on This Earth

Most of the posts in this blog so far has focused on the practice of connecting to nature through three key principles:

• stillness/silence
• observation
• reflection

This practice is the foundation to train our minds and heart to be present with nature in the moment. Once this foundation is set, it is easy to adapt these principles to the situation. One of the most rewarding way to connect to nature, and ultimately to God, is through action. Actions that promote justice for all of nature, including humanity. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, once said:

“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”

On the authority of Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him)

With so much destruction and desecration of our world, including climate and nature, it is more important than ever to join the fight. For those of us who have the constitution to fight, it is great as we need fighters against the establishment. Still, not all of us are made to be activists like those in Extinction Rebellion or Greenpeace. Nor are most of us capable of dedicating ourselves and our time to voluntary and conservation efforts. Still we can all contribute to the fight in our own way.

In this blog post, I explore an action we can take while demonstrating another key principle to connect to nature. Like the three key principles mentioned at the start, this principle is grounded in nature and the Divine. This principle is that we practice what we have learned from our observations and reflection of nature. So to repeat the set of principles:

• be still/silent
• observe
• reflect
• acting on the reflections

These are the key principles to embodying the words of God, manifested by the natural world and the Qur’an. Before Ramadhan, I wrote a short post on practising patience when carrying out the fourth key principle. You can find it in this link. Patience is necessary because we won’t see the fruits of our actions straight away or even in the near term.

But if we don’t start, the outcome we want will not happen for God says in Surah Ar-Ra’ad 13:11

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ‌ۗ وَإِذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِقَوۡمٍ۬ سُوٓءً۬ا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۥ‌ۚ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَالٍ (١١)

Verily, God does not change men’s condition unless they change their inner selves; and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him. (11)

Impact of small actions

This blog arose from an opening that God gave me through the NatureAware Project. From the NatureAware project, diverse actions were taken by the participants. These are small steps yet they make an impact on Scotland’s natural environment. They are examples of how each of us can contribute in our own ways. You can find out more about them in this link.

Mindful consumption

One action that we all can join in is what I term as “mindful consumption.” In the capitalist world economy we live in, the exploitation of nature is driven primarily by a spiraling consumption. A consumption based not on the needs of people but on the need of companies to increase profit. It is no surprise that we are constantly bombarded with advertisements, especially online. As a result, we fall into an almost endless cycle of spending, collecting, and wasting.

Ramadhan helps us curb this consumer habit as we refrain from food and drink. But as we emerge from its grace, have we truly broken the cycle of consumerism? To break this cycle and ultimately take back control from the capitalist economy, we need to practise mindful consumption. It is a consumption modelled based on our reflections and observations of the natural world and based on Qur’anic principles.

Careful choices

In the Ramadhan reflection on birds, linked here, I discussed how birds carefully select sticks. They are meticulous in choosing the right ones for their nests. Equally, beavers chose the right sticks to build their dam, putting them in the right placement. All carefully planned and executed.

This deliberation is something we need to cultivate in our consumption. We need to be deliberate in our buying choices. Some questions we can ask:

• What function does it serve? Do we already have something that serves that function?
• Is it necessary? Of course not everything needs to be necessary. It goes back to the first question of the function it serves.
• How long can it last? This is about quality – the longer the better.
• Was it made ethically?
• How much does it cost? Can we afford it?

When we start asking these questions, we reduce the impulse buying which ads are encouraging. Instead, we carefully select items that are of good quality and play a role in our lives. It will take patience especially as we are used to instant gratification these days. What with the one click buy and all. And be kind to ourselves if we slip up and resolve to do better. Remember that God is Most Forgiving and loves those who forgive.

Tackling Waste

If we look at the natural world, consumption is based on the needs of the various parts of creation. In both abundance and scarcity, there is never waste. Everything serves a purpose.

Take for example an apple tree. I see a lot of crab apple trees along one of the paths where I used to walk. The apples grow and ripen on the tree. Then the apples fall down and soften further. Birds and squirrels will feast on them. So too the worms and insects like the fruit fly. And the bacteria. As the apples decompose, the decaying material releases nutrients to the soil that will feed the apple tree.

Or the cat who hunted a bird. While it rarely eat all of the bird, what is left gets eaten by scavengers like the fox and crow. The rest decays and become nourishment for the soil.

When we look at our lives today, how much waste is being generated? I have been tracking my household waste where the bins are collected fortnightly:

• My recycling bin for paper, cardboard, metal, and plastics is usually half full of the cardboard, plastic containers and cans. These are mostly from the food packaging.
• The soft packaging fills up a plastic bag that I recycle monthly at the stores.
• Food waste for my household comes mainly from things I can’t compost. Like teabags and egg shells.
• Then there is general waste generated from daily stuff like tissues, non-recyclable packaging etc.

That is a lot of waste even when I try to minimise it. And to think we are at the end of the supply chain. At every point in the supply chain, waste is produced. Think of how much resources goes into that waste. These resources are a trust from God to us to use wisely.

The Qur’an tells us directly not to waste in Surah Al-A’raf 7:31

يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمۡ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسۡجِدٍ۬ وَڪُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ وَلَا تُسۡرِفُوٓاْ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُسۡرِفِينَ (٣١)

O CHILDREN of Adam! Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink [freely], but do not waste. Verily, He does not love the wasteful! (31)

Some of the actions to tackle waste are listed below.

1. The first thing in tackling waste is really being conscious of how much waste we are generating through our consumption. Track our waste – it is easier now with all the recycling programmes.
2. An action that won’t cost us a penny is to use what we have as long as we can. Make the decision not to replace things unnecessarily. Instead, try to maintain and care for our belongings so that their lifespan is extended. Treat them as you would treat a living being; with care and concern as they are gifts from God.¹
3. Re-purpose your old things to give them a new lease of life. For example, I have seen people use old wellies as plant pots.
4. Buy less things. It not only reduces the waste but also saves us money.

Again, in all of the above actions, we need patience. Patience in taking stock of our waste, patience in caring for our belongings, and patience in reigning in our desires.

Living Within Our Means

Debt is crippling our society, from governmental debts to our own individual debts. Why is this so? Debt occurs when someone borrows a thing of value that belongs to another. My father taught me that when you owe someone, they figuratively own you until the debt is repaid.

If we look at nature, the concept of debt is non-existent. That is because there is no concept of ownership. Nature does not know these artificial boundaries we impose on it. Plants grow where their seeds land and animals roam where they need to be. Yes, animals have territories but these are not based on ownership. Instead it is based on the abundance of provision in the land. I believe that is because the ownership belongs to God and He is the Provider.

In the same way, what we have are not ours but a trust from God. Therefore, we should be careful to live within our means and not betray that trust. My father reminded me about not being in debt on the last Friday of Ramadhan. He has always insisted about that principle of balance as espoused in the description of the servants of the Most Gracious in Surah Al-Furqan 25:67

وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُواْ لَمۡ يُسۡرِفُواْ وَلَمۡ يَقۡتُرُواْ وَڪَانَ بَيۡنَ ذَٲلِكَ قَوَامً۬ا (٦٧)

And who, whenever they spend on others, are neither wasteful nor niggardly but [remember that] there is always a just mean between those [two extremes]; (67)

Living within our means will make us carefully choose our consumption, going back to the first aspect of mindful consumption. Once again, patience is necessary because it is difficult to stop ourselves from buying things. We can gratify our desires with easy credit available in an instance, thus getting into debt. While refraining from buying takes effort.

1. I would argue that all things have a consciousness that we know not of. They originate from materials that God created and all of God’s creation has a consciousness. ↩︎