 أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وبهينستين صلى الله عليك يا سيدي يا مولايا يا رسول الله وعلى أحل بيتك المذلومين صلى الله عليك يا سيدي يا مولايا وابنى مولايا يا أبا عبد الله يا رحمة الله الواسأة ويا بابنجات الأمة يا غريب يا مبنوم يا أتشان كربلا ما خاب من تمسكابكم والأمنا من لجأ إليكم سادتي يا ليتنا يا ليتنا كنا ماكم فنفوزا والله فوزا عذيمة قال الله العذيم في محكم كتابه الكريم والقول كالحق والأستقل قائلين أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم ولا قد كرمنا بني آدم وحملناهم في البرى والبحر رزقناهم من الطيبات وفضلناهم على كثير من من خلقنا تفضيلة آمننا بالله صدق الله العلي العذيم صلى الله عليه وسلم الله سبحانه وتعالى created the creation the sun and the moon and the stars the oceans and the rivers all as an opportunity for us to reflect upon them so that we're able to understand who our creator is الله سبحانه وتعالى states in the holy Quran سنرىهم آياتنا في الأفاق وفي أنفسهم حتى يتبين لهم الحق that God had created his signs in the heavens and within their own selves so that they reflect and so that they understand that he himself has truth in its entirety that God created all of these creations as a sign for us meaning that they are supposed to be a mechanism for our own growth again when we see the sun and when we see the moon and when we see the stars and when we see the seasons changing they're all supposed to be a means by which we think about the uniqueness of the creation of الله سبحانه وتعالى and say سبحان الله oh glory be to God for he is the one who created all of this it is stated that whenever the Prophet عليه السلام would conclude his prayers he would often spend a little bit of time and reflection and contemplation and meditation and he would often do that outdoors he would walk around in the streets for instance and he would look up at the stars and he would call out for instance إلهي ربنا ما خلقت هذا باتلة سبحانك that oh my lord all glory be to you surely you didn't just create this in vain there is a purpose behind all of this but often times when we take a look at who we are as a human being and how self-centered we are we forget that we are actually just one really small part in this incredibly large ecosystem that is created by the Creator Himself and that we forget to recognize the uniqueness of the beauty of the creation of الله سبحانه وتعالى for God He Himself what does He state He says that after I created the creation الله سبحانه وتعالى He quotes Himself within the Holy Quran فتبارك الله أحسن الخالقين so all blessing and all praise is due to God the best of the best of creators God is praising Himself because He is the best of all creators we as a human being we can't say look at this amazing thing that I did because in reality if it's void of the توفيق of الله سبحانه وتعالى we wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything so whenever something good happens we're supposed to be in a state of thankfulness to الله سبحانه وتعالى but it's of course different when we compare ourselves toward God as God doesn't have to humble Himself in front of anyone so He says look at this creation and the best of creators that's supposed to be a means by which we look at creation and that we think about creation and that we understand again about the uniqueness of creation and الله سبحانه وتعالى numerous times within the Holy Quran He even entitles specific chapters after some of His creations the chapter of the cow and of the ant and of the bee and of thunder and so on and so forth and of light and we come and we see that all of that again is supposed to be a means by which we really dig deep down and think about the uniqueness of the creation of الله سبحانه وتعالى my daughter can't get mad at her for any of your kids I want to get mad at them either the uniqueness again of the creation of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that everything that we see within God's creation we see beauty and everything within the creation of Allah سبحانه وتعالى we see God because at the end of the day what is all of this created for except to allow for us as a human being to understand Him we have other traditions for instance and other Quranic verses that tell us to go and travel the world it's okay to go and travel and to go and visit different places traditions of Ahl al Bayt that even when you go when you travel to different places make sure that you try to visit the oldest parts of the cities that you go and visit so that you think about history and the people who have come before you and the civilizations that have passed again in allowing for us to remember that we are really really small in this big vast universe of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that is ever expanding but God states within the whole of Quran and also a commandment toward the human being وَلَا تَمْشِي فِالْأَرْضِ مَرْحَى that the human being we're an incredibly arrogant and prideful creation that we think that we own all of this in its entirety so God states that even when you walk on this earth don't walk with your feet that's crushing the ground beneath you walk softly and walk slowly and walk with a sense of humility who are you no matter what challenges what difficulties what successes that we have within the world guess what tomorrow the sun's gonna rise again and we gotta deal with whatever it is that we have to deal with and then after 70 years no matter how much we accomplished 70 years after our 70 years no one's gonna remember our name but again the one who humbles himself in front of his Creator الله سبحانه وتعالى will raise him in the eyes of the people من تواب على الله that the one who humbles himself in front of God understanding that everything that we have is from the Creator Himself الله سبحانه وتعالى will allow for our name and our praise and our legacy to remain in the hearts of people for eternity and it's not on the hearts of people and it's within the knowledge of the angels of the Creator and again I give this introduction in order to really speak toward a topic that's vital for every single one of us and again like I mentioned last night really I research a topic like this in order to allow for myself to grow more than lecturing anyone else because it starts here before I'm able to export knowledge anywhere else and that today amongst the most trendy sort of terms and things that we seek especially in this city is talking about caring for the environment everyone has to jump on the bandwagon in order to really allow for this sense of environmental justice to really be manifest and illuminated within this community of ours we're a people who just waste a lot and when we go toward different verses of the whole of the Qur'an and traditions of Ahru al-Vaith علي مصرات وصرام we have to understand that the religion of Islam actually should be at the forefront in driving home this ideology of really standing for environmental justice but creating a system that speaks for equity about creating a system that understands that we are not the center of the universe but rather that we are a really really small part of it and every time that we again take a look up at the skies and look down at the ground and look to the right and take a look at the left we have to understand that every one of the creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى they all are in praise of the Creator numerous times for instance Allah سبحانه وتعالى stays within the whole of the Qur'an سبح لله ما في السماوات وما في الأرض that everything within the heavens and within the skies and within the earth is in a state of praise and it is a state of glorification of God we don't necessarily understand the consciousness of a plant or of a bird or of the clouds that pass by us in the skies but every single one of those creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى are in a state of perpetual praise and glory of the Creator and that for me to take away the rights of anyone else who is always in a state of worshiping Allah سبحانه وتعالى is again against the divine instruction of the Creator so I want to reflect upon this idea of Islam and environmental justice as always in three different dimensions the first dimension is in terms of understanding the meaning and the definition of justice according to Islamic theology secondly in terms of understanding what is the environment according to the Qur'an and Ahl al-Bayt and thirdly in terms of how the Qur'an and Ahl al-Bayt have offered us practical advices in terms of how we can be at the forefront of establishing environmental justice so firstly and foremostly again what is justice within Islamic tradition and within Islamic theology we come when we see that Adala of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is amongst the most fundamental pillars of our theology and the idea that we state that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the all-just and that all justice that we find within this universe reflects from his absolute and ultimate justice with the justice that I desire to seek on this earth with my family, with my friends with my community to the best of my ability when I'm going different places in reality doesn't compare to the utter and absolute justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى in the same way that I can say that I am merciful to my children I am merciful to my colleagues I am merciful to someone who wrongs me that mercy in itself does not compare with the utter and absolute mercy of Allah سبحانه وتعالى because he is he is and there is no mercy except for his mercy in reality the only thing that we share with the names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى are the words in it of themselves meaning that I share the word mercy but my mercy does not compare to God's mercy I share the word justice in terms of semantics but in reality my justice does not compare to one bit to the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى so then what is the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى in the tradition in نحج البلاغة from أمام أمير المؤمنين عليه الصلاة والسرام he states that the definition of the of Allah سبحانه وتعالى the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is to place things in accordance with where they should be so for instance and I've given this example in different conversations before for those of you who attend our weekly Quranat of Sir class that when we talk about what it means when أمام أمير المؤمنين states that justice is placing things where they belong for instance that when everyone is entering into the space to coming for the program it would be the right thing for everyone to take their shoes and put it on the rack without someone on the brother side and without someone on the sister side saying please take your shoes and put it on the rack the right thing to do putting things where they belong is putting the shoes on the shoe rack the carpet and the floor is not called the shoe floor it's called a shoe rack meaning you take the shoes and you put it on the rack similarly you have some trash you have some garbage you have a wrap or whatever it might be trash is supposed to be in the trash can not on the floor placing things where they should be some garbage and putting it where it should be someone says but that's not my shoe but that's not my wrapper again are we working toward establishing a system of justice and illuminating the light of Allah on the earth or no if we are then it doesn't matter whose responsibility it is it's everyone's responsibility toward working and striving to putting things exactly where they belong and when we come toward understanding the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى theologically we see that theologians have spoken toward the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى in three different phases the first phase of the justice of God is what is known as or the universal justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى by which he created this universe let me explain what I mean over here Allah سبحانه وتعالى created the human being with two hands and two feet and he created us to walk on our feet and not on our hands while there are other creations of God who walk on all fours or don't have any and they use their bellies for instance Allah سبحانه وتعالى created our eyes on our face and not on our feet Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created the sun to rise every morning and the sun to set every evening all of these manifestations are out of the utter and absolute wisdom of the creator and they're also out of the absolute justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى because that is how things should be Allah سبحانه وتعالى he is the one who determines why and how how things should be so out of his utter and absolute justice he states that it's going to be like this because out of my justice I have the knowledge and I have the understanding and I have the wisdom to create it in this fashion without breaking this sort of example up into a million different points again the first dimension or the first phase of the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is what is known as أدل التكويني the utter and absolute justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى in terms of creation the second type of justice that we speak about when we talk about the justice of the creator himself is what is known as الأدل التشريئي or what is known as the legal justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that God created that every single one of the prayers that we pray are designated in specific cycles فجر prayers is توركة أصر is 4 مغرب is 3 إشة is 4 someone says but I want to pray 3 at the time of فجر Allah سبحانه وتعالى says you pray 3 but that's not the prayer that I established that's performing تواف around the Holy Ka'ba is 7 rounds someone says I want to do 6 or someone says I want to do 70 Allah سبحانه وتعالى says I said 7 when you go toward performing the jamarat on the days of Mina during Hajj we're supposed to take 7 pebbles and strike the jamarat someone asked me a question this year and they said what happens if I want to do 8 some of our فقحة they actually say that if you decide to do 8 then you have to start again and make it 14 so as a joke he said okay so what happens if I do 15 I said well then you have to start again and make it 21 but okay I'll just stick with 7 sometimes we like to make things a lot more complicated than they should be but understanding that again this is all out of the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى God says that it has to be like this because it has to be like this you can't for instance tomorrow morning go into the office of your supervisor and say from now on I'm going to take your office what's going to happen to you tomorrow you want to have a job by lunchtime you say but this is the way that I wanted to be because this is the way that I wanted to be my daughter 4 years old Zaynab she's running around making a lot of noise today these days you know what she does she says Baba this is the way that it's going to be because I'm Zaynab and I want it like this we say Zaynab you have to listen to your mama it's going to be our rule she said no I want it like this because I want it like this and I'm Zaynab if she wasn't my daughter and if I didn't love her right I don't know what would happen you can't go again to your place of employment tomorrow when school starts you can't go to your professor and say class starts at 8.35 well guess what I'm going to come at 8.45 and there's nothing you can do about it are you going to say okay well we're going to start deducing a lot of marks you say absolutely not 8.45 is a much more equitable time they set the rules and they set the standard and Allah is the all just and this is the way that he wanted it to be and thirdly and finally we come toward the last phase of the justice of Allah as defined by some of our theologians in which they state or what is known as الجزائي or what is known as the compensatory nature of the justice of Allah God states for instance that if you commit a sin I'm going to punish you with one punishment for instance you commit one bad deed under a scroll of deeds Allah also says that if you do one good deed I'm going to multiply it by 10 someone says no it's only equitable that you give me one good deed Allah says no I will give you 10 you say no but oh Allah it's there just give me one Allah says I'm going to give you 10 who are we to justify what it means when we talk about divine we leave that up to the creator so Allah SWT that for every good deed that you do there's going to be a reward and for every bad deed that you're going to do there's going to be an account and that in this way we see that there are numerous traditions that state that if you perform this deed you get this reward you perform this deed you get this punishment you perform this prayer and you get the reward of this many prayers you fast on this day it's as if you fasted 70 years for instance you go and you take a look at our traditions there's a lot of what's going on there's a lot of reward there's a lot of really wonderful things there's a lot of great things I've already gotten paradise زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام is worth this many hides this many umrah one day when I was studying in Karbala I was making زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام is during the days of the أربائين of the Imam and I was walking in between بين الحرمين and I grabbed every one of you زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام there is nothing like the زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام nothing nothing like it if you haven't been we'll talk after the measures we're going in December in sha Allah I'm giving you guys the first opportunity before I'm even launching it I'm telling you we have 40 seats they're going to get taken up within a week right if you want to come for زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام you make the intention and you'll see that'll happen and it's an absolutely incredible experience someone says I'm not shea this is not for me this is the grandson of the messenger of God you come and you experience when it's like to visit the grandson of the messenger of God where you're not restricted in showing your emotion like you are in other places it's really something illuminous it's really something powerful anyhow I was walking in us making زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام and one group of young people they came to me they're probably like in their early 20's and they said I was dressed in my religious garb they said oh sheikh tell me me and my friends were having a debate we're having this discussion I said sure what can I help you with they said that we walked from بسرا to كربرا it took us 10 days I said God bless you that's incredible and really that's what they do people walked making the زيار أمام الحسين they said one of our friends is saying that we actually have to pray but because we came for زيار أمام الحسين عليه السلام do we have to pray that we thought that the reward of this is worth 1,000 prayers or a million prayers or a million years worth of prayers so we thought that we never have to pray ever again really people are asking this question right you guys think this is funny this is so unusual we were just in Hajj how many people ask me that after the day of Arafat if we have to pray فجر prayers we're so exhausted maybe Allah سبحانه وتعالى will give us 3 days off for instance it would be a lot nicer like that if we went on a Monday Wednesday Friday schedule for فجر prayers or a Tuesday Thursday schedule but again it is known as the عدل of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that he places things in accordance with exactly the way that they should be and again that's what we want to try to understand when we're talking about the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and that brings me then toward the second dimension of my discussion and that is in terms of understanding then what is the environment and then what is our role in terms of establishing justice in the environment again we want to be a people who are emanating the names and the attributes of the Creator Allah سبحانه وتعالى he is the all just he is the all merciful he is the all generous he is the all compassionate he is the all love and we want to be a people who are acting toward the best of our abilities even if it means to share the name semantically with Allah سبحانه وتعالى as the tradition of the messenger خلقوا بأخلاق الله that act in accordance with the etiquette of Allah سبحانه وتعالى so it's my job then towards striving toward putting things where they belong especially in terms of understanding who I am in the midst of this absolute massive creation of the Creator and when we talk about the environment from an Islamic perspective we see that scholars have broken up the environment into three different definitions they have stated that the first definition of the first understanding of environment within Islamic tradition is the natural environment and that's the one that we want to focus on for a little bit this evening meaning the environment that is around us physically the ocean, the river, the sea, the air and a hadith from Imam Assad he states pleasure for the human being pleasure for the believer is in three is in clean air is in pure water and is in fertile ground that within these things the human being can find a sense of pleasure a second definition for environment is what they would call a social environment and this environment also needs to be in a state of equity in order for the believer to progress within their life and in the tradition from the prophet he states that the social environment for the believer also has to have three characteristics the first characteristic is a pious scholar who leads that community the second characteristic is a place for individuals to be free to socialize so on and so forth and thirdly that they are ruled by an equitable ruler and a trustworthy ruler and then thirdly there is what is known as the spiritual environment the ability for someone to grow spiritually to be fixated on their creator to be away from distractions and in a couple of nights we'll talk about the importance of solitude within islamic tradition sometimes you need to just be in a state of real mindfulness and focus with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala during the course of nights like these during the course of nights like during the month of Ramadan in performance of pilgrimages like that of Hajj and Umrah and Ziyarat we get like a recharge toward our spiritual battery that's the whole purpose of it and again through that sense of spiritual environment that is cultivated is necessary again for the development of our hearts and of our souls and the human being has to have an environment in each and every one of these three phases for them to really progress and allow for themselves to benefit in this world and in the next in terms of the natural environment that that which is within around us and the social environment the ability to be with people and the ability to have a sense of freedom and the ability to practice your religion and your faith and your culture freely and then thirdly of course that ability to connect with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on a metaphysical way free from any sort of distraction and we have numerous Ahadith and numerous Quranic verses that speak to the importance of our responsibility in really cultivating the first of these three and again that's talking about the natural environment that we're living in the verse that I began with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states that surely we honored the children of Adam every single one of us are the children of Adam every single one of us we can all trace our lineage back to Adam and Eve when we see Adam on the day of judgment we can go and give him a hug for instance when we see his wife Eve we can go and we can go and kiss her hand she's our grandmother doesn't matter where we came from doesn't matter what background no matter what language that we speak Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala states that we have honored the sons we have honored the children of Adam meaning what? he continues and he states and we have given them the ability to travel by air and by water and we have given them the benefits and the bounties and the blessings of this world again in order for us to reflect but if God gives us a blessing and that we don't take care of it then who's going to be held accountable for not taking care of that responsibility think about it if I loan someone something I ask them for instance to hold my phone for me for one hour while I go and I run an errand for instance if that phone drops and it cracks and it breaks and so on and so forth I come back to you and I say hey man where's my phone say sorry it broke who's going to be responsible for paying for that phone you or me I'm really scared of anyone so if someone says it's your fault I'm just going to say okay it's fine in reality even in an Islamic according to Islamic justice even according to sort of a social norm that person is going to take the responsibility okay yeah I'm the one who dropped it I'm sorry here it is I'm going to pay for it whatever it might be naturally الله سبحانه وتعالى says we honor this children of Adam and we have given them the oceans and we have given them the rivers and we have given them the skies and we have given them the heavens and we have made them inheritors in the earth for the rest of the whole of the Qur'an or numerous verses of the Qur'an you inherit something that will take responsibility for that and the first one of those responsibilities according to our traditions that when you receive a blessing at the very least you're thankful for that blessing someone gives you something you say thank you how many of us are thankful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى for being or for being surrounded by greenery for instance how many of us are thankful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the oxygen how many of us are thankful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the sun that shines in the sky you have the sun you have the clouds you have the moon you have the stars you can breathe Allah سبحانه وتعالى offered us all of these things how many of us have been thankful for them ever in our lives and I'm talking to myself first when you're going after prayers and you're performing سجد شكر you prostrate to Allah سبحانه وتعالى say thank you Allah سبحانه وتعالى شكراً لله 7 times 14 times 100 times whatever we've been taught by our parents or whatever we've been taught in Sunday school we just say it thank you Allah not until not until I taught my daughter the practice by the way I have two daughters let me just say this for once again if you love me you know that I have two daughters and not one everyone has I have another daughter too until I taught her that after we pray we say thank you Allah she says Baba for what I said oh shoot I have no idea I said I don't know thank you for anything she says thank you Allah for my mom thank you Allah for my Baba thank you Allah for food thank you Allah for Imam Hussein thank you Allah I have iPad no problem in those thankfulness in performing that act of thankfulness thank Allah سبحانه وتعالى I give you the ability to breathe now for how many people in hospitals all across the world it's difficult for them to breathe in the du'a of Imam Hussein he says oh Allah all thanks is due to you for you have given me the ability to crave food what a blessing we'll talk about that another night oh Allah thank you for giving me the ability to use the restroom for how many people it's painful for how many people it's a relief it's upon Allah how many things that God has given us all we have to do the first step is keeping in mind that all of these were given to us by Allah سبحانه وتعالى once we start with that mindset automatically we're standing bearers of seeking environmental justice in this world because why would I want anyone to pollute my water why would I want to be the one who is polluting the water why am I going to be the one who is not going to recycle why am I going to be the one who is going to waste because all of a sudden I understand that with a gift comes responsibility and the first responsibility is that I'm thankful for it why would anyone take a blessing and then throw it in the trash all of this is a blessing from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and we have numerous Ahadith really a lot of traditions from Ahadid Bayt a tradition from the Prophet A.S. which he states that preserve the earth for it is your mother how would you treat your mother you treat the earth the same way someone says no I'm going to throw this on the trash because I pay taxes and I'm contributing to environmental justice because I pay taxes well again when you're allowing for someone else to really go and do the job then again you're not putting things where they need to be and that's not illuminating the justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and that brings me toward the third dimension in which I want to run through a couple of Quranic verses that speak toward our responsibility and establishing environmental justice the first one of these is the verse within the whole of the Quran that in reality I never really reflected upon until last night Allah سبحانه وتعالى in chapter 18 verse 7 this verse he states that surely we have created the earth and all of that within it as a beautification for you meaning again the sun and the moon and the attraction of the trees you know how many of you have ever watched the sunset take place how many of you watched the sunset take place raise your hand let's do something a little bit different I'm not going to ask you guys to stand up and do jumping jacks how many of you watched the sunset take place great the majority of us every single one of us doesn't it look nice why else would we watch it take place Allah سبحانه وتعالى didn't have to make it look attractive he didn't have to allow for the red and the purple and the yellow and all the colors but he made it beautiful and attractive to us other traditions for instance from the prophet and his family they state that contentment is brought to a believer when they look at greenery it didn't have to be green it could have been black could have been white could have been I don't know some other ugly color but it was green and green attractive right now we're about to enter into autumn and the leaves are going to change colors it looks nice Allah سبحانه وتعالى didn't have to make it look nice over here in this verse Allah سبحانه وتعالى states that we have created everything within the earth and then we have allowed for beauty to be within the earth so that we can test you so that we can test you and see which one amongst you performs the best of deeds that's incredible that's like some deep stuff right there man someone says no there's nothing deep about it just think about it Allah سبحانه وتعالى decorated the universe it means to test us do we appreciate it are we thankful for it are we doing our best to we're preserving it really it's a lot to think about one of the whole of Quran Allah سبحانه وتعالى tells us this in the second verse Allah سبحانه وتعالى he tells us يا بني آدم خبوزي نتكم إن كل مسترد وكلوا وشربوا ولا تصرفوا he states oh again son of Adam that take your beauty toward the mestرد when you go I talked about this yesterday dress well when you come to the mosque wear some deodorant put on some cologne it's ok right no one's gonna judge you if you do all those nice things and we've given you a drink ولا تصرفوا but don't waste just think about that again someone says ok it's obvious don't waste have you seen the type of waste that we perform and I don't mean this in a way that's demeaning or judgmental I'm judging myself and I'm demeaning myself before anyone else that we just waste in a gathering like this take a little bit of food who's not gonna run out man it's not gonna run out I promise we have a lot every day we have a lot keep coming and you're gonna see that the food is gonna be so fantastic the next few nights insha'Allah it's gonna be there if you can't eat it and don't put it on your plate other traditions from the Prophet he states that he was in the gathering with his companions and after the sort of after he had completed everything that was in front of him there was some left over curry for instance left over greens of rice so on and so forth and the Prophet made sure that he picked up everything from that plate and he ate it and he looked toward his companions and he said the most blessed part of the meal is the last part and that if you eat the last part of the meal meaning everything that is remaining on your plate Allah سبحانه وتعالى will give you the reward from that mistaken as if you recited 400 verses of the Quran for you to not just waste the remaining greens on your plates think about how much waste that we perform in a day to day basis within our own homes and what we can do to sort of rectify and reconcile that and again I talk to myself first Allah سبحانه وتعالى has told us very clearly that a mechanism by which we can work toward preserving this environment as we all know that the waste that we are contributing to in terms of plastic in terms of paper in terms of so on and so forth what is going into our ecosystem and allowing for the upwards of and unique creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى to be on the verge of extinction is because of us but again Allah سبحانه وتعالى he also told us as I mentioned before ولا تمشي في الأرض مره don't even walk with a sense of pride on the ground let alone allowing and contributing to the defecation of this world that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given us so step number one to understand that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is testing us by everything that is around us step number two responsibility number two to making sure that we're not contributing to waste freely really important number three Allah سبحانه وتعالى in another verse of the Holy Quran he states he states that there is not an animal that crawls in the earth nor a bird that flies in the sky except that they are not in a community just like you meaning that we live amongst all of these other creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and part of environmental justice is to actually care for those animals that are around us and those species that are around us be it the fish when we're consuming plastic or be it the birds that fly in the sky as Allah سبحانه وتعالى where we see that God knows the statistics since the industrial revolution about how many species of the sky again or in the verge of extinction due to the pollution in the sky Allah سبحانه وتعالى states know that they are a creation just like you and that they are in communities just like you and they're seeking survival just like you and again as I mentioned before they are also the creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that are in a state of glorification in a state of praise of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and we get this from أهل البيت and their practice as well in a statement that one day the Prophet عليه السلام he was talking to his companions about the rights of the animals over the human being even animals have rights over the human being and he goes through six or eight of them one of them he says when you are riding the animal we don't ride on animals these days but in the case that we do but just in terms of understanding the context he states that when you are riding an animal make sure that you're only sitting on it when you're riding on it what does that mean today for instance when we are getting ready for instance to leave the program for those of you who drive here for instance you'll go and you'll sit in the car you'll get in your car and someone will pull up next to you for instance we don't have a parking lot this is a bad example everyone goes they sit in the car and they start conversing with one another with their windows down they just don't stop talking we love socializing I say guys we have to leave the space everyone leaves the space they go right out there by the shoes guys 10 o'clock we need to leave it's 10.05 okay no worries I said we have to leave the space okay no worries outside to 11 o'clock everyone standing outside no worries it's okay I like it it's beautiful it's really really important we like to socialize back in that day they used to leave the mosque after the sermon of the prophet after prayers they would go back to where their horses so they can go back so they would sit on top of their horses then they would see their friend hey man how's it going you want to go and hang out what are you doing tonight they're having conversations with one another but they're sitting on top of their horses رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم if you're not riding the horse then don't sit on it because you're abusing it you want to have a conversation with somebody a light from the horse have that conversation in order to give them a little bit of a break he states that when you're riding a horse and you're going from one community to another one city to another and you cross by a well you cross by an area where there's fruits he said a light from the horse and offer it to him or her before you take it for yourself and then he says furthermore if you are not going to stop there for yourself meaning I'm not hungry I'm not thirsty then you stop and you ask that horse if they want to drink or if they want to eat even if you don't want it think about the wisdom and the mercy of the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم you know when we say وما أرسلناك إلا رحمة للأالمين that the messenger was not sent except to be a mercy to the worlds means that Allah سبحانه وتعالى sent him to be a mercy to the worlds not to the human beings and if I want to emanate the mercy of the prophet عليه السلام then I do it by taking care of the world that I'm living in when Allah سبحانه وتعالى when we say everyday within our prayers رب العالمين all praises due to the lord of the worlds not this world and that God is the creator and he's the lord of all of this so I am just a small speck in this massive universe I have a sense of responsibility in another occasion it is said that the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم please recite one صلى الله عليه وسلم we're also going green in order to and these water bottles are being sold for $15 for a live stream please do purchase them we try to limit our waste over here and we are still not perfect and we are always looking for suggestions so if people can help as well in terms of that it will be wonderful so please don't also waste the cups outside anyhow when coming we see on that day the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم he had fallen asleep in the and he was wearing a very long garb like this garb that I am wearing he had a long sleeve and when the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم had woken up he saw that there was a cat sleeping on his sleeve and he looked at the cat and he realized that if he had moved that cat would have woken up so the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he began to remove the threads on his sleeve in order they can pull his hand out so that the cat would not move that the sleeve would not move from beneath the cat they said that in that course of that moment a man entered and he said oh messenger of God what are you doing while you are wearing your shirt he says the cat is sleeping he says oh صلى الله عليه وسلم you are the messenger of God care about the cat he says I am the messenger and the mercy to all of the worlds and it's my responsibility to care for this cat and to not wake him up when he is sleeping so he goes and he pulls his hand out that way on the day of Ashura Imam al-Hussain عليه الصلاة we are not even there yet but Imam al-Hussain عليه الصلاة when he reaches the water after every one of his family members and companions had been killed he was the last one to go into battle he reaches the river Euphrates he alights from his horse how thirsty your Imam was he looks toward his horse and he says oh horse take a sip of water and the horse looks back at Imam al-Hussain and looks at him and says in other words how can I drink when the son of the messenger of God is not drunk and as the Imam عليه الصلاة put his hand down to go and take some of that water the army of Omar ibn Sa'd he calls out toward his army oh army look Hussain drinks while his women and children are being looted and he rushes back toward his tent that sense of care for the environment around us we find other numerous traditions in which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he states that if someone removes a rock on a walking path that allows for people to walk freely for instance in other words a barrier is sort of in place and that individual comes and he removes that barrier so people can walk freely on a walking path that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has reserved paradise for that person what do you think about it again tradition after tradition what can we do it starts with us understanding that we have responsibility that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is testing us that we need to make sure that we're not wasting that we need to make sure that even in the smallest things and if that means having a refillable bottle of water when we go to the coffee shop to take our own cup of coffee that we have a sense of responsibility we are never able to get anywhere without understanding the first phase and that is that it's my job towards striving toward emanating this justice of Allah سبحانه وتعالى on the earth and placing things where they need to be and having a sense of care for the skies and having a sense of care for the waters and having a sense of care for the environment that I'm living in because Allah سبحانه وتعالى again has created that they have rights over us and that we have responsibilities to it if you understand what I'm saying so what are we going to do how much are we going to strive how much are we going to make those incremental changes toward making a difference in the world that we're living in this is all about if we don't care if we don't understand that all of this is supposed to be a stepping stone for our own spiritual growth and my friends and we're lacking in terms of understanding that we're a purpose in this world and that then brings me to my conclusion there's a sense of responsibility for caring for the environment that we're in and also understanding that there's a sacredness to the spaces that we're in as well in the same way that we have to care for the external environment and making sure that we're recycling making sure that we're not over consuming making sure that we're not wasting to understand that also in places of worship for instance that there is a sense of sanctity in a place like this we have to be in a state of humility when we enter into it understanding the etiquette of what it means to be in a place of the remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى that's also creating and cultivating that sense of environment as I mentioned before there's a natural environment there's a social environment and then there's a spiritual environment to keeping a place like this clean is important to keeping a place like this quiet during the time of programming for instance is important to understanding that it's a place by which people connect to Allah سبحانه وتعالى and that we're not here to pass judgments and that we're here to meet people with where they are at in terms of creating a positive environment and amongst those places which have a sense of sanctity to it within Islamic tradition is the holy city of Mecca of course it is known as مسجد الحرام the sacred mosque there's a sense of sacredness and sanctity to it that when you're in Mecca and you're within the holy proximity certain things they're forbidden on you when you enter into Mecca you have to enter into the state of Ahram every time you enter into Mecca that when you enter into Mecca you cannot even take one piece of grain one rock one piece of sand from that city and take it back home for instance or remove it from Mecca you're not allowed to uproot plants in the holy city of Mecca you're not allowed to hunt in Mecca there's again there's a sense of sanctity within that city and Allah سبحانه وتعالى that the one who enters into it they should be at peace and for every human being in human history that when they enter into Mecca they don't have to worry about their lives they don't have to worry about their own sanctity they don't have to worry about bloodshed they don't have to worry about their women nor about their children because you enter into the proximity of Allah سبحانه وتعالى where there's a certain etiquette where there's a certain charisma to it every single individual when they enter they enter in that state of peace except for one man and that was our master he leaves the holy city of Medina as I mentioned last night on the 28th of the month of Rajab because وليد بن أتبى أن توت الامام and he tells them that you either أًلى العفونان أَصْبِق warriors so it is said that he goes back toward his family members and he prepares them and as I mentioned last night he bids farewell to his grandfather the messenger of God and toward his mother the great tomb of Baqee and they make their way towards Mecca مدينة ، لا one can shed blood. No one would dare shed blood in the holy city of Mecca. And the Imam ﷺ prepared to stay there for the duration of the Amman of Hajj. But on the 8th of the month of the Hajj, what is known as يوم التروية يوم التروية is the day when all of the Hajj, they begin to prepare themselves to go toward Arafat. The city of Mecca in itself is basically void of people. Everyone is in their hotels. Everyone is in their tents. Everyone is in the outskirts getting ready so they can go toward the land of Arafat, the most important day of the Hajj. Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, on the day of Atarouya, the 8th of the month of the Hajj, he hears news that Yazid ibn Muawiya has dispatched 1000 people ready to shed the blood of Imam al-Hussain ﷺ in the proximity of the holy Ka'ba. Imam al-Hussain, he is the man who the holy Ka'ba has its reverence in due to his grandfather. A thousand people with swords ready to strike Imam al-Hussain ﷺ even if it meant in the sanctity of the grand mosque. Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, he goes toward his brother Abu al-Fadr al-Abbas. And he says, Oh Abu al-Fadr, then we have to leave. We have to leave Mecca. To which many people, they came toward him and they said, oh Imam al-Hussain, where are you going to go? He responds, he said, now is the time and now is the day in which I have been foreshadowed by my grandfather, the messenger of God ﷺ. So the Imam ﷺ, he begins to prepare his family members and he begins to prepare his companions, telling them that we have to evacuate the holy city and the holy precinct. So while everyone else within the city of Mecca was preparing and they were wearing their Ahram as the poet states, that everyone was getting ready, they were wearing their Ahram for Hajj so they can go toward Arafat, there was one caravan that on that day they were preparing a different type of attire. They were preparing a different type of garment. While everyone was wearing their white Ahram, the family of the messenger of God was wearing their white shrouds of death. While everyone was going toward Arafat, one caravan was leaving toward going toward Karabada. And Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, he gathers together that family and that group of companions of his who are loyal, like loyalty would even be a shame to say that we are loyal in the eyes of the companions of Hussain ﷺ. They departed Mecca and they began to make their journey toward the land that was foretold by the messenger of God. And on this day, the second of Muharram, the day that just passed us, it is the day when the caravan of Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, it arrived in that great city, in that city known as Karabada. Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, when he entered into that city, his horse stopped moving. And he told the horse, resume, let's continue to move. And the horse did not move. Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, he alighted from his horse. And he went toward those who lived in that area, the tribe known as Banu Asad. He says, oh people of Banu Asad, tell me, what do you call this place? And they said that oh grandson of the messenger of God, we call this place غادرية. He said, tell me another name. He said, we call this place شتفرات. This is the riverbank of the Euphrates, that Euphrates that the Imam ﷺ could not take one sip of water from. He said, tell me another name. They said, oh grandson of the messenger of God, we call this land Karabada. For those of you who understand Arabic language, the Imam ﷺ, he states, the word Karabada means the land of trials and tribulations. And it is said that Imam al-Hussain ﷺ, he kneeled down to the ground. And he picked up a little bit of that sand and he smelt it. And then he looks toward his caravan. And he says, oh my family members and all my friends, that surely this is the land of trials and tribulations. Then he looks toward his sister Zaynab. And he says, oh Zaynab, this is the land that our grandfather foretold us about. And then he goes with أبل فضل العباس. And they begin to sort of take a look at the land that they're in. Take a look at that barren desert. And he looks toward the right. And he says, oh أبل فضل العباس. He says, I can see my son علينا الأكبر being martyred in this location. And then he looks toward the left. And he says, oh أبل فضل العباس. He says, I can see your hands being severed in these locations. And then he looks toward أبل فضل العباس. And he says, that's where the body of Qasem would be trampled. And then he looks toward Zaynab. And for those of you who have been to Carpera, you take your heart back to that location, that area, which is the most tragic of them all. A location known as a تل زي نبي. The hill of Zaynab. And it is said that Imam Al-Hussain, عليه السلام. He looks toward Lady Zaynab, عليه السلام. And says, oh Zaynab, on this hill you will stand on the tent of محرم. And you will watch as شمر بن دل جوشن sits on my chest and begins to sever my head. One by one he says that this is the place where our men will be killed. And this is the place where our children will be slaughtered. And this is the place where our women will become prisoners. And at that moment he looks toward Zaynab. And Zaynab is overcome with emotion. And Imam Al-Hussain عليه السلام says, oh Zaynab, just remain patient for that day and that night that's going to transpire after my martyrdom. For here our tents will be and here our tents will burn. And here is where the children will run from tent to tent. Oh Zaynab be patient. But I tell you this my dear friends and I'll leave you with this last note. Tonight is the night in which we recollect and we remember when the caravan of Ahribayt they arrived in Kherbara. But on the twelfth of محرم we fast forward ten nights to when the caravan of Muhammed and Wa'ali Muhammed had to leave Kherbara. It is said that one by one the women and the children they were being whipped by the whips of Shمر بن دل جوشن. And they looked to one another and Zaynab عليه السلام along with أم كلفوم. They pick up all of the children and they pick up all of the women and they put them on the backs of those horse and this without saddles on the back of those donkeys as they're getting ready toward leaving the city of Kherbara. Zaynab عليه السلام. Have you ever ridden on a horse before? It's not easy to get on top but Zaynab عليه السلام picking up every single one of them and she's doing her best toward caring for these children. She's also tired. She's also hungry. She's also thirsty. She's also exhausted. And at the end there was only Zaynab بن أم كلفوم. These two sisters with their courage and with their bravery they were able to allow for everyone to get on top of the horses and they looked at one another and أم كلفوم looks toward Zaynab. Zaynab looks toward أم كلفوم. Zaynab says oh my sister let me help you get on top and then أم كلفوم says but oh Zaynab who is going to help you get on. She says don't worry I have an idea at this moment she helps أم كلفوم get on top of the animal and then she looks toward the river Euphrates and she says oh my brother أبل فضل العباص when we left Medina you were there and when you left Mecca we were there for me who is going to help me but oh Zaynab your brother I've been a father العباص على قوم البالمين إنا لله وإن إليه راجعون ويسك الله سبحانه وتعالى بايرا love for Hussain وجده وعبيه وأمه وأخي وتسعة المعسومين من ضريةه سرباتك عليهم اجمعين ويسك الله سبحانه وتعالى our lives to resemble the lives of Muhammed Nooh Ali昔 بشكل الله سبحانه وتعالى فع Our death to truckman passes المغادر ب�呢 وshit to Pope with these tears and with this grief to forgive our sins وياسه الله سبحانه وتعالى to allow for us to illuminate the justice that Allah سبحانه وتعالى speaks for اللهم سبحانه وتعالى that we are amongst those who are able to be mechanisms for change in this life so that we are able to create a system of equity for all of those around us we ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the success of these programs and these majadas moving forward we ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى to grant us the visit of Imam al-Hussain in this life and the intercession of the next life اللهم رزقنا زيارة الحسين في الدنيا والشفاءة الحسين في الآخرة والحمد لله رب العالمين وصل اللهم على سيدنا ونبينا محمد وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين if I can ask you all to recite one Surah Al-Fathah but before that one Surah Al-Muhammad وعالي محمد