Islamic Religious Council of Singapore
Friday Sermon
20 May 2022 / 18 Syawal 1443H
Towards Environmental Sustainability
Blessed brothers and sisters,
Let us have taqwa towards Allah (s.w.t.) by doing all His commands and staying away from all His prohibitions. May we be among His sincere and diligent servants by striving to fulfil our responsibilities as worshippers of Allah. Amin.
Brothers and sisters,
As a vicegerent (khalifah) on Earth, we are all responsible towards the environment that Allah (s.w.t.) has blessed us with. This includes adopting the various ways to ensure that our actions will positively impact not only ourselves and others, but also our environment. Concerning this, the Prophet (s.a.w) said:
لاَ يَغْرِسُ رَجُلٌ مُسْلِمٌ غَرْسًا وَلاَ زَرْعًا فَيَأْكُلَ مِنْهُ سَبُعٌ أَوْ طَائِرٌ أَوْ شَىْءٌ إِلاَّ كَانَ لَهُ فِيهِ أَجْرٌ
Which means: “Never does a Muslim plant, or cultivate a plant, and then part of it is eaten by animals or birds or anything else, except that he will be rewarded for that.” [Hadith reported by Imam Muslim]
Blessed brothers and sisters,
This is the sustainable living that our religion encourages. As Muslims, we need to strive to ensure that our world is well taken care of, with the aim of preserving the benefit for humankind and other creations of Allah (s.w.t). This commendable act in return will bring great rewards to the doer and is in line with what Allah (s.w.t) had commanded us in the Qur’an:
Which means: “..And be good to others as Allah has been good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah certainly does not like the corruptors.” [Al-Qasas: 77]
Blessed brothers and sisters,
As human beings, we may often forget the need to preserve the blessings that Allah (s.w.t) has bestowed upon us, especially when we do not face any difficulties or complexities or we are unable to see any positive effects from the best practices, like reducing our water consumption. An example that we can extract lessons from a hadith as reported by Ibn Majah, the Prophet (s.aw) said that wastage can occur in ablution even if it is taken from a flowing river. If we were to reflect on this very carefully, the impact of wastage will be apparent when it is done by many people over a long period of time.
Therefore, we should never underestimate the individual efforts we make in caring for our environment and resources. Because as the saying goes, small actions can make a big difference. If efforts in caring for our environment are not valued, negative implications would occur due to our negligence and irresponsibility.
Brothers and sisters,
We need to understand how best we can care for the environment. Apart from water usage, our consumption of foods and goods should also be carefully monitored. This is because, if not handled properly, these will lead to wastage that is forbidden in Islam. Allah (s.w.t.) said in the Quran:
إِنَّ ٱلْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَٰنَ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِرَبِّهِۦ كَفُورًا
Which means: “Surely those who are wasteful are like brothers to the devils. And the Devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord” [Al-Isra’: 27]
We may have witnessed or realised the effects of not protecting the blessings given by Allah (s.w.t). Wastage itself has caused a great impact on climate change.
Therefore, let us do our part by making sure that our daily lifestyle involves using only what we need. Let us recycle things that can still be utilised and be very careful when making use of the blessings that Allah (s.w.t.) has bestowed upon us.
May we be among His servants who help to protect the earth by being more responsible in our actions and strive to preserve the wellbeing of humankind today and future generations to come.
Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي ولَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْم
Second sermon
الحَمْدُ 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 العَزِيزِ: إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَـا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسلِيمًا. 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 لِلمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالمُؤْمِنَاتِ، وَالمُسْلِمِينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتِ، الأَحْيَاءِ مِنهُم وَالأَمْوَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا البَلَاءَ وَالوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلَازِلَ وَالمِحَنَ، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، عَن بَلَدِنَا خَاصَّةً، وَسَائِرِ البُلْدَانِ عَامَّةً، يَارَبَّ العَالَمِينَ. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً، وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.
عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي القُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، فَاذكُرُوا اللهَ العَظِيمَ يَذْكُركُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدكُمْ، وَاسْأَلُوهُ مِن فَضلِهِ يُعطِكُم، وَلَذِكرُ اللهِ أَكبَرُ، وَاللهُ يَعلَمُ مَا تَصنَعُونَ.
