Humans betray ‘the trust’, corrupt the earth
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LAST week, the world commemorated the annual Humanitarian Day, which dedicated its theme to the climate crisis and advocated helping and supporting those who were worst hit by the effects of the global warming that has worsened in the past few years.
During summer this year, we witnessed the worst in the series of massive fires that extended from Siberia to Bolivia, Australia and the United States, through Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon and Morocco.
The globe also witnessed the worst floods in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and others, as a result of the rise in river water levels due to the escalating melting of snow in the Northern and Southern poles.
For nearly 40 years, scientists have been warning about the repercussions of immoderate and reckless human intervention in nature … Yet the world did not act until 2015 when the United Nations approved the Paris Climate Accord. Despite that, the global temperatures are still on the rise in light of the complete disregard for this vital global agreement.
What we are currently witnessing is a microcosm of what could be the situation of the globe if countries did not rush to avoid a major catastrophe towards which humans are marching with great speed through the extreme abuse of nature, which is a trust placed on the human neck for the continuation of life on the planet.
That is the trust that Almighty Allah explained in the Holy Quran, which also highlighted the ignorance and injustice of humans in failing to honor that trust.
Almighty Allah says, “Indeed, we offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.”
Indeed, the sustainability of human life is vested in what has been bestowed upon them by the Almighty Lord in order to build the earth. The Almighty also guided them to the correct ways to that, while at the same time warning them of the consequences of violating the divine guidance through the stories of the ancients who were subjected to severe torment including the people of Noah, Lot, Saleh, and others whose stories were mentioned in the divine books.
When the Almighty said man was unjust and ignorant in carrying the trust, He issued this severe warning to those who do not honor and continue to betray the trust, not caring about the negative consequences. He promised that anger would descend on those disregarding the trust.
Also in the Holy Quran, the Almighty says, “… and do not transgress [or oppress others] therein, lest My anger should descend upon you …”. This means that a person should look at his actions that would help positively in these disasters.
Based on this fact, those who are causing natural disasters fall into the following verse, “On that account: We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proof. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors”.
Destroying nature is unjust … It is a form of corrupting the earth. Hence, will humans pay attention to this matter and return to the Paris Accord to limit global warming that threatens their existence?
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
This news has been read 16490 times!
