The Glass Vase

Rarely did I give thought to the way I treated the Earth,
Until I learnt that Allah gave it the authority to speak for itself; 
Now, I think twice about throwing that tissue,
Spitting on the ground, or messing around.

Rarely did I give thought to plants and animals;
They were just there, little did I care,
Until I heard the hadith of the Prophet –
A prostitute forgiven for quenching a dog’s thirst;
Truly, this brought tears on my prayer mat.

Planting a tree from which people may eat or seek shade,
Is a rewarding deed in this life and the next;
How easy would this be?
Straight to Jannah, it would lead.
Now, when I see a tree, I say, “Alhamdulillah,
May I be from the ones who plant these!”

I’d never thought of our actions being acts of charity,
Until that one day, when I received clarity;
It was something I’d always wondered about, and from Muslims, I’d heard,
How Allah rewards us for protecting the world;
Our Prophet said, “…removing a harmful object from the road is a charity.”
At that moment, I realised how unjust I’d been to this world,
And into a wake-up call, to be better, I’d been hurled.

You see, Our Lord, The Most High, says,
“He created the seven heavens one above the other in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the Gracious One. Then look once again: can you see any flaw? Then look again and again. Your gaze will come back to you confused and exhausted.” (Surah Mulk 67:3-4)
How can these verses not make us ponder and reflect?
We’ll find it too hard to not fall in love-
In love with the perfection of The Creator,
Our Creator, Allah, Al-Khaliq,
For every time we admire a view upon which we stumble,
We will think of the verses from Surah Mulk and surely become humble.

Through this religion, I’ve become more aware
That our world deserves our tenderness, love, and care,
Until it shatters like a glass vase and into the next life we’re taken;
To not protect it, we’re sadly mistaken.

Written by: Noorah
Edited by: The Editorial Team
© The Islamic Reflections Blog