Hadith 1
Chapter 28 (page 325)
4083 Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Prophet (PBUH) said: “This is the mountain
that loves us and is loved by us.”
Current Issues:
Mount Uhud
Mount Uhud is the largest mountain in Madeenah. It is located in the north of Madeenah and it
consists of a group of mountains that extends from the east to the west with a length of seven
kilometers. Its width is almost three kilometers, and it is at a distance of five kilometers from the
mosque of the Prophet (PBUH)
Mount Uhud is a historic place that only serves to increase the beauty of Madeenah, which teems with
the fragrance of Islamic history. The Prophet (PBUH) loved this mountain and would declare this love
by saying: "Uhud is a mountain which loves us and which we love.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Mount Uhud relates to the famous historic Battle of Uhud that took place near this mountain and in
which the polytheists were victorious during the second part of it. This was because of the mistake
that was committed by the Muslim archers, as they disobeyed the orders of the Prophet, , who
ordered them to stay on the mountain to protect the backs of the fighters, but they descended as they
thought that the battle was over and the backs of the fighters were exposed and the polytheists killed
many Muslims. Indeed we belong to Allaah, and indeed to Him we will return.
An important incident that took place during the Battle of Uhud is that the Prophet, , and some of the
Companions took shelter on Mount Uhud and it shook, so The Prophet (PBUH) said: “O Uhud, be
firm, for upon you there is none but a Prophet, a Siddeeq [an affirmer of the truth] and two
martyrs.”[Al-Bukhaari]
Mount Uhud was used in many similes and examples:
The Prophet (PBUH) said about the legs of Ibn Mas‘ood :“By Him in whose Hand my soul is, they are
heavier in the scale than Mount Uhud.”[At-Tayaalisi]
The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“If you had an amount of gold equal to that of Mount Uhud and you spent it in the cause of Allaah,
Allaah would not accept it from you until you believe in fate.”[Ahmad]
“It would not please me to have an amount of gold equal to that of Mount Uhud and die while having
one or half a dinar of it except for a creditor.”[Ad-Daarimi]
In order to show the reward of the Funeral Prayer, the Prophet (PBUH) said:“The one who performs
the Funeral Prayer will get a Qiraat [in reward], and the one who witnesses it until the dead is buried
will get two Qiraats. By Him in whose Hands the soul of Muhammad is, the Qiraat is greater than this
[Mount] Uhud.” [Ibn Maajah]
From http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/articles/154841/mount-uhud
On 26th September 2014
Top 10 Ways Man Is Destroying the Environment
By Matt Schwarzfeld
It's dinnertime but there's no food in the house, so you get in your car and drive to the grocery store.
You walk the aisles browsing for something to buy. You pick up chicken and a pre-made salad, then
return home to enjoy your meal. Consider the ways your seemingly simple trip to the market affected
the environment.
Driving to and from the store contributed carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The electricity required to
light the store was powered by coal, the mining of which ravaged an Appalachian ecosystem. The
salad ingredients were grown on a farm treated with pesticides that washed into local streams,
poisoning fish and aquatic plants (which help keep the air clean). The chicken was grown on a
massive factory farm a long distance away, where animal waste produced toxic levels of atmospheric
methane. Getting the goods to the store required trucks, trains and more trucks -- all of which emitted
carbon.
Even the smallest human actions initiate environmental change. How we heat our homes and power
our electronics, how we get around, what we do with our garbage, where our food comes from -- all of
these put a strain on the environment beyond what it's designed to support.
Taken at a societal level, human behavior changes the environment in dramatic ways. The Earth's
temperature has increased by one degree Fahrenheit since 1975 [source: National Geographic]. The
polar ice caps are shrinking at a rate of 9 percent a decade [source: National Resources Defense
Council].
We hurt the environment in more ways than you could possibly imagine. Misguided construction,
irrigation and mining can deface the natural landscape and disrupt important ecological processes.
Aggressive fishing and hunting can deplete entire stocks of species. Human migration can introduce
alien competitors to native food chains. Greed can lead to catastrophic accidents and laziness to
environmentally destructive practices.
So what are the worst offenders? Here are the top 10.
10. Dam Follies
Sometimes public works projects don't work out so well for the public. Meant to generate clean
energy, dam projects in China have ravaged their surroundings by flooding cities and environmental
waste sites and increasing the risk of natural disasters.
The re-routed river has also greatly increased the risk of landslides along its banks, home to hundreds
of thousands of people. It's estimated that another half-million people might be displaced by
landslides along the Yangtze by the year 2020 [source: International Rivers]. And landslides choke
rivers with silt, further depleting the ecosystem.
Scientists have recently linked dams to earthquakes. The Three Gorges reservoir is built atop two
major fault lines, and hundreds of small tremors have occurred since it opened. Scientists have
suggested that the catastrophic 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, which left 80,000 people dead,
was exacerbated by water build-up at the Zipingpu Dam, less than half a mile from the earthquake's
primary fault line. The phenomenon of dams causing earthquakes, known asreservoir-induced
seismicity, is caused by water pressure building up underneath the reservoir, which in turn increases
pressure in the rocks and acts to lubricate fault lines already under strain. An earthquake caused by
Three Gorges Dam would present a humanitarian disaster of untold proportions.
Built to control the Yangtze River's flooding, the Three Gorges Dam in central China has instead
caused flooding in surrounding areas and a host of other problems.Image
9. Overfishing
"There are plenty of fish in the sea" might not be so true anymore. Mankind's appetite for seafood has
emptied our oceans to such a degree that experts worry many species can't replenish themselves.
According to the World Wildlife Federation, the global fishing fleet is 2.5 times larger than what our
oceans can support. More than half of the world's fisheries are already gone, and one-quarter are
"overexploited, depleted or recovering from collapse." Ninety percent of the ocean's large fish -- tuna,
swordfish, marlin, cod, halibut, skate and flounder -- have been fished out of their natural habitats. It's
estimated that unless something changes, stocks of these fish will disappear by 2048 [source: Worm
et al.].
Advances in fishing technology are the main culprit. Today's commercial fishing boats are basically
floating factories equipped with fish-finding sonar. They drop massive nets the size of three football
fields that can sweep up an entire school of fish in minutes. Once a commercial fishing boat stakes a
claim on an area, it's estimated that the fish population will decline by 80 percent within 10 to 15 years
[source: World Wildlife Federation].
Aquafarming
Aquafarming, or harvesting fish in land- or shore-based tanks or cages, has become a billion-dollar
industry worldwide, and it's estimated that as much as 50 percent of marine life consumed in the
world comes from farms [source: Live Science]. While seemingly beneficial to wild fish, aquafarms
require tremendous amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea, which further
depletes ocean populations.
8. Invasive Species
We've been moving species around the globe since the dawn of the Age of Exploration. While
bringing your favorite pet or plant along may make a new place feel a bit more like home, it can also
throw the natural balance out of order. Introducing invasive flora and fauna has proven to be one of
the most damaging things mankind has done to the environment.
In the United States, 400 of the 958 species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act
are considered at risk because of competition with alien species [source: Pimentel, Zuniga and
Morrison]. The Dodo bird is a good example. The Dodo went the way of the dino in part because cats,
rats and pigs brought by European sailors to the Americas feasted on its nest and eggs. The wingless
bird couldn't defend itself.
The problem of invasive species is most pronounced with non-vertebrate species. In the first half of
the 20th century, a fungus from Asia wiped out more than 180 million acres (73 million hectares) of
American chestnut trees. Blight such as this causes a domino effect: Ten moth species that depended
on chestnut trees for survival became extinct as a result [source:Simberloff].
Smallpox
Some academics estimate that as many as 20 million Native Americans, or 95 percent of the
population of the Americas, died within a few generations of Europeans arriving in the New World
[source: PBS]. Only one thing could have inflicted such catastrophe on a population: germs. The
primary threat was smallpox, a viral infection that enters the body through the nose or throat, then
travels to the lungs and throughout the lymphatic system. Because nothing like the virus existed in the
New World, Native Americans didn't have the immunity to resist the invasive species.
7. Coal Mining
The greatest risk to the environment presented by coal is climate change, but mining for the valuable
resource endangers local ecosystems as well.
Market realities create grave risks to mountains in coal -- heavy regions, especially in the United
States. Coal is a cheap source of energy - one megawatt of energy produced by coal costs $20 to
$30, versus $45 to $60 for one megawatt of energy produced from natural gas [source:Moyers]. And
one-quarter of the world's coal reserves are in the U.S.
Two of the most environmentally destructive forms of mining are mountain top removal and strip
mining. In mountain-top removal mining, up to 1,000 feet (305 meters) might be shaved off the peak
in order to scoop out the coal inside. The mountain is hollowed out as minerals are extracted. Strip
mining is used when the coal is closer to the surface of the mountain. The top layers of the mountain
face -- including trees and any creatures living in them -- are scraped away to extract valuable
minerals.
Each practice lays waste to everything in its path. Vast swaths of old-growth forest are removed and
dumped in nearby valleys. It's estimated that more than 300,000 acres (121,405 hectares) of
hardwood forest in West Virginia have already been destroyed by mining [source: PBS]. By 2012, the
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an additional 2,000 square miles (5,180 square
kilometers) of Appalachian forest will disappear through mountain top removal and strip mining
[source: Goldenberg].
The question of what to do with the refuse compounds the environmental consequences. Usually the
mining company simply dumps the rocks, trees and wildlife in a nearby valley. In West Virginia,
Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, more than 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) of streams have been
buried by strip mine refuse [source: PBS]. Not only does this destroy the natural ecosystem of the
mountain and stream, it also dries up larger rivers and strangles ecosystems that feed on the higherelevation streams. Industrial waste from the mine washes into river beds. In West Virginia, more than
75 percent of streams and rivers are polluted by mining and related industries [source: PBS].
6. Human Accidents
While most of the ways humans damage the environment occur over the course of years, some
events can happen in an instant -- an instant with long-reaching consequences.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska has had a lasting impact. Releasing
almost 11 million gallons of crude oil into an otherwise unspoiled stretch of wilderness, the accident
killed an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22
killer whales and billions of salmon and herring eggs [source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council].
At least two species, Pacific herring and pigeon guillemots, have not recovered from the disaster. As
recently as 2006, scientists continued to find traces of oil on beaches around the Sound
[source: Weise].
It's too soon to estimate the damage to wildlife caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but the
scope of the disaster appears unmatched in American history. At its peak, 60,000 barrels of oil, or 2.5
million gallons (9.5 million liters), leaked into the Gulf every day -- the highest volume spill in American
history. Most early estimates place the damage to wildlife below that of the Exxon Valdez because of
the lesser density of local species in the Gulf compared to Prince William Sound. Regardless, there's
no question that traces of the spill will be around for years to come.
5. Cars
America has long been considered the land of the automobile, so it should come as no surprise that
one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. comes from cars. There are more than 232
million vehicles on the roads in this country -- only a tiny portion of which are electric-powered or
hybrid. And an average American car consumes 600 gallons (2271 liters) of gasoline a year
[source: Environmental Defense Fund].
A single car emits 12,000 pounds -- that's right, pounds -- of carbon dioxide (or 5443 kilograms) every
year in the form of exhaust [source: Environmental Defense Fund]. It would take 240 trees to offset
that amount. In America, cars emit around the same amount of carbon dioxide as the country's coalburning power plants. In 2004, U.S. cars and light trucks emitted 314 million metric tons (346 million
tons) of carbon, which is one third of the nation's total carbon dioxide output. It would take a 50,000mile-long (80,467-kilometer-long) coal train -- equal to 17 times the distance between New York and
San Francisco -- to match the amount of carbon released into the environment by American cars
every year. [source: Environmental Defense Fund].
Combustion in the car's engine produces fine particles of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and sulfur
dioxide. In high quantities, these chemicals interfere with the human respiratory system, causing
coughing, choking and reduced lung capacity. Cars also generate carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas
formed by combustion of fossil fuels that blocks the transport of oxygen to the brain, heart and other
vital organs.
And then there's all the oil required to keep our cars moving. Drilling for oil has significant
environmental consequences in its own right. Land-based drilling displaces local species and, in
remote regions, requires that roads be built out of dense forest. Marine drilling and shipping not
uncommonly results in spills like the BP Gulf of Mexico catastrophe -- there have been a dozen spills
of more than 40 million gallons (151,416,471 liters) across the world since 1978. Dispersants used to
mitigate the effects can also kill marine life.
4. Unsustainable Agriculture
One common trend emerges in all the ways mankind hurts the environment: We fail to plan for the
future. Nowhere is this seen as much as in how we raise our food.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, current farming practices are responsible for
70 percent of the pollution in the nation's rivers and streams. Runoff of chemicals, contaminated soil
and animal waste from farms has polluted more than 173,000 miles (278,417 kilometers) of
waterways [source: Horrigan et al.]. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides increase nitrogen levels and
decrease oxygen in the water supply. Even before the BP Oil Spill, the Gulf of Mexico suffered a
"dead zone" the size of New Jersey from industrial run-off from factories and farms along the
Mississippi River.
Pesticides used to protect crops from predators endanger bird and insect populations. For example,
the number of honeybee colonies on U.S. farmland dropped from 4.4 million in 1985 to less than 2
million in 1997 [source: Horrigan et al.]. Exposure to pesticides weakened the bees' immune systems,
making them more vulnerable to natural enemies.
Large scale industrial agriculture also contributes to global warming. The vast majority of meat in the
world comes from industrial farms. On any given farm, tens of thousands of livestock are
concentrated in small areas for economy of scale. Factory farms emit harmful gases from
unprocessed animal waste, including methane, which contributes to global warming. Livestock literally
wade in pools of their own waste, which ravages the soil and nearby forests -- not to mention creating
a ghastly odor.
3. Deforestation
There was a time, not that long ago, when the majority of the land on this planet -- almost half of the
United States, three-quarters of Canada and nearly all of Europe -- was covered in forests. Today, the
world's forests are disappearing before our eyes.
The United Nations estimates that more than 32 million acres (12,949,941 hectares) of forest are lost
each year, including 14.8 million acres (5,989,348 hectares) of primary forest -- lands not occupied or
affected by human beings [source: FAO]. Seventy percent of the planet's land animals and plants live
in forests, and the loss of their homes threatens the existence of an untold number of species
[source: National Geographic].
The problem is particularly acute in tropical forests, especially rainforests. Rainforests cover 7 percent
of the Earth's land area and provide a home to half of all the species on the planet [source: Lindsey].
At the current rate of deforestation, scientists estimate that the world's rainforests could disappear in
100 years [source: National Geographic].
Deforestation contributes to global warming. Trees absorb greenhouse gases -- so fewer trees means
larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. They also help perpetuate the water
cycle by returning water vapor to the atmosphere. Without trees, former forests can quickly become
barren deserts, leading to more extreme temperature swings. When forests are burned down, carbon
in the trees is released, contributing to global warming. Scientists estimate that Amazonian trees
contain the equivalent of 10 years worth of greenhouse gases produced by humans [source: NASA].
Poverty is a root cause of deforestation -- most tropical forests are in Third World countries -- as are
policies to encourage economic development in undeveloped areas. Loggers and farmers drive
deforestation. In most cases, a subsistence farmer, crowded into pioneer lands by overpopulation, will
cut down trees for a farm plot.
The farmer typically burns the trees and vegetation to create a fertilizing layer of ash. This is
called slash-and-burn farming. The risks of erosion and flooding are increased. Soil nutrients are lost,
and in a few years, the land often proves unable to support the very crops for which the trees were cut
down [source: Lindsey].
In slash-and-burn agriculture, forests are decimated make room for crops. Here forest rangers
confiscate wood after a raid on an illegal logging site in Aceh province, Indonesia.Image Credit: AP
Photo/Heri Juanda
2. Global Warming
The average surface temperature of the Earth has increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees
Celsius) in the last 130 years, and by 1 F (0.56 C) since 1975 [source: National Geographic]. Global
ice caps are melting at an alarming rate - since 1979, more than 20 percent of the global ice cap has
disappeared. Sea levels are rising, causing flooding and, according to a bevy of scientists, influencing
catastrophic natural disasters around the globe.
Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect, in which certain gases trap heat from the sun in
the atmosphere. Since 1990, yearly emissions of greenhouse gases have gone up by about 6 billion
metric tons (6.61 billion tons) worldwide, an increase of more than 20 percent [source: National
Geographic].
The gas most responsible for global warming is carbon dioxide, which accounts for 82 percent of all
greenhouse gases in the United States [source: Energy Information Administration]. Carbon dioxide is
produced through combustion of fossil fuels, mostly in cars and coal-powered factories. In 2005,
global atmospheric concentrations of the gas were 35 percent higher than they were before the
Industrial Revolution [source: Environmental Protection Agency]. America's transportation and
industrial sectors each account for around 30 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions
[source: Pew Climate].
Global warming could lead to natural disasters, large-scale food and water shortages and devastating
outcomes for wildlife. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the sea level
could rise between 7 and 23 inches (17.8 and 58.4 centimeters) by the end of the century. Rises of
just 4 inches (0.9 meters) of sea level, and much of the world's population lives near coastal
areas. More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems
and acid rain.
1. Overpopulation
Overpopulation "is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about," says Dr. John
Guillebaud, professor of family planning and reproductive health at University College in London.
"Unless we reduce the human population humanely through family planning, nature will do it for us
through violence, epidemics or starvation." [source: Guardian]
The world's population has grown from 3 billion to 6.7 billion in the past 40 years. Seventy-five million
people -- the equivalent of the population of Germany -- are added to the planet every year, or more
than 200,000 people every day [source: peopleandplanet.net]. The Earth's population is projected to
exceed 9 billion by the year 2050.
In that same time period, the population of the U.S. grew from 200 million to more than 303 million. By
2050, it's projected to be 420 million.
More people means more waste, more demand for food, more production of consumer goods, more
need for electricity, cars and everything. In other words, all the factors that contribute to global
warming will be exacerbated.
Increased demand for food will force farmers and fishermen to exploit already-fragile ecosystems.
Forests will be cleared as cities and suburbs expand, and to make room for more farmland. Strains on
endangered species will increase. In rapidly developing countries such as China and India, increasing
energy demands are expected to accelerate carbon emissions. In short, more people means more
problems.
How Cities Are Good for the Environment
Moving away from agrarian living can actually promote a more environmentally sustainable way of
life. Denser living quarters in cities makes heating and cooling more efficient. Public transportation
decreases the percentage of people driving cars. In developing countries, cities draw people away
from subsistence farming -- a practice that is devastating for the environment because farmers
encroach on forests, burn wood (releasing heavy amounts of carbon), and add to the quantity of
methane from animal waste.
From http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-ways-man-destroying-environment.htm
on 26th September 2014
The Destruction of the Earth’s Ecology: Nature’s Capital Is The Limiting Resource
Life will perish as the environment perishes. (21st century ecological economist).
Only in science fiction can humans escape the consequences of destroying their own habitat. In
Robert A. Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love, the “Great Diaspora of the Human Race” began “more
than two millennia ago” and has spread to more than “two thousand colonized planets.”
The once “lovely green planet” Earth is a slum planet barely able to support life where only the
poorest live, Earth’s natural capital having been consumed over two thousand years ago. Humans
have found the ability to rejuvenate themselves and to live almost endless lives, but they are unable
to rejuvenate the planets whose natural capital they devour. Humans have not encountered “one race
as mean, as nasty, as deadly as our own.” As homo sapiens use up the environments of colonized
planets, “human intergalactic colony ships are already headed out into the Endless Deeps,” leaving
their ruins behind them.
In his book, Collapse, University of California biogeography professor Jared Diamond describes the
nonfictional past and present destruction of Earth’s natural capital. Surprisingly, Diamond begins his
story of the self-destruction of Easter Island, Anasazi, and Maya civilizations with present-day
Montana and ends with Australia. We think of these two lands as scenic, lightly populated, and largely
untouched, but they have been brought to the brink of ruin. Diamond’s point is that modern scientific
and technological man is no better at managing nature’s capital than previous societies.
Many associate ecological destruction with population pressure. However, the toxicity associated with
mining, fracking, chemical fertilizer and GMO farming, and the adverse watershed effects of logging is
turning even low density states such as Montana into an environment with ruined soil and water.
In Montana mining has produced a legacy of toxicity–mercury, arsenic, cyanide, cadmium, lead, and
zinc. These toxic substances have found their way into Montana’s fishing rivers and into reservoirs.
From reservoirs toxic substances have leaked into groundwater and into the wells that supply homes.
In 1981 groundwater serving family wells in areas of Montana was found with arsenic levels 42 times
higher than federal standards permit.
Before Montana could find ways to retrieve its water resources from the toxic run-offs from mining, a
new threat has appeared: hydraulic fracking. Fracking uses huge amounts of surface water, which it
infuses with toxic chemicals to aid the extraction of underground gas and oil deposits that are
otherwise unrecoverable. The energy industry and its media shills are touting “energy independence”
in order to sway the public away from environmentalists, who are warning of the dangers.
Some of fracking’s toxic wastes stay in the ground and seep into aquifers, destroying the water
supply. The toxic water that comes back up with the gas or oil has to be disposed of. On occasion, it
ends up in city or town waste water treatment plants, which cannot detoxify the water, and in streams
where toxic run-off can reduce nitrogen and phosphorus and produce golden algae (prymnesium
parvum) which destroys all aquatic life. The use of surface water for fracking might already have
depleted the streams that supplied the water, lowering their volume and thus making them vulnerable
to other pollution, such as septic tank run-offs and algae from higher temperatures due to a lower
water level.
While promising “energy independence,” fracking actually threatens to destroy our fresh water
supplies. Recently, researchers have given attention to the fact that water might be the limiting
resource and end up more valuable than oil, gas, or gold.
Fracking is still in its infancy, but Pennsylvania is already hard hit. There have been reports that some
homeowners have been warned to open their windows when they take a shower, because of the
methane content of the water which is high enough in some instances for the water to actually burn.
Energy spokesmen claim that methane found in ground water near fracking sites is a natural
condition. However, residents say that their water was not infused with methane prior to the fracking
operations. A study recently published by the National Academy of Sciences found that the type of
methane gas that has appeared in water supplies is the same as the gas nearby wells are extracting
with fracking operations. This indicates that the methane is moving into water supplies through
underground fractures.
In 2012 Robert Oswald, professor of molecular medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary
Medicine, published with a coauthor, Veterinarian Michelle Bamberger, a peer-reviewed article that
indicated a link between fracking and neurological, reproductive, and gastrointestinal problems of
livestock exposed via air or water to toxic chemicals used in fracking.
Fracking, like deep sea drilling and all other dangerous exploitations of nature’s resources, produces
large short-run profits for corporations at the expense of everyone else and the future. The cost of the
polluted water, dead fish, infertile humans and animals, polluted soil and air, and the increase in
diseases are all external costs imposed on third parties who have no stake in the ill-gotten profits.
Pennsylvania, possibly the most corrupt state in the US, has passed a law that prevents health care
professionals from sharing information about the health care effects of fracking. “I have never seen
anything like this in my 37 years of practice,” says Dr. Helen Podgainy, pediatrician from Coraopolis,
Pa.
In other words, as in Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love, in Amerika today a handful of rich
control everything. Nothing else counts or matters. Oxfam, an international philanthropy organization,
announced on January 18 that the world’s 100 richest people earned an average of $2.4 billion each
in 2012. Imagine that! An annual income of $2,400 million, or a daily income of $6,575,000.
Compared to this, one of the early billionaires back in the 1990s, Sir James Goldsmith, was a poor
man.
Easter Island is a clear example of a civilization that destroyed itself by stripping its environment of its
resources. Professor Diamond observes: “ Easter Island was as isolated in the Pacific Ocean as the
Earth is in space. When the Easter Islanders got into difficulties there was no where to which they
could flee, nor to which they could turn for help; nor shall we modern Earthlings have recourse
elsewhere” if we destroy the natural capital of our planet. Indeed, Diamond asks, “if mere thousands
of Easter Islanders with just stone tools and their own muscle power sufficed to destroy their
environment and thereby their society, how can billions of people with metal tools and machine power
now fail to do worse?” Diamond might have added that people producing toxic wastes that poison the
air, water, and soil and armed with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons are certain to destroy
Earth, especially when almost every government is unaccountable.
On Easter Island trees were the major resource for the population. Trees provided food, housing,
watershed that protected against soil erosion, compost, and the large canoes that allowed the
inhabitants to leave the island and to fish offshore. What, Professor Diamond asks, was the ruler
thinking when the last tree was cut down?
The answer perhaps is that the ruler was thinking of his own glory. How would his stone monument
be rolled into place without the aid of the last tree? What counts, the ruler thought, is not that the
Easter Island population survive, but that I have no less glory in my monuments than my
predecessors. Thus, with the last tree felled, Easter Island’s death warrant was signed.
When the original colonists arrived in Australia, they made a mistaken inference and concluded
bountiful harvests were in their reach. Alas, there is salinity under the soil and irrigation brings the salt
to the surface where it destroys the crops.
Salinity brought to the surface by irrigation then runs off into the surface water. The Murray/Darling
River accounts for about half of Australia’s agricultural production. But as the river flows downstream,
more and more water is extracted. The river becomes progressively salty as its volume decreases
and more released salt deposits run off into the river. Diamond reports that “in some years so much
water is extracted that no water is left in the river to enter the ocean.”
Clearing the land of its native vegetation contributes to the release of salinity. Diamond writes that
90% of Australia’s original native vegetation has been cleared.
The problems with Australia’s soils and waters are profound, but don’t expect the government to take
them into account. Capitalist enterprises can make short term profits by destroying the fragile soils
and waters of Australia. The small population of Australia is all the country can support considering its
fragile ecology.
This brings us to the rain forests of Brazil, the most extraordinary modern example of the wanton
destruction of immense natural resources by the blind force of unregulated capitalist greed, a
destructive force as dangerous as that of nuclear weapons.
In The Fate of the Forest, Susanna Hecht and Alexander Cockburn take us through centuries of
destruction of the most valuable forests on earth and the indigenous peoples that inhabited them. This
book is an extraordinary learning experience and covers many centuries of man’s destruction of the
Amazon rain forests, medicinal plants, waters, indigenous peoples, and animal, vegetable and insect
species. Every development plan failed, whether originating in a Brazilian government, private
capitalist such as Henry Ford and Daniel Ludwig, or international organization.
Briefly what happened is this. In order for outsiders to gain title to land inhabited by natives, rubber
tappers, Brazil nut gatherers, and others who had use rights to the forests and knew how to exploit
the forests without damaging them, the trees had to be felled, because titles were granted to cleared
land.
Land speculators and cattle ranchers acquired vast land holdings by wiping out forests of mahogany,
rubber, and Brazil nut trees along with the native inhabitants. The cleared land, deprived of its
stewards and its nutrients, became compacted and infertile after a few years. Cattle farming is
profitable for a short time before the soil is exhausted, but the-short term profits exist only because of
government subsidies and because the external costs of the value of the forests that were destroyed
in order to gain a land title are not counted in the cost of the cattle.
The Fate Of The Forest was published in 1990 by the prestigious University of Chicago Press. The
information in the book goes to 1988. What has happened to the Amazon since I do not know. Hecht
and Cockburn report that remnants of indigenous peoples, despite the murder of many of their
leaders by the land barons who were never held accountable, succeeded in forcing the corrupt
government of Brazil to establish “extractive reserves” that were supposed to protect the use rights of
existing social organizations to the forests. The authors indicate as of their time of writing that the
corrupt rich and well-connected were able to take advantage of the extractive reserves to continue
their process of land theft. The same misuse is made of national parks. The indigenous inhabitants
are moved off national park lands, but favored capitalists are given access to exploit the resources.
Irecommend this book to everyone. It shows conclusively without being didactic that unregulated
capitalism is one of the greatest forces of destruction of peoples, animal and plant life, and the Earth’s
ecology. The book shows that for short-term profit, capitalists are willing to destroy irreplaceable
resources. Future profitability is not important to them.
And so we have GDP accounting that measures the Gross Domestic Product of countries without
regard to the cost of polluted air, water, and soil, and without regard, for example, to the dead zones
in the Gulf of Mexico from oil spills and chemical fertilizer run-off from farming. We add to GDP the
value of the fracked oil and gas, but do not subtract the value of the ruined water supply of peoples
and the life in the streams.
When mining corporations blow off the tops of mountains, GDP counts the minerals extracted as an
addition to value, but does not offset this value with the cost of the ruined scenery and environmental
effects of destroyed mountains.
When fishermen dynamite coral reefs in order to maximize their fish catch, the value of the fish
obtained by destroying the environment that produced the fish is not offset by the destruction of the
coral environment that would have produced a future supply of fish. The dynamite purchase is
counted as GDP, but the destroyed reef is not counted as an offsetting cost.
Ohio has experienced earthquakes from fracking. How severe will these become as the earth is
fractured in the interest of short-term profit?
Heinlein recognized “Mankind The Destroyer” and depicts humans as destroyers first of their Galaxy
and then of other Galaxies.
Will the real human race, as compared to Heinlein’s fictional one, have the possibility of escaping
from a destroyed Earth to other planets? Or is the destruction of Earth’s ecology much closer in time
than the ability of humans to colonize space?
Economists have responsibility for earthlings’ ignorance about their environmental dependence.
Economics claims that man-made capital is a substitute for nature’s capital. As nature’s capital is
depleted, reproducible man-made capital will take its place. This assumption is embodied in the
production function that is the basis of modern economic theory. The assumption is absurd, because
it assumes that finite resources can support infinite growth. Economists should begin their education
with courses in physics.
The correct description of the production process is that natural resources are transformed into useful
products and waste products by labor and man-made capital. Nature’s capital and man-made capital
are complements, not substitutes. Nature’s capital is used up as resources are exploited to make
useful products, and air, land, and water become polluted with the waste products from production.
The capacity of the planet’s “waste sinks” is limited.
GDP accounting does not include the costs of environmental destruction as a cost of production. For
example, the costs of the unexpected consequences of genetically modified crops are not included in
the prices of the wheat, corn, and soybeans. In 2011 plant pathologist and soil microbiologist Don
Huber described these costs to the US Secretary of Agriculture. Toxic effects on soil microorganisms
have disrupted nature’s balance, resulting in an increase in plant diseases. Soil fertility,
micronutrients, and the nutritional value of foods have all been harmed. Animal reproductive
problems, weak immune response, and premature aging are linked to herbicide-resistant GMOs that
have become animal feed.
According to ecological economist Herman Daly, if all the costs of production are included, the
decrease in nature’s capital could outweigh the value of the increase in GDP. As Hecht and Cockburn
make clear, this has certainly been the case in the exploitation of the Amazon. The output is worth far
less than the resources that were ruined in order to produce it.
There is very little of the earth left that has not been ruined by humans. The little that is left is the
Antarctic, the Arctic, and some parts of Alaska such as the wilderness above Alaska’s Bristol Bay.
The Antarctic is protected by treaty largely because no major power has figured out how to claim it.
However, Shell Oil Company, with Obama’s blessings, is now involved in offshore drilling in the Arctic,
and a consortium of global mining corporations is lobbying Congress, the White House, and the
Environmental Protection Agency for a green light for the Pebble Mine, an enormous open-pit mine to
be placed in wilderness above Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Scientists have concluded that the mine will make
a dead zone out of a huge area of spectacular scenery encompassing the largest remaining wild
salmon runs, and the wildlife, native inhabitants, and commercial fisherman dependent on the fish.
EPA’s scientists have concluded that the Pebble Mine would be environmentally and economically
devastating, but this is a weak argument in the face of the greed of a few powerful moneybags for
more profit. Just as Easter Islanders cut down their last trees, Americans are set to destroy their last
wilderness and its fish, wildlife, and water resources. The mining lobbyists call this ecological
destruction “progress” and “jobs” but do not count as an offset the 14,000 jobs related to the salmon
fishery that will be destroyed by the Pebble Mine or the dead waters, fish, and wildlife that their toxic
process will certainly produce.
Robert Redford and the National Resources Defense Council have arrayed with the EPA scientists
against the Pebble Mine. Will Washington listen to fact, or will homo sapiens yet again discard fact for
temporary profit and take another step toward finishing off the planet’s life-sustaining capability?
Will the idiots who rule the earth destroy it before humans can escape to other planets?
From all evidence, the destruction of earth’s ecology has an immense head start on homo sapiens’
ability to colonize space.
From
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-once-lovely-green-planet-natures-capital-is-the-limitingresource/5320469
On 26th September 2014
Pictures of environmental destructions
http://cdn2b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/1d/c2/1dc2dbff940590ae8c8656f
928fde184.jpg?itok=dlpO77kS
http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/10-ways-destroying-environment-0.jpg
http://thewe.cc/thewe_/images_5/---/illuminati-evil/gulf-oil-being-burnt-into-atmosphere.jpe
Hadith 2
Chapter 81 (page 587)
4420 Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) said to his
companions who were at Al-Hijr: “Do not enter upon these people who are being punished, except in
a weeping state lest the same calamity as of theirs should befall you.”
Current Issues:
Ibn Kathir: Story of Prophet Salih (pbuh)
After the destruction of the Ad, the tribe of Thamud succeeded them in power and glory. They also fell
to idol-worshipping. As their material wealth increased so, too, did their evil ways while their virtue
decreased. Like the people of Ad, they erected huge buildings on the plains and hewed beautiful
homes out of the hills. Tyranny and oppression became prevalent as evil men ruled the land.
So Allah sent unto them His Prophet Salih (PBUH), a man from among them. His name was Salih Ibn
Ubeid, Ibn Maseh, Ibn Ubeid, Ibn Hader, Ibn Thamud, Ibn Ather, Ibn Eram, Ibn Noah. He called his
people to worship Allah alone, and to not associate partners with Him. While some of them believed
him, the majority of them disbelieved and harmed him by both words and deeds. Salih directed
them: "O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilah (god) but Him." (Ch 11:61)
Salih was known for his wisdom, purity and goodness and had been greatly respected by his people
before Allah's revelation came to him. Salih's people said to him: "O Salih! You have been among us
as a figure of good hope and we wished for you to be our chief, till this, new thing which you have
brought that we leave our gods and worship your God (Allah) alone! Do you now forbid us the worship
of what our fathers have worshipped? But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us
to monotheism." (CH 11:62 Quran).
they merely wanted to worship the same gods as their fathers had, with no reason, no proof, no
thought. The proof of Salih's (PBUH) message was evident, but despite this it was obvious that most
of his people did not believe him. They doubted his words, thinking he was charmed, and they saw
that he would not stop preaching. Fearing that his followers would increase, they tried to put him off
by assigning him an important task; to prove that he was a messenger of Allah by performing a
miracle. Let a unique she camel issue from the mountains.
Allah granted Salih this miracle and a huge, unique, she camel appeared from the direction of the
mountain. The Quranic commentators said that the people of Thamud gathered on a certain day at
their meeting place, and the prophet Salih (PBUH) came and addressed them to believe in Allah,
reminding them of the favors Allah had granted them.
Then pointing at a rock, they demanded: "Ask your Lord to make a she camel, which must be 10
months pregnant, tall and attractive, issue from the rock for us."
Salih replied: "Look now! If Allah sends you what you have requested, just as you have described, will
you believe in that which I have come to you with and have faith in the message I have been sent
with?"
They answered: "Yes."
So he took a vow from them on this, then prayed to Allah the Almighty to grant their request. Allah
ordered the distant rock to split asunder, to bringing forth a great ten month pregnant she camel.
When their eyes set on it, they were amazed. They saw a great thing, a wonderful sight, a dazzling
power and clear evidence!
A number of Salih's people believed, yet most of them continued in their disbelief, stubbornness, and
going astray. Allah the Almighty said: We sent the she camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did
her wrong. (Ch 17:59) and also: Verily the dwellers of Al Hijr (the rocky tract) denied the Messengers.
We gave them Our Signs, but they were averse to them. (Ch 15:80-81 Quran)
There are a number of ancient accounts of this camel and its miraculous nature. It was said that the
she camel was miraculous because a rock in the mountain split open and it came forth from it,
followed by its young offspring. Other accounts said that the she camel used to drink all the water in
the wells in one day, and no other animals could approach the water. Still others claimed that the she
camel produced milk sufficient for all the people to drink, on the same day that it drank all the water,
leaving none for them.
At first, the people of Thamud were greatly surprised when the she camel issued from the mountain
rocks. It was a blessed camel, and its milk sufficient for thousands of men, women and children. If it
slept in a place that place was abandoned by other animals. Thus it was obvious that is was not an
ordinary camel, but one of Allah's signs. It lived among Salih's people, some of whom believed in
Allah while the majority continued in their obstinacy and disbelief.
Their hatred of Salih turned towards the blessed she camel and became centered on it. A conspiracy
started to be hatched against the camel by the disbeliveers, and they secretly plotted against it.
Salih feared that they might kill the camel, so he warned them: "O my people! This she camel of Allah
is a sign to you, leave her to feed on Allah's earth, and touch her not with evil lest a near torment will
seize you." (Ch 11:64 Quran)
For awhile, Salih's people let the camel graze and drink freely, but in their hearts they hated it.
However, the miraculous appearance of the unique camel caused many to become Salih's followers,
and they clung to their belief in Allah.
the disbeliveers now began complaining that this huge she camel with its unusual qualities drank
most of the water and frightened their cattle.
They laid a plot to kill the camel, and sought the help of their women folk to tempt the men to carry out
their commands. Saduq bint of Mahya, who was from a rich and noble family, offered herself to a
young man named Masrai Ibn Mahraj on condition that he hamstring the camel. Aniza, an old woman,
offered one of her daughters to a young man, Qudar Ibn Saluf, in return for killing the camel. Naturally
these young men were tempted and set about finding seven others to assist them.
They watched the camel closely, observing all its movements. As the she camel came to drink at the
well, Masarai shot it in the leg with an arrow. It tried to escape but was hampered by the arrow. Qudar
followed the camel and struck it with a sword in the other leg. As it fell to the ground, he pierced it with
his sword.
The killers were given a hero's welcome,cheered with songs and poetry composed in their praise. In
their arrogance they mocked Salih, but he warned them: "Enjoy life for 3 more days then the
punishment will descend upon you." Salih was hoping that they would see the folly of their ways and
change their attitude before the 3 days went out.
"Why 3 days?" they asked. "Let the punishment come as quickly as possible."
He pleaded with them: "My people, why do you hasten to evil rather than good? Why do not you ask
pardon of Allah so that you may receive mercy?"
They replied: "We see your presence and that of your followers as bringing evil on us."
Almighty Allah related their story: And indeed We sent to Thamud their brother Salih, saying "Worship
Allah Alone and none else." Then look! They became two parties (believers and disbeliveers)
quarreling with each other.
He said: "O my people! Why do you seek to hasten the evil (torment) before the good (Allah's Mercy)?
Why seek you not the Forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy?" They said: We augur till
omen from you and those with you." he said: "Your ill omen is with Allah; nay, but you are a people
that are being tested."
And there were in the city nine men (from the sons of their chiefs), who made mischief in the land,
and would not reform. They said: "Swear to another by Allah that we shall make a secret night attack
on him and his household, and afterwards we will surely say to his near relatives: "We witnessed not
the destruction of his household, and verily! We are telling the truth.""
So they plotted a plot, and We planned a plan, while they perceived not. Then see how was the end
of their plot! Verily! We destroyed them and their nation, all together. These are their houses in utter
ruin, for they did wrong. Verily, in this is indeed an Ayah (a lesson or a sign) for people who know. We
saved those who believed, and used to fear and obey Allah. (Ch 27:45-53 Quran)
They also plotted to kill Salih and his household as Almighty Allah stated: "So they ploa plot, and We
planned a plan, while they perceived not." (Ch 27:50 Quran) Allah saved Salih and his followers from
their wicked plans. Heavy hearted, they left the evil doers and moved to another place.
Three days after Salih's warning, thunderbolts filled the air, followed by severe earthquakes which
destroyed the entire tribe and its homeland. The land was violently shaken, destroying all living
creatures in it. There was one terrific cry which had hardly ended when the disbeliveers of Salih's
people were struck dead, one and all, at the same time. Neither their strong buildings nor their rock
hewn homes could protect them.
Allah the Exalted said: To Thamud people We sent their brother Salih. HE said: "O my people!
Worship Allah, you have no other Ilah (god) but Him (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah).
Indeed there has come to you a clear sign ( the miracle of the coming out of a huge she camel from
the midst of a rock) from your Lord. This she camel of Allah is a sign unto you so you leave her to
graze in Allah's earth, and touch her not with harm, lest a painful torment should size you. Remember
when He made you successors after Ad people and gave you habitations in the land, you build for
yourselves palaces in plains and carve out homes in the mountains. So remember the graces
bestowed upon you from Allah, and do not go about making mischief on the earth."
the leaders of those who were arrogant among his people said to those who were counted weak to
such of them as believed: "Know you that Salih is one sent from his Lord." They said: "We indeed
believe in that with which he has been sent." Those who were arrogant said: "Verily, we disbelieve in
that which you believe in."
So they killed the she camel and insolently defied the Commandment of their Lord, and said: "O Salih!
Bring about your threats if you are indeed one of the Messengers (of Allah)." So the earthquakes
seized them and they lay dead, prostrate in their homes. Then he (Salih) turned from them, and said:
"O my people! I have indeed conveyed to you the Message of my Lord, and have give you good
advise but you like not good advisers." (Ch 7:73-79 Quran)
All were destroyed before they realized what was happening. As for the people who believed in the
message of Salih (PBUH), they were saved because they had left the place.
Ibn Umar narrated that while the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was passing by Thamud's houses on
his way to the battle of Tabuk, he stopped together with the people there. the people fetched water
from the wells from which the people of Thamud used to drink. They prepared their dough (for baking)
and filled their water skins from it (the water from the wells). The Prophet of Allah (PBUH) ordered
them to empty the water skins and give the prepared dough to the camels. Then he went away with
them until they stopped at the well from which the she camel (of Salih) used to drink. He warned them
against entering upon the people that had been punished, saying "I fear that you may be affected by
what afflicted them; so do no enter upon them."
From http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/salih.html
On 26th September 2014
Story of Lut (Lot)
Ibn Kathir
Stories of the Prophet - Ibn Kathir
Prophet Abraham peace be upon him left Egypt accompanied by his nephew Lut peace be upon him,
who then went to the city of Sodom (Sadum), which was on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
This city was filled with evil. Its residents waylaid, robbed and killed travelers. Another common evil
among them was that men had sex with men instead of with women. This unnatural act later became
known as sodomy (after the city of Sodom). It was practiced openly and unashamedly.
It was at the height of these crimes and sins that Allah revealed to Prophet Lut peace be upon him
that he should summon the people to give up their indecent behavior, but they were so deeply sunk in
their immoral habits that they were deaf to Lot's preaching. Swamped in their unnatural desires, they
refused to listen, even when Lot warned them of Allah's punishment. Instead, they threatened to drive
him out of the city if he kept on preaching.
Allah the Almighty revealed:
"The people of Lot (those dwelt in the towns of Sodom in Palestine) belied the Messengers
when their brother Lot said to them, 'Will you not fear Allah and obey Him? Verily! I am a
trustworthy Messenger to you. So fear Allah, keep your duty to Him, and obey me. No reward do
I ask of you for it (my Message of Islamic Monotheism) my reward is only from the Lord of
the 'alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). Go you in unto the males of the 'alamin (mankind),
and leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your wives? Nay, you are a trespassing
people!'
"They said, 'If you cease not, O Lot! Verily, you will be one of those who are driven out!'
"He said, 'I am indeed, of those who disapprove with severe anger and fury your (this evil) action
(of sodomy). My Lord! Save me and my family from what they do.'
"So We saved him and his family, all except an old woman (this wife) among those who
remained behind." [Al-Qur'an26:160-171]
The doings of Lot's people saddened his heart. Their unwholesome reputation spread throughout the
land, while he struggled against them. As the years passed, he persisted in his mission but to no
avail. No one responded to his call and believed except for the members of his family, and even in his
household, not all the members believed. Lot's wife, like Noah's wife, a disbeliever.
Allah the Almighty declared:
"Allah set forth an example for those who disbelieve, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They
were under two of Our righteous slaves, but they both betrayed their (husbands, by rejecting
their doctrines) so they (Noah & Lut) benefited them (their respective wives) not, against Allah,
and it was said, 'Enter the Fire along with those who enter!' " [Al-Qur'an 66:10]
"If home is the place of comfort and rest, then Lut found none, for he was tormented both inside
and outside his home. His life was continuous torture and he suffered greatly, but he remained
patient and steadfast with his people. The years rolled by, and still not one believed in him.
Instead, they belittled his message and mockingly challenged him, 'Bring Allah's Torment upon
us if you are one of the truthful!' " [Al-Qur'an 29:29]
Overwhelmed with despair, Lot prayed to Allah to grant him victory and destroy the corrupt.
Therefore, the angels left Abraham peace be upon him and headed for Sodom the town of Lut peace
be upon him. They reached the walls of the town in the afternoon. The first person who caught sight
of them was Lot's daughter, who was sitting beside the river, filling her jug with water. When she lifted
her face and saw them, she was stunned that there could be men of such magnificent beauty on
earth.
One of the tree men (angels) asked her, "O maiden, is there a place to rest?"
Remembering the character of her people she replied, "Stay here and do not enter until I inform my
father and return." Leaving her jug by the river, she swiftly ran home.
"O father," she cried, "you are wanted by young men at the town gate and I have never before seen
the like of their faces!"
Lot felt distressed as he quickly ran to his guests. He asked them where they came from and where
they were going.
They did not answer his questions. Instead they asked if he could host them. He started talking with
them and impressed upon them the subject of his people's nature. Lot was filled with turmoil; he
wanted to convince his guests without offending them, not to spend the night there, yet at the same
time he wanted to extend to them the expected hospitality normally accorded to guests. In vain he
tried to make them understand the perilous situation. At last, therefore, he requested them to wait until
the night fell, for then no one would see them.
When darkness fell on the town, Lot escorted his guest to his home. No one was aware of their
presence. However, as soon as Lot's wife saw them, she slipped out of the house quietly so that no
one noticed her. Quickly, she ran to her people with the news and it spread to all the inhabitants like
wildfire. The people rushed towards Lot quickly and excitedly. Lot was surprised by their discovery of
his guests. And he wondered who could have informed them. The matter became clear, however,
when he could not find his wife, anywhere, thus adding grief to his sorrow.
When Lot saw the mob approaching his house, he shut the door, but they kept on banging on it. He
pleaded with them to leave the visitors alone and fear Allah's punishment. He urged them to seek
sexual fulfilment with their wives, for that is what Allah had made lawful.
Lot's people waited until he had finished his short sermon, and then they roared with laughter. Blinded
by passion, they broke down the door. Lot became very angry, but he stood powerless before these
violent people. He was unable to prevent the abuse of his guests, but he firmly stood his ground and
continued to plead with the mob.
At that terrible moment, he wished he had the power to push them away from his guests. Seeing him
in a state of helplessness, and grief the guests said, "Do not be anxious or frightened, Lot for we are
angels, and these people will not harm you."
On hearing this, the mob was terrified and fled from Lot's house, hurling threats at him as they left.
The angels warned Prophet Lut peace be upon him to leave his house before sunrise, taking with him
all his family except his wife.
Allah had decreed that the city of Sodom should perish. An earthquake rocked the town. It was as if a
mighty power had lifted the entire city and flung it down in one jolt. A storm of stones rained on the
city. Everyone and everything was destroyed, including Lot's wife.
Allah the Almighty recounted this story:
"And tell them about the guests (angels) of Abraham. When they entered unto him, and said,
'Salaman (peace)!' Abraham said, 'Indeed! We are afraid of you.'
"They (the angels) said, 'Do not be afraid! We give you glad tidings of a boy (son) possessing
much knowledge and wisdom.' (Abraham) said, 'Do you give me glad tidings (of a son) when old
age has overtaken me? Of what then is your news?' They (the angels) said, 'We give you glad
tidings in truth. So be not of the despairing.'
"Abraham said, 'And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?'
(Abraham again) said, 'What then is the business on which you have come, O Messengers?'
"They (the angels) said, 'We have been sent to a people who are mujrimin (criminals,
disbelivers, polytheists, sinners). (All) except the family of Lot. Them all we are surely going to
save (from destruction).'
"Except his wife, of whom We have decreed that she shall be of the those who remain behind
(she will be destroyed).
"Then when the Messengers (the angels) came unto the family of Lot, he said, 'Verily! You are
people unknown to me.' They said, 'Nay! we have come to you with that (torment) which they
have been doubting. And we have brought to you the truth (the news of the destruction of your
nation) and certainly, we tell the truth. Then travel in a part of the night with your family, and you
go behind them in the rear, and let no one amongst you look back, but go on to where you are
ordered.'
"And We made known this decree to him, that the root of those (sinners) was to be cut off in the
early morning.
"The inhabitants of the city came rejoicing (at the news of the young men's arrival). Lot said,
'Verily! These are my guests, so shame me not. And fear Allah and disgrace me not.' They
(people of the city) said, 'Did we not forbid you to entertain (or protect) any of
the 'alamin (people, foreigners strangers etc) from us?' Lot said, 'These (the girls of the nation)
are my daughters to marry lawfully if you must act so.'
"Verily, by your life (O Muhammad), in their wild intoxication they were wandering blindly. So assalihah (torment, awful cry, etc.) overtook them at the time of sunrise; and We turned (the towns
of Sodom in Palestine) upside down and rained down on them stones of baked clay. Surely! In
this are signs for those who see (or understand or learn the lessons from the Signs of Allah).
And verily! They (the cities) are right on the highroad (from Makkah to Syria, i.e. the place where
the Dead Sea is now). Surely! Therein is indeed a sign for the believers." [Al-Qur'an 15:51-77]
Allah the Exalted also declared:
"So we saved him and his family, all, except an old woman (his wife) among those who
remained behind. Then afterward We destroyed the others. We rained on them a rain of
torment. How evil was the rain of those who had been warned. Verily, in this is indeed a sign yet
most of them are not believers. Verily! Your Lord, He is indeed the All-Mighty, the Most
Merciful." [Al-Qur'an 26:170-175]
The book was closed on the people of Lot peace be upon him. Their towns and names have been
erased from the face of the earth. Gone are they from memory. One book was closed of the books of
corruption.
Lot peace be upon him proceeded towards Abraham peace be upon him. He visited him, and when
he recounted the story of his people, he was surprised to learn that Abraham peace be upon
him already knew. So Lut peace be upon him continued to invite people to Allah, as did
Abraham peace be upon him, the patient one who turned to Allah repentantly, and the two held firm to
their mission.
(t) Muhammad Gemeiah
From http://sunnahonline.com/library/stories-of-the-prophets/297-story-of-prophet-lut
On 26th September 2014
Pictures
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