Lesson video

Hello and welcome students once again, it's me, Mr Latif.

And today in our learning, we'll be looking at the teaching of Khalifah and the response and the treatment of the environment, refer from these to the teaching of Khalifah.

So really interesting lessons today, we're looking in terms of the use and the treatment of the environment and what Islam says in terms of the role and responsibility that's of humans.

So as always, there's five things that you need for your learning today, please ensure that you have some line paper or exercise book, a black or blue pen, a different colour pen for any corrections, those attentive ears and that curious brain.

Now, once you have those five things, let's get into our learning for today.

So welcome to our learning today, in this lesson we will do the following, to explore and understand the approach in Islam to the treatment of the environment and the importance of Khalifah, in reference to the environment.

So today's lesson really focuses on the responsibility that humans have towards the creation of the Earth, which is seen as a gift from Allah.

Now, as always, please ensure that you have the following five things.

If you do not have the following five things, this is a great opportunity for you to ensure that you get those things.

If not, and you already have them, let's continue on.

So before we go into our learning today, in terms of understanding what Khalifah is, the first thing I'd like for you to do is to complete this thinking task.

So I have two questions for you to consider.

Why is it important to look after the world? And what reasons can you think of? So for this start I'd like to give you five minutes.

So once I disappear, you may start the task.

And I'll see you back in five minutes.

So welcome back, a big question there, isn't it? Why is it important to look after the world? So some of the answers that you may have had is the following, well, number one, there's only one earth we do not have any other earth, we don't have any other place where humans live, so it's really important to look after this planet.

Number two, you may have had, without the soil and without the soil that we have on earth, we cannot grow anything.

So it's really important that we look after the environment.

You may have also had, well actually the earth that we have and the world that we have, it gives us water and from water comes life.

Well, you may have had number four, it is our duty.

Now this concept of our duty is really interesting and really important when we look at Islamic teachings and it falls under this term known as Khalifah.

So let's look at what Khalifah is in Islam today.

So what are muslim views on creation and the value of the world.

Muslims are reminded in terms of the Tawhid the oneness of God That Allah is eternal, Allah is the creator of all.

and muslims are reminded that Allah created the universe.

And this goes back to one of the 99 names of the attributes of Allah Allah is known as Al Khaliq 'The Creator' And we have this verse in the Qur'an, Surah 21:30 in which Allah says the following, "The Heavens and Earth were joined together before we clove them asunder." "Before we clove them asunder" it means to separate.

So it's a really interesting verse here, but Allah clearly says in the Qur'an that the Earth was created by Him.

And this term here, We, you probably think more, before we clove surely refers to more than one person or as a team Now this is Surah Arabic, now, and in the Arabic language, the term We here refers to a royal majestic term, which can refer to the oneness of something, in this case, God.

When it's translated to English We know that we usually refer to more than one person.

So just to clarify that, so what's really important here? The creations of the world is created by God and the creation of the world and the earth is seen as a gift.

And this also kind of links to the ideas and the teachings of what listeners know about Adam.

So key things, the world is a gift from Allah, and it's a sign of Allah.

It's a sign of Allah's greatness.

It's a sign of Allah being a creator.

And its a sign of Allah's power.

Muslims are also reminded when Adam the first human who was created.

He was created from the soils of the Earth.

And this is mentioned in the Qur'an, that the angels were appointed, to take the different soils of the earth, to wish to a different muds and different colours.

And that really signifies the diversity of humanity.

And that also links to the diversity of the Ummah the idea of the collective missing brotherhood of all muslims who were seen as equal.

Now muslims are reminded that Duniya, which means this world, is actually a test.

They're reminded that actually this world is temporary.

The life that we have as well is very minute and very small compared to the afterlife.

So we have a responsibility of how we preserve and look after the world, how we treat the world, how we treat parts of creation in the world.

whether the verse of plants, animals, or the oceans as well.

So muslims are reminded actually that all actions that are performed on this Earth will be recorded in the Hereafter.

So all the actions they do are recorded by two angels, one on the left side and one on the right side.

And muslims are reminded, these angels don't necessarily influence them.

They don't say you should do bad, you should do good.

They just record down the actions that I've done.

So from this we can understand Muslim views on the creation of the world.

The world is seen as a gift, and it's an example of God's power, muslims are reminded from the soils of the Earth humans were created.

And this is a reminder for all their actions that they do on this world.

is nothing more than a test and they will be rewarded, well they will be punished depending on the actions on the day of judgement which they'll be called upon everything they did on this Earth.

Now, what I'd like for you to do now is the following, I'd like for you to write a paragraph on muslim views on the world, remember some key things that, Al khalaq, being The Creator in terms of the quotation of God as well, the purpose of the world and the importance of the world.

Now, once I've disappeared, here we go.

Could I please ask for you to pause the video and I'll see you in three minutes.

So welcome back, let's go over this answer together.

Now, if there's any corrections that you need to make, please ensure that you do, as I read out this answer for you.

Muslims believed that the world was created by Allah as this can be found in the Qur'an in which it states that the Heavens and Earth were together and then separated.

This links to the attribute of Al Khaliq, which means 'The Creator'.

Muslims believe that the World is a gift from Allah and the Adam was created from the soils of the Earth.

Muslims are reminded of all the deeds done on this earth are recorded and they have a duty to look after it.

So now listening this part of our learning, what is duty in Islam ? Before we start looking into what duty is in Islam, I'd like for you to do the following task.

What is it that a steward does? So if you've gone on a plane before, and you see a steward or stewardess, you've gone to a football match, or you've even gone to a concert.

What is it that a steward actually does? What is their role and responsibility? So for this task, I'd like to give you two minutes, and I just like for you to bullet point the role and responsibility of the steward.

So once I've disappeared, could I please ask you to pause the video, and I'll see you in two minutes.

So welcome back, let's go over answers together.

So what is the role and responsibility of a steward? Well a steward protects, they care, they control, and they look after.

So for example in a music concert, they care for you.

They may actually show you where your seats are.

In the football match they may control the crowd.

On a plane, they're there to protect you in case of an emergency and also to look after you, depending on how long your fight is there, whether it's 30 minutes or seven hours.

So you can see here in terms of a steward, they have a role and responsibility to care, and to look after other beings or other parts of a situation or an environment.

So this links to the idea of Khalifah.

Now, Khalifah in Islam means vice-regent of Allah or steward.

And Allah mentions this within the Qur'an and we're look at this today.

So Musliims are reminded that actually they have responsibility and a duty of care to look after Allah's creation, and that each individual will be held responsible for their actions.

And what's really important in terms of the human compared to that of animals, in Islam, it's as believed that humans have a soul and humans also have the rationality and ability to reason.

So they can ponder, reflect, and consider what is right and wrong.

So this is really important in terms of the characteristics of that, of the human that because of these qualities and skills that they have, they have a responsibility and the duty of care towards Allah's creation.

So whether that is of animals or that's of plants or that's nature itself.

So Muslims are reminded that the concept of Khalifah actually links to the Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad.

So how does Khalifah look like in terms of being a vice regent or being a steward of the earth? So this can be done in many different ways, so it can be done within this life, or it can actually benefits you in terms of when you die.

So in terms of a form of Sadaqah so this means voluntary charity.

So Muslims are able to actually gain from, once they die, charity, if it's done in the form of Sadaqah in many different ways.

So one example is that of the world.

So let's look at this Hadith together.

"I said, O messenger, what charity is best? He said: 'Giving water to drink." So for a Muslim who may donate a well, and the from that well, many people are hydrated and maybe it's actually even animals hydrate from, well, that form of Sadaqah, that from a charity will benefit them that is an action of being a good Khalifah, being a vice-regent of Allah or being a steward of Allah.

You're looking after caring for the environment.

So we can see the concept of Khalifah it's a Sunnah, and Sunnah means it's just the way of the prophet.

And Muslims are reminded themselves when we look at the concept of Khalifah.

That actually the prophet himself who is seen as a great sense of mankind to ever walk the earth according to Muslims. That he himself had very little possessions when he passed away and he was never wasteful.

So it's about the resources and it's about not only treating the environment, but it's about the resources and how you use them not to waste.

So it's Sunnah to look after an environment and it's Sunnah not to waste.

So if I give you the example of water again, and maybe that when a muslim does wudhu which is the purification before they pray, which is the use of water they're not going to be wasteful.

Yeah they're not going to be having a water fight with themselves, yeah or they're not going to be draining and using excess amounts of water.

They're only going to be using a sufficient amount of water, which is needed.

We can see that it actually links to the Pillar of Salah which is done five times a day.

So Muslims can be Khalifah throughout their life, that's a daily action as well.

So now let's look at how Khalifah looks like in practise.

So really important parts within the Islamic tradition, Islamic understanding is that of the teaching of the Ummah.

Now the Ummah means the Muslim Global Community.

So there's an idea there's a collective responsibility that the being a vice-regent of being assured of Allah isn't for something of people of a certain status in Islam.

Is actually something that all Muslims should have responsibility to do so.

Now Muslims are reminded not to be wasteful in terms of the resources that they use to respect their role over other creation.

And I mentioned this just before, that humans have reasoning and the ability to change the world for the better.

So when they're performing certain actions or they're making big decisions on a global scale, is you're actually thinking about the consequences it's going to have on nature and the use in the environment.

And this is an important thing as well, is the use of free will the use our free will can be used for positive or for a negative, so they can have an impact on the deeds, which is really important for the Hereafter.

So for example, it may be that the muslim community together in a certain country have decided that they are going to use 20 acres of land to make a new school.

But actually it may be that the land that they're using is going to destroy a lots of natural habitat and it means that animals would go extinct after 20 or 30 years.

So maybe they actually they decide to find another place to make this school, is about the consequences, about the impact.

There's a really important Hadith that says, live in this world as if you're going to live forever.

And that reminds muslims that actually the responsibility and actions that they do, will have an impact for the future Ummah as well.

So it's about thinking longterm in terms of the actions that they do.

Now, if this part of the video, I like for you to pause it just a moment and to open up the 'worksheet on Islam and the Environment 1'.

Now for this task, you will have to investigate verses from the Qur'an and the Hadith and consider what examples and actions it teaches muslims to do, to practise how to treat the environment.

So, so far we've gone over the concept of what Khalifah is the importance and significance of it and how it looks in terms of a collective responsibility and how humans have reasoning and the ability to do things for the better, and the consequences of people's actions in the hereafter.

Now for this task, I'd like to give you 20 minutes.

So once I've disappeared, could I please ask you to pause the video and to open up the worksheet and I'll see you in 20 minutes.

So welcome back, let's go over these verses together.

"And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth.

That's He made try you through what He has given you".

So the key thing here, this instructs Muslims that Allah has made them Khalifahs.

As Khalifahs Allah has given them responsibility to care for the world, which is a test.

And this test will be questioned on the day of judgement.

"O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid and eat and drink, but be not excessive.

Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess." So this instructs Muslims not to be excessive when it comes to eating or drinking, as Allah does not like those who do.

Muslims where therefore aim to only eat and drink what is essential, and not to be wasteful or not to be excessive.

And this is really important.

When we look at the concept and the pillar of Sawm the abstaining from feasting and eating, the whole purpose of open up your fast is not to be excessive for what you miss out during the day.

And Muslims also reminded Hadith, in terms of which the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, your stomach should be in thirds, one third of water, one third of food and one third of air.

And the reason why he says this is to not be an individual who's excessive.

And there's also in terms of looking after yourself, you can ask your body not insuring that you have too much food or water in, 'cause then it's going to cause issues during the night time, it's going to cause longterm consequences as well.

So it's about finding the middle way, which is really important there.

Now there's any corrections that you need to make, please ensure you do.

If not, let's continue on with the final two verses.

"And have you not seen the water that you drink? Is it you who brought it down from the cloud, or is it We who brought it down? If we willed, we can make it bitter, so why are you not grateful?" So this instructs muslims to be thankful for the blessings that Allah has given them.

Muslims would pray and thank Allah for the blessings of water.

'Cause from water, all life comes from.

"There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sow seeds, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats from it, but it's regarded as a charitable gifts from him." So this is a really important Hadith.

And from this Hadith tells us that the one who plants a tree and from its fruits it benefits other animals or humans that this is seen as a form of charity and is seen as a good deed.

So this one encourage muslims that plant trees and to look after the environment.

And look at the links that to the afterlife.

And for all the actions that the muslim does in terms of planting the seed and the consequences of it benefited both animals and humans that is seen as a form of charity.

Now, as always, if there's any questions you need to make, please ensure you do, if not, let's continue on.

So how does Khalifah look like in practise? Well, the key thing here from this verses we can really understand that it teachers muslims not to destroy, to waste or abuse those given to them by Allah.

And muslims are reminded as well, the earth was created out of love.

The earth is seen as a gift, therefore it should be sustained by love.

And also Khalifah also reminds muslims to respond to environmental disasters by giving Sadaqah which means voluntary charity.

And coming together as a collective Ummah, a collective muslim brotherhood to ensure that the environment is really looked after by all.

Now, what I'd like for you to do now is the following, for this task I liked you for you to think about your own personal opinion.

And the statement is the following.

The world is ours, so you can treat it how we like.

So for this task, I'd like for you to write one paragraph of what your views are on this question.

So for this task you've got 10 minutes and within this 10 minutes, if you still got time, please do push yourself to that extension.

And that extension would be to write one paragraph of what muslims responses would be to this question.

So once I've disappeared, there we go.

You may start your task and you have 10 minutes.

So welcome back, hopefully you absolutely aced that task in terms of your own personal opinion.

And you're able to give lots of good reasoning and a lot of good valuation, as well as to why, whether you agree or disagree with that question.

Now it's a finish of a bit of time for some true or false.

So let's do this together, true or false, you can either write down true or false T or F well if you'd like to.

The third option is to write the question and then to write true or false next to it.

True or false Khalifah means stewart/vice-regent of Allah, true or false, five seconds.

And it is true, remember this means the steward or vice-regent of Allah.

True or false, the Qur'an states that you can treat the world how you'd want, five seconds.

And the answer is false, you cannot.

Muslims are remind to look after and care for the environment and the world.

Adam was made out of soils on the Earth, true or false.

And the answer is true, he's made out of soils from the earth, apologies, not on the earth, from the Earth.

Next question, There was Hadith called the Hadith of Camel in today's learning, true or false.

And the answer is false we did not learn about this Hadith today.

The Earth is themed a blessing, true or false.

And the answer is true, it's seen as a blessing from God, and it's seen that God is a creator of it as Well, This life is not a test, true or false.

And the answer is false, remember the Duniya, the world is seen as temporary and seen nothing more than just a test.

We will be questioned how we looked after the world, true or false.

And the answer is true, on a day of judgement , we will be questioned about all our actions as well as being asked how we looked after the world.

So in summary today we've learned the following, Khalifah means vice-regent or steward of Allah.

And the Khalifah consists of the responsibility that humans have to care and to look after the world.

Muslims are reminded that the world is a gift and a blessing from Allah and they will be a question on how they used it and cared for it.

And the Earth reminds muslims to have duty to care for it for the future Ummah as well.

And there's also Sunnah to look after and care for the Earth and those creatures in it.

Now as always, just a fun thing left for you to do, please ensure that you're able to share your work and please ask your parent or carer if you're able to do so, @OakNational or #LearnwithOak And it gives me an opportunity Mr Latif to check your fantastic work.

And the final thing left for you to do, please ensure that you do the exit quiz to check your learning from today.

And on that note, I will see you soon, take care, best wishes.