Last summer I went to the village of my uncle. When I arrived I was amazed at the cleanliness I found there. I said to my cousin: “What has happened? Your village has really changed.” “Yes” he answered.
“You are right, the village has changed. It’s about three years since you were last here, and at that time our village was in a terrible state, and all the lanes were dirty and full of garbage. But since then our village has really changed. Three years ago an Aalim (religious scholar) came to our village and began to guide us. He took a few months for setting down and then he gave a lecture to the people about the village conditions. He said something like this:
O people, the religion of Islam is the religion of cleanliness. Cleanliness is a part of our religion. Body and clothes, house and street, public bath and mosque, all must be clean. O brothers, O sisters, must your environment be so dirty? Do you not know that our Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has told us not to leave rubbish and sweepings outside the door because this is the hiding place of tiny creatures that cannot be seen but are harmful!?”
Then he said: “Why do you dirty the streets and the gutters? Dirty air and dirty water causes diseases. Air and water belongs to all of you. You all have the right to benefit from them and live in good health. No one has the right to pollute the air or water. To pollute the public air or water is a terrible act of injustice; and Allah does not like the unjust and He punishes them.
He continued: ‘O villagers, I have a programme for cleaning the village. Cooperate with me in making our village clean, tidy and beautiful.’
Then my cousin continued: “The people of the village accepted his proposal and promised their support and cooperation. As a result, the next day we all came out of our houses, the Aalim before all of us, and we started the work of cleaning the streets and making them tidy. When we finished, the Aalim thanked us and we thanked him for his guidance.”
And from that day on, everybody promised not to throw rubbish and dirt on the street, but to take it to a place out of the town and cover it with earth, and to use it after a few months as fertilizer.
Another night the ‘Aalim spoke to us about trees. He said: “Do you know that the plantation of trees is very worthwhile and highly recommended in Islam? Trees purify the air and give fruits, shadow and have many other benefits. The Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said: ‘If you have a sapling in your hand and you are ready to plant it, and you realize that the time of your death has come, go ahead and plant it, for Allah loves cultivation on earth and plantation of trees.’ The Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has also said: ‘When a
person plants a tree that gives forth fruits, he will be rewarded for each of those fruits.”
The Aalim continued: “You all know how hard Imam Ali (a.s.) and the other Imams (a.s.) worked for farming and plantation of trees? Therefore, I have an idea of lining our village stream with trees, and making the village really beautiful. If you promise to cooperate, tomorrow we will begin,” Everyone gave their approval and some good people even donated some saplings. Next morning, we began and with cheerful zeal the people of the village lined the stream with saplings. When we completed the work, the Aalim advised every one, especially the children, to keep an eye on the trees and protect them. He said: “These trees belong to you all. No one has the right to damage them. Make sure that no one breaks their branches, and be careful that they are not damaged by animals.”
My cousin added: “Since then, as we knew that the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) loves the plantation of trees, we have planted trees everywhere. Wherever there was any vacant ground, we planted a tree. And the result, as you can see, is that our village is full of lush green trees and fruits.” “And that’s not all. With the ‘Aalim’s guidance and the full cooperation of the people of the village, we now have a clean public bath, a beautiful mosque, a library and clinic, and all the children in the village are clean, healthy and better educated.” When my cousin finished, I said to him: “I congratulate the Aalim and all of you. I wish everyone would take a lesson for perfection
of one’s life conforming to Islamic standards from the people of this village.”
Questions
- What do you do with the household garbage? Where does it go? Is there a better way of getting rid of it?
- What do you say to someone who dumps rubbish on the street? Which saying of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) can you mention to him?
- How can you keep your street and your area neat and tidy?
- Can you think of a way of keeping your classroom neat and tidy?
- What has Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) told us about plantation of trees?
- How do you protect public trees?
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