collections khutbah This World Is Our Responsibility From Allah
This World Is Our Responsibility From Allah

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

26 March 2021 / 12 Syaaban 1442H

This World Is Our Responsibility From Allah

 

My dearest brothers,

Let us nourish our faith in Allah (s.w.t.) by preserving the responsibilities given to us by Allah and performing His commandments and staying away from His prohibitions. May Allah grant us well-being in this world and the hereafter.

My brothers,

The lives we are leading and the world we are living in have been entrusted to us by our Creator. Allah has entrusted us with these responsibilities because having created both the world and humankind, He has created us in the best of form. Therefore, Allah also knows the capabilities of humankind in carrying out the trust given to them.

In the first verse of surah Al-Hadid, Allah informs us about the creation of the sky and the earth, and everything that originates from them. Allah affirms that everything is under His ownership. Afterwards, in the seventh verse, Allah calls upon us to reflect:

 

Which means: “Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successive inheritors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward.”

This verse emphasises on the fact that we are the trustees of this world and not the actual owners. Afterall, one of the reasons behind our creation is to manage both our lives and the world we are living in. Have we forgotten about the beginning of our creation? Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 30:

Which means: “And (remember) as your Lord said to the Angels, "Surely I am making in the earth a successor..."

Khalifah means successors and trustees. Although it is true that humankind has the potential to cause destruction, as how the angels had said in the later part of this verse, Allah replied to them: “Verily, I know what you do not know.”

My brothers,

This is the role of our civilization. As trustees of this world, we inherit and assume this responsibility. We are required to carry out this responsibility to the best of our abilities, as a form of our worship of Allah (s.w.t.).

In carrying out our responsibilities to protect and preserve the environment, we are essentially performing an act of worship and expressing our faith in Allah. What we want is for our future generations to inherit this world in the best of conditions. This is a sign of worship and faith in Allah.

Unfortunately, human greed, carelessness and forgetfulness have caused destruction to our environment. However, we believe in the wisdom of Allah who created this world and humankind. Allah knows that we are able to carry out this responsibility. Allah says : ‘Verily, I know what you do not know.’

We have now started to see how our younger generation truly understand the importance of protecting our environment, as it is part of our nature. We have seen how efforts and initiatives to protect our environment are mainly supported by our youths, in facing the challenges and realities of climate change. As adults, we cannot help but feel ashamed and remorseful. We should have been more responsible in making sure that future generations could inherit an environment that is clean, safe, prosperous and bountiful.

My brothers,

One of our responsibilities include the preservation of water. Water is essential as it is one of the important natural resources we need in our lives. Every living thing requires water to live. Without water, there will be no life. One cannot continue living without water, or if the only source of water they have is contaminated. Allah says in Surah Al-Anbiya verse 30: “… And we have made everything that is alive originate from water; thus why do they not believe?”

Our context in Singapore is such that while water is essential, its resources are scarce and limited. If we were to reflect upon the geographical size and condition of Singapore, we will understand the importance of our individual responsibility to preserve water. This can be done through two solutions: conservation and cleanliness.

My brothers,

The first solution: Conservation. This means that we should use water reasonably and not excessively. We are responsible for each drop of water that we have. Every drop of water that is wasted would collectively make up a large amount of water, especially if each one of us continue to waste drops of water. When performing our ablution, we should not be excessive and waste water. Performing acts of worship does not mean that we can be reckless and wasteful in utilising resources.

It was mentioned in a hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari, Rasulullah (s.a.w.) used to bathe using only one sho’ to five mud and perform his ablution with one mud.

One mud is the equivalent of the size of a fist. Therefore, it means that Rasulullah (s.a.w.) did not waste water and only used what was required, even in a situation where water was plentiful such as by a flowing river.

Second solution: Cleanliness. This means that we should prevent water contamination. This includes water in the sea, river, drains and more. We should not throw things such as plastic, rubbish, chemicals and other wastages into our rivers and drains as they flow into the sea. This will bring harm to life. Despite knowing the importance of water, we may have forgotten to preserve its cleanliness and ensure that it is clean enough to be utilised by other creations of Allah, such as animals and plants.

Therefore, let us together carry out this responsibility as trustees of this earth. We should protect the environment from all kinds of harm. We should preserve the cycle of life, ensuring that our surroundings remain clean and bountiful. We should impart an environment that is better and more prosperous for future generations, so that they are able to live as thankful servants of Allah, and also as successors, in hopes that it will grant them well-being in this world and the hereafter.

May Allah (s.w.t.) bless all our efforts while also instilling a sense of responsibility in us. Amin. Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَ لَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ

 

Second Sermon

 

الْحَمْدُ للهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا كَمَا أَمَرَ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَيَا عِبَادَ الله، اِتَّقُوا اللهَ تَعَالَى فِيمَا أَمَرَ، وَانتَهُوا عَمَّا نَهَاكُم عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.

أَلَا صَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ الْمُصْطَفَى، فَقَدْ أَمَرَنَا اللهُ بِذَلِكَ حَيْثُ قَال فِي كِتَابِهِ الْعَزِيزِ: إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَـا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَ بَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ.

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ المَهْدِيِّينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيِّ، وَعَن بَقِيَّةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالقَرَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ، وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ، وَعَنَّا مَعَهُم وَفِيهِم بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالمُؤْمِنَاتِ، وَالمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ، الْأَحْيَاءِ مِنهُم وَالْأَمْوَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا الْبَلَاءَ وَالوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلَازِلَ وَالْمِحَنَ، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، عَن بَلَدِنَا خَاصَّةً، وَسَائِرِ الْبُلْدَانِ عَامَّةً، يَارَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً، وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.

عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ، وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، فَاذْكُرُوا اللهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ، وَاسْأَلُوهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ يُعْطِكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللهُ  يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ.