thoughtful men." Sura 10: 24-25 (Interpretation of meaning.)
As vicegerents, this Earth, its creatures and resources, is ours - a
gift from our Creator. But our duty is to act in a balanced way, in a honourable
way. To exploit this planet, its creatures, its resources, for commercial
or selfish gain, or for selfish pleasure, is quite simply wrong - against
the terms of our trust, our guardianship. Such exploitation is selfish
and dishonourable - an upsetting of the natural balance which Allah has
asked us to maintain, for we, as trustees, should think of the generations
that might yet be who will inherent the world, the planet, we will leave
behind.
To act in an honourable way toward our Earth is to restrain our greed, our desire for luxury, our desire for goods and commodities - and instead strive to live in the simple Islamic way Allah has asked us to. This simple Islamic way is evident in the life of the Prophet Muhammad.
As Allah says: "Do not walk on the Earth with insolence." Sura 17: 37 (Interpretation of meaning.) For insolence upsets the natural balance - it is the conduct of the ignoble, of those who do not have honour and who thus 'overstep the mark'. The Ancient Greeks - often regarded by many Westerners as the founders of Western culture - called insolence 'hubris' and understood that someone who committed hubris would, sooner or later, be punished, either in this life, or the next. According to the Greek poet Sophocles:
"Insolence is the mother of tyranny:
There is insolence if by a great foolishness
There is a useless over-filling which goes beyond
The proper limits -
It is an ascending to the steepest and utmost heights
And then that hurtling toward that Destiny
Where the useful foot has no use."
(Sophocles: Oedipus the King)
The West has forgotten this ancient insight, just as the West in its insolence, in its ignoble pursuit of exploitation, both natural and human, scorns the truth of Islam - the truth of honour, of observing and respecting the natural balance.
All Muslims have a duty to care for this Earth, just as they have a
duty to care for themselves, their family, their fellow Muslims and all
those who strive to be righteous or who might, Insha Allah, be guided toward
righteousness were the truth of Islam explained to them.
We need a remembrance of Allah - not 'progress'. We need honour - not material wealth. What is important - what is our Destiny - is our relation to Allah and us striving to be human: that is, using our reason, and restraining ourselves by doing what is honourable, doing what Allah has commanded us to do, as revealed in the noble Quran and in Ahadith.(3)
To be brief, in our personal lives we who are Muslims need to always
remember the example of the Prophet Muhammad, always strive to live in
the simple way he did, and always strive to make this world a better place
by taking the truth, the honour, that is Al-Islam to those in need of them.
Perhaps
only by estoring the Khilafah can the world be changed for the better,
the natural balance of life restored, and an end made to the exploitation
of the Earth and other beings brought about and continued by the ignoble
culture of the West with its insolence.
Islam, with its principle of us as vicegerents, as noble guardians of the Earth, is the true ecological movement just as it is perfect example of honour: of everything that is noble and truely human. It is this perfect example which we who are Muslims must reveal to the world, through our deeds, our words, and our hearts.
Allah knows best.
Abdul Aziz
1. Rabb refers to Allah and means the Supreme Being: the Creator, the Sustainer, the Master, of all being, of all life - of existence itself. It is usually translated as 'Lord' which misses the power of the word and its complexity of meaning.
In the same way, 'Allahu Akbar' could be interpreted as meaning "Allah is the Supreme Being".
2. Taqwa is 'piety' - the remembrance of Allah, a reverence for Him, a reverence for His last Prophet and Messenger, and a remembrance of our own duties and responsibilities to Allah Himself.
3. A hadith (plural 'ahadith') is a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad or a record of his deeds and personal example.