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The Islamic Bulletin
Volume X No. 23 Page 5
offered him a little coffee money for his trouble, he agreed.
When the bus suddenly stopped and all 6 of us brothers stood
up simultaneously to exit the bus, the other passengers became
alarmed. “What’s going on? What’s happening? Just to make
sure that the bus driver would
not leave us stranded in the
Andes mountains while we
prayed, we prayed directly in
front of the bus’ tires. All the
passengers stood in
astonishment watching us
pray. After offering our
prayers, the bus driver and his
assistant asked us to sit in the
front of the bus and explain
our religion, Islam, to him
while the others slept. For the
next 8 hours, we explained
Islam to him. By the end of
the ride, he told us that this
was the best thing that he had
ever heard in life. He wanted
to embrace Islam but was
hesitant. He asked, “Could I
have been wrong for the past
40 years? How can I suddenly
leave all this after an 8 hour
drive?” He asked for some
literature on Islam and we gave him the few that we had.
In addition to these two cities, we also visited other cities and
had many stops along the way. We met Muslims who were
originally from India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and
Palestine. And at every stop, we encountered non-Muslim
people hungry for Islam. May Allah (SWT) reward the efforts of
the Bolivian Muslims and grant their dua’ for a permanent Masjid.
Approximately 6 months after we had left Bolivia, we were told
that a Muslim brother from England had visited Bolivia and loved
the community. In fact, when this brother went back to England
he began to fundraise to establish a Masjid in La Paz, Bolivia.
Alhamdullilah, a brother in England heard about the project and
purchased the Masjid (see photo below). The 3-story building he
purchased for the Masjid included a large prayer hall for the men
and women, a kitchen, a children’s classroom, and an apartment
for the Imam. Seven days after it was purchased, this brother
passed away. May Allah (SWT) build a house for him in Jannah.
Hanging in the Masjid doorway in La Paz, Bolivia is a plaque in
memory of this brother.
“
And whatever good you send ahead for yourselves, you will
find it with Allah, better and having a great reward;”
(Quran
73:20)
As Muslims, we should
always give the best of our
wealth and time because
we have control of it now.
Who knows when death
will take us? Is anyone really
prepared? Every good deed
we do, every charity we
give, every kind word we
speak--all wis being re-
corded.
The New Masjid In La Paz, Bolivia
Prophet Mohammed (SAW):
A Pioneer of the Environment
BY FRANCESCA DE CHATEL
“There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree, or
sows a seed, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats
thereof, but it is regarded as having given a charitable gift
[for which there is great recompense].”
[Al-Bukhari, III:513].
The idea of the Prophet
Mohammed (SAW) as a
pioneer of
environmentalism will
initially strike many as
strange: indeed, the term
“environment” and related
concepts like “ecology”,
“environmental
awareness” and
“sustainability”, are
modern-day inventions,
terms that were
formulated in the face of
the growing concerns
about the contemporary
state of the natural world
around us.
And yet a closer reading of the hadith, the body of work that
recounts significant events in the Prophet’s life, reveals that he
was a staunch advocate of environmental protection. One could
say he was an “environmentalist avant la lettre”, a pioneer in the
domain of conservation, sustainable development and resource
management, and one who constantly sought to maintain a
harmonious balance between man and nature. From all accounts
of his life and deeds, we read that the Prophet (SAW) had a
profound.......connection to the four elements, earth, water, fire
and air.
He (SAW) was a strong proponent of the sustainable use and
cultivation of land and water, proper treatment of animals, plants
and birds, and the equal rights of users. In this context the
modernity of the Prophet’s (SAW) view of the environment and
the concepts he introduced to his followers is particularly striking;
certain passages of the hadith could easily be mistaken for
discussions about contemporary environmental issues.
Three Principles
The Prophet’s (SAW) environmental philosophy is first of all
holistic: it assumes a fundamental link and interdependency
between all natural elements and bases its teachings on the
premise that if man abuses or exhausts one element, the natural
world as a whole will suffer direct consequences. This belief is
nowhere formulated in one concise phrase; it is rather an
underlying principle that forms the foundation of all the
Prophet’s (SAW) actions and words, a life philosophy that
defined him as a person.
The three most important principles of the Prophet’s (SAW)
philosophy of nature are based on the Qur’anic teachings and
the concepts of tawhid (unity), khalifa (stewardship) and amana
(trust).
Tawhid, the oneness of God, is a cornerstone of the Islamic
faith. It recognizes the fact that there is One absolute Creator
and that man is responsible to Him for all his actions:
“To God
belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, for God
encompasses everything
[4:126].” The Prophet (SAW)
acknowledges that God’s knowledge and power covers
everything. Therefore abusing one of his creations, whether it is
a living being or a natural resource, is a sin. The Prophet (SAW)
considered all of God’s creations to be equal before God and he
believed animals, but also land, forests and watercourses should
have rights.