VICEROYS UPON THE EARTH
Allah the Highest said that He made man His viceroys upon
Earth (The Koran Sorah Baqarah).
So what does this entail?
Various empires have had viceroys; an example is Britain having a
viceroy in India, before 1948, when India regained its independence. A viceroy is responsible to the ruler who
appointed him, and has to answer to him for his actions. So shall we too, have to answer for our actions. This is apart from all the other areas which
we usually think of as the things which we shall have to answer for and be
judged by on the ‘Last Day’.
So what have we done with and to this earth which we live on?
Our seas and rivers are polluted, the air in many places is
polluted, the land is not as it should be any more, contaminated by chemicals
etc. Many of our farm animals are given hormones to make them grow more quickly
and this passes down the food chain to those of us who eat their meat.
The forests, containing the trees which provide the oxygen we
need for life, are being cut down at an ever faster rate. Many animals are
becoming extinct, or are in danger of becoming so. None of this is my fault, I hear you say,
its big business and governments, what can I do about it. Well I believe that we all have a
responsibility in this matter. We can express our feelings in the press and in
the ballot box, although this latter route may not bear much fruit.
We can however make sure that WE are not wasting the
planet’s resources. Firstly water, I
live now in Egypt, a country with very little rain, it relies on the river Nile
for its water, but this does not stop people here, as everywhere else, wasting
water. Dripping taps go un-mended, taps
are left running while the phone is answered, cars are washed with a hosepipe
rather than with pails of water, and so it goes on; a little thought and you
will be able to think of many other examples, I am not just speaking of Egypt,
but everywhere. Many countries, even ones with a high rainfall like England,
are now facing water shortages.
Electricity too is wasted, it is not that in itself which is
the problem, as long as you are can afford to pay the bills, but it’s the
resources, usually un-renewable, which are used to generate the electricity,
which we are wasting. Oil, coal, and even atomic power, all have a large effect
on the environment. A very small amount of our electricity is generated by the
wind, hydro-electrics or the seas.
The so called Greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide etc., are causing untold damage to the atmosphere. Most people today have heard about “Global
Warming” and sea levels rising. The ice
which holds great reserves of fresh water, is receding, the icecaps are
shrinking, as are the glaciers, some in fact have almost disappeared. Most of
this ice is lost into the seas, which causes them to rise, with all the
problems this causes to low lying land.
Forests are torn down for timber. Not just the “fir” trees
which we farm and can be ready to be harvested in as little as 20 years. But
the ‘hard woods’, and trees which need hundreds of years to mature. Much of this timber is wasted in one way of
another. So all those trees no longer produce oxygen and lock-up carbon
dioxide, even worse, much of their wood is burnt, releasing the Co2 they had
locked-up, back into the atmosphere.
This is bad enough, but the land many of them were growing in, is often
fragile and not viable without the trees.
In may be planted with crops, but after one or sometimes two growing
seasons, it is no longer useful, so more trees are cut down and burnt, and so
it goes on. In other places the tree roots were holding the soil in place, without
them the rain washes away the top-soil, this soon causes floods and
land-slides, both of these leave barren land in their wake, not to mention
destroying peoples homes and causing loss of life. Of course the habitat of countless animals,
birds and other creatures is lost too.
Man was ever a greedy, selfish and thoughtless creature, foolish too,
for we are destroying our own habitat, slowly or quickly, by our foolishness
and greed. What are we going to say to
the Creator, Owner and Ruler when our account is payable?
So what can we do?
Firstly, we can review our own expenditure of Allah’s
bounties to us on this earth, and not be prodigal in the way we use them. Each
one of us can look at the ways we spoil the earth; from not dropping litter,
disposing of our rubbish in a responsible way, recycling when ever possible,
and not wasting water or food. Stop that tap from dripping. Put out those lights you don’t need. Don’t leave your car engine running when it is
not necessary. There are countless small ways in which each and every one of us
can help. Each of us alone may not make
a lot of difference, but there are millions of people upon Allah’s earth, and
the more of us who stop wasting our inheritance, the more difference we jointly
can make. The more our voices, when
raised, will be heard. So don’t forget,
Allah always sees us and what we are doing, and He writes down all our deeds,
good and bad.
Aisha Saafan