This year’s theme for Earth Day 2021 is “Restore Our Earth”. The theme tells us that there are things that need to be restored, which means that there is also a need for us to start doing our part in order to restore our Mother Earth.
This Day is celebrated to spread awareness about the problems that we should be focusing on as we are living in this Earth. Pollution, deforestation, and climate change should always be hot topics that we should be discussing.
We shall be reminded that as individuals, we have responsibilities to the world that we are living in. It is our responsibility to take extra care of our little spaces and be accountable for the consequences that our negligence may bring when the time comes that we have nothing left but an environment where the next generation will have to suffer and carry on their shoulders the tasks that should have been done by us.
As Muslims, Islam teaches us to take care of the earth. We believe that humans should be the guardians of the planet and that we will be held accountable by the Almighty for our actions. In the Qur’an, Muslims are ordered to look after the environment and not to cause problems and damage it.
“Indeed, your lord is Allah who created the heavens and the Earth in six days and then established himself above the throne. He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, moon, and the stars, subjected by His command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” Qur’an 7:54.
Because of this Ayah, it is seen that people are responsible for the Earth which God created and that we shall make decisions on how to look after it.
We need to change the mindset of the people. We need to start taking action before it is too late. We need to rebuild the world’s ecosystem by starting from our homes, with our neighbors, and our community. With that, we can contribute to reviving the ecosystem.
Let us celebrate Earth Day by recycling with a focus on papers and plastics, and identifying materials that can be reused and reduced. Let us practice switching to eco-friendly materials. Try planting a tree or making use of little land spaces to have your own garden. Together let us learn how climate change occurs on how it damages the environment.
Aiming for progress and development without aiming to change will make no progress at all. The responsibility is ours. Now, all we have to do is to take action.
Happy Earth Day!
