Dear Muslims!
Our Almighty Lord (swt) has created us as the most exalted of all creatures. He (swt) has entrusted all His blessings to us for the improvement of the earth. What falls upon us is to safeguard this entrustment and to know the value of each and every blessing bestowed by our Lord (swt). What is incumbent upon us is to be balanced in all our words, affairs, and behaviours. What is required of us is to use all of our material and spiritual means economically and never waste them.
Dear Believers!
Today, one of the causes that disrupt the balance of the universe and harm the peace and harmony between people is irresponsible consumerism and wastefulness.
Wastefulness means using the blessings offered by Allah the Almighty (swt) for our benefit inappropriately and without measure. Wastefulness is the irresponsible consumption of the resources on earth.
Dear Muslims!
Today, wastefulness has spread to many areas, from eating to drinking, from words to behavior, from health to time, from information to the environment, and from labor to energy. How sad it is that in different parts of the world there are people in need of a morsel of bread, while in other regions tonnes of bread and food are thrown away wastefully. While in some places there is not a drop of water to drink, in other places, water, our source of life, is wasted mindlessly. However, the verse is very clear: "They are those who spend neither wastefully nor stingily, but moderately in between."[1] Likewise, our Prophet (saw) says, "Eat, drink, wear clothes and give sadaqah but with neither extravagance nor pride."[2]
Dear Believers!
One of the most common types of waste is that of health and time. It is a waste of health to endanger our body and soul with harmful habits that benefit neither our world nor our hereafter. Squandering our life capital with words and behaviors that our Lord (swt) is not pleased with is a waste of time. Our beloved Prophet (saw) draws attention to the importance of health and time as follows: "There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time."[3]
Dear Muslims!
There is one type of waste that is the root and the greatest of all wastes. It is the waste of humans to whom the universe is entrusted. It should be known that every human being who lives a life detached from the purpose for which they were created has wasted themselves. A life spent without knowing about Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) is a life wasted. A life spent bereft of faith, worship, and good morals is a life wasted.
Dear Believers!
Today, one of the types of waste that almost all of us complain about is the waste of nature and natural resources. Human beings' insatiable desires, excessive consumption, and wasteful habits cause many environmental problems that make our lives difficult and pollute our world. Wasting our limited resources limitlessly is a moral problem and a spiritual disease that needs to be treated. The way to recover from this disease is to adopt our Prophet's (saw) ethics of consumption and understanding of saving in our lives.
Dear Muslims!
Let us make economy prevail instead of wastefulness in every aspect of our lives; let us not get consumed while consuming. Let us start preventing wastefulness in ourselves and our families. Let us not let a morsel of bread go to waste. Let us not let a drop of water run down the drain. Let us not let our energy be spent in vain. Let us not let our time slip away. Let us not let our knowledge, labor, and know-how, in other words, our human resources, be wasted. Let us not forget that it is not only our money, goods, and property that are destroyed due to wastefulness. Our hopes and tomorrows do also perish.
I would like to conclude this Friday's khutbah with the following warning of our Prophet (saw): "Man's feet will not move on the Day of Resurrection before he is asked about his life, how did he consume it, his knowledge, what did he do with it, his wealth, how did he earn it and how did he dispose of it, and about his body, how did he wear it out."[4]
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[1] Furqan, 25/67.
[2] Nasa'i, Zakat, 66.
[3] Bukhari, Riqaq, 1.
[4] Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyamah, 1.
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