|
Forever Interdependent: Man & Nature
By Hwaa Irfan 03/06/2001
"And were every tree that is in the earth (made into) pens and the sea (to supply it with ink), with seven more seas to increase it, the words of Allah would not come to an end: surely Allah is Mighty and Wise (HQ, 31:27)." And with that verse, trees took on an important role in Islam.
But in modern times, the significance of trees has been largely underestimated and much of our forests have been destroyed. Trees were "rediscovered" this year when President Bush's proposed 2002 budget needed to be rescued. Realizing that trees could reduce air temperatures by up to 25 degrees, he included reforestation as a way to reduce the nation's sky rocketing energy bills.
However, this has not stopped the mass destruction of our forests. Muslim scientist Al-Biruni wrote, "The bees kill those of their kind who only eat, but do not work in their beehives. Nature proceeds in a similar way; however, it does not distinguish, for its action is under all circumstances one and the same. It allows the leaves and fruit to perish, thus preventing them from realizing that result (for) which they are intended in the economy of Nature..." (Nasr, p.123).
In our endeavors to re-manufacture Allah's (swt) World, we have realized far too late that much benefit could have been obtained from nature.
For those fortunate enough to own their own homes, adding three trees on the West, North and East of the house can reduce the average energy bill by up to $250 a year. According to the Department of Energy a landscape of trees and shrubs can cut your utility bills in half (Kraeutler and Berreta, p.2).
The Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation offers guidelines on how to use trees to conserve energy. First, you need to know your home's orientation to the sun, as well as the intensity and common direction of the wind around your property. Secondly, you should plant trees and shrubs that shade as much of the roof, walls, and windows as possible on the East and West side of your house. Deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the autumn, offer the double benefit of allowing warming sunlight into your home in the colder months.
The International Society of Arboriculture provides further advice on planting trees. They advise against planting water-loving trees, like willows, near septic fields or water resources. They also advise aligning trees as windscreens, where they will block winter wind. One should avoid planting winter evergreens where they will block winter sun or planting any trees too close to the house or under utility lines. One should also plant trees away from the sidewalks in order to allow for root expansion without causing pavement buckling (Kraeutler and Barreta, p.2).
Dr. Howard Frumpkin, a professor of occupational and environmental medicine at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta states, "If we put ourselves in beautiful natural places we may find that we feel better and [that] many diseases will run their course faster (Lyman p.1, 2)." His "Wilderness and Immersion Program" is used on psychiatric and cancer patients and on people suffering from addictions. This exposure to nature creates greater cooperation and trust among depressed adolescents and an increased sense of liveliness, well-being and energy among mental patients (Lyman, p.4).
Along with the benefits of trees, more people are also rediscovering the benefits of herbs. We must remember that nature is a bounty that Allah has given us and to tamper with it is to alter His gift. It is when we cut ourselves off from Allah's (swt) life force that self-development and harmony are disrupted.
Ali ibn Abi Talib once said, "Rise up from here and go to the Garden of Faith, enter and take some roots from the tree of sorrow, a few leaves from the tree of contemplation with seeds of humility and the fruits of understanding, a small measure of the branches of certainty and the kernels of sincerity with the bark of strenuous effort with some of the stems of turning away from wrong action with the strong medicine of modesty, blend it with the sense, with a heart full of concentration and understanding filled by the fingers of confirmation and the palms of success. Pour it in the basin of inquiry and wash it with the water of your tears. Then take it all and put it into the kettle of hope, bring it to a boil with the fire of your longing to the point that the superficial, superfluous elements and the dregs and sediment might be separated. Then you obtain the juice and cream of wisdom.
Then put it in the plate of contentment and submission, low on it with the gentle breeze of your supplication for His forgiveness, cool it so that it will not be spoiled, so that this elixir might be made wholesome. Then drink it in a place where no man can be found and where only Allah can see you (Haeri, p.117)."
Sources:
Haeri, Fadhlalla. Nuradeen. London: Zahra Publ. 1983.
The Holy Qur'an
Kraeutler, Tom and Barretta, Mary. "Trees Can Help Save On Energy Bill."
Washington Post. 5/02/01.
MSNBC.
Lyman, Francesca. "Nature's Medicine." MSNBC. 4/11/01. 11-6: 21/01/22.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Cosmological Doctrine. Britain: Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1978.
|
