“Say: Travel through the Earth and deeply observe how God did originate the creation; then God produces the next creation; surely God has power over all things” (Qur’an 29:19-20)
Welcome and May the peace and blessings of God be upon you.
Source: Salam Islam
"Justice activism is very important for anyone who says they believe in God, Muslim or not. This is front and center if they’re really honest about their faith. If we understood the concept of ‘khalifah,’ we wouldn’t do what we’re doing to other human beings or this planet and its web of life."
Dr. HISHAM MOHARRAM
Are you someone that’s stopped using straws or shuns styrofoam containers? Or are you someone that wants to see what all the science says about climate change before pointing the finger at mankind as the cause? Ultimately, it may not be about whether or not you believe in humans causing climate change or what your politics are. Maybe it’s more about a relationship, a relationship you have or do not have with the environment, with nature. Dr. Hisham Moharram has a relationship with nature, and wants you to have one too.
Source: Muslim Heritage
What is your job/occupation?
“To me, an occupation is more than a job. Through my current occupation, I am trying to fulfill my Islamic mission - as I understand it to be. I run an agribusiness. It involves marketing, editing websites, posts on social media, accounting, leading the farm team as they learn about tending crops, installing and maintaining irrigation networks, construction of physical infrastructure on the farm, preparing the fields for planting, harvesting crops etc..”
Why farm and farming?
“When I tend to the farm I feel like I’m in the dominion of my creator and the work takes me away from the neon lights, synthetic carpets, air conditioning, etc. It puts me into God’s complete control. I’m impacted, on a daily basis, by things that remind me of Allah’s power. When you're stuck in an unnatural setting, it’s easy to get arrogant and become far removed from behavior that reminds you of God’s omnipotence over all things, including mankind.”
“Then let man look at his food, (and how we provide it): For that We pour forth water in abundance, And we split the earth in fragments, And produce therein Corn, And grapes and nutritious plants, And olives and dates, And enclosed gardens, dense with lofty trees, And fruits and fodder—For use and convenience to you and your cattle.” (Qur’an 80:24-32)
Why Islam and what impact did it have in choosing your job?
“I grew up in an average Muslim home in Egypt. It wasn’t strictly religious, but I was instilled with the basics: don’t lie, cheat, steal. When I got to America, there were a lot of challenges in the first couple of years. I faced challenges to my identity, faith, ethnicity, language, culture as a whole. I came to study hotel management, because of American movies and TV. When I started being challenged/criticize for being Muslim, Arab and Egyptian, I felt devalued by those people challenging me: fellow students, sometimes instructors. It was very clear that they didn’t like what I felt was important to me. I started to defend Islam and Arabs. I would have to read up to be better prepared for the next time I was criticized. I learned more about the history of Islam and Arabs, recent history and geostrategy which resulted into today’s world realities. Learning and reading history strengthened my arguments. .” Dr. Moharram further discusses the people who challenged him the most by challenging his own personal relationship with Islam. “I was most challenged by two people who were non-Muslim. I tell my daughters, ‘You’re not Muslim because you’re grown up in a Muslim household. You’re Muslim when you choose to be a Muslim. It doesn’t matter where you grew up or who your parents are.’ I changed my major to do what I understood God Almighty would be pleased with: to do as much good and give as much assistance as possible. I chose agriculture as a major. It took me down this path of agronomy, mechanization, horticulture, genetics and plant selection. I earned a Masters in Horticulture and a PhD in Plant Breeding (and Genetics), then completed two postdocs in genetic engineering and molecular genetics. In my first job I researched natural products from plants which led me to pharmacology and bioactive natural products. As I read scientifc history I learned that where we are today in science was as a result of input from all cultures, especially Muslim culture. There is so much information on botanicals from early Muslims, but the media today seems to only mention and acknowledge Chinese, Ayurvedic or Unani botanical medicine. Basically, I chose to show the contribution of Islam to human development and exemplify being a good Muslim through my current occupation.”
What frustrates you about the current social climate?
“Ignorance of what Islam really is about, by non-Muslims and Muslims alike. My fellow Muslims mostly think their prayers, fasting and sadaqah are all what Islam is about. What the Prophet (PBUH) taught is that those are the foundations, but not the structure of Islam. They’re just the foundations, but what goes on top of that foundation is Islam. And how you go about living your life and treating the world that Allah created shows the truth of what one believes. There’s also ignorance about what the farm is really about. They don’t really understand why the issue of organic agriculture is so important. You see runoff into oceans, lakes; fossil fuel consumption driven by conventional commercial agriculture. This is very important for anyone who says they believe in God, Muslim or not. This is front and center if they’re really honest about their faith. If we understood the concept of ‘khalifah’, we wouldn’t do what we are doing. Those who might be poor and barely existing, I don’t fault them when they use chemicals to control weeds or pests. They are desperate, being offered products that can get them a little more crops to make ends meet one season at a time, when they’re barely making it. They are working so hard that they barely have time to think. You can’t ask them to read the Qur'an when they work hours a day and are wiped out. The educated class has the time. The burden is much heavier for those who have or can attain knowledge because they have the advantages of security, comfort and time.”
What do you want people, especially Muslims, to know about your career?
“The issue of how human beings are interacting with the natural world is an essential issue to our proper observation of Islam. If we are going to claim to the world, as we are in fact claiming, that Islam is the way that the our creator wishes to see us living by, if we mean that, especially for those of us in the west, we have to be much more engaged in everything that negatively impacts the natural world. It’s really about justice. It’s unjust and morally wrong for us to use products that end up in the oceans, lakes and rivers or in the soil because they do great harm. We will be asked about that. That damages the ‘trust’ we’re supposed to keep, as the Qur’an described it (al amanah). If we are truly khalifah, we should be the advocates for the turtle with plastic bags or nets wrapped around its body and kill it, or the whale that eats too many plastic bags and dies, or the chickens that are fed things that cause cancer and health problems that they can’t stand. These are all crimes in my opinion. I want everyone to stop and look at what they’re enabling by their actions and purchasing decisions and make better decisions. I want everyone to stop and think what Allah would be pleased by and what changes we need to make in our daily lives. We Muslims have to ask what engagement with society, including local, regional, state, federal, could bring about better legislation, better environmental control, and more justice in society. There’s a verse in the Qu’ran that states that ‘corruption has appeared on the land and in the sea by what people’s hands have earned’. Today, there is indeed corruption in the web of life, things are out of balance. It’s our collective actions that are damaging the natural world. If we truly believe and have fear of the reckoning on the Day of Judgement, we will treat each other and the world around us with justice and kindness.”
Source Good Tree Farm
Muslim Heritage has written a great piece on the history of agriculture in early Islamic times: “Early Muslim rulers were equally passionate about plants, gardens, water and greenery, and such passion played a major part in the rise of Muslim agriculture. An early promoter of farming was the Umayyad ruler, Abd Errahman I (r. 755-788), who, as soon as he took control in Spain, sent an expedition to the Levant to collect material for his garden in Cordova. The Banu Di Nun ruler, Al-Mamun of Toledo (r. 1043-1073), had the magnificent and beautifully named Bustan al-Na’ura (The Garden of the Noria) erected, in which was constructed Qubbat al-Naim (The Pleasure Dome), which fill the lines of poets. Other rulers with a similar passion for gardens and greenery dominated the early centuries of Islamic rule, from the Aghlabid rulers of Tunisia, the Tulunids of Egypt, to the Almoravids of Morocco. (1)
Islamic principles and jurisprudence played a role in economically growing the peasantry where crops and livelihoods were more plentiful compared to other civilizations of the time. “The system of crop rotation, fertilization, transplanting, grafting, and irrigation were implanted so rapidly and thoroughly because the legal code governing land-holding and tenancy provided an incentive to improve farming practices and because the upward spiral of economic growth rewarded investment.” (1)
Source Nishat Bagh
“See ye the seed that ye sow in the ground? Is it ye they cause it to grow or are We the cause? We’re it Our will, we could crumble it to dry powder, and ye would be left in wonderment, (Saying), ‘we are indeed left with debts (for nothing): ‘Indeed are we shut out (of the fruits of our labor).’ See ye the water which ye drink? Do ye bring it down (in rain) from the cloud or do we? Were it Our will, we could make it salt (and unpalatable): then why do ye not give thanks? See ye the fire which ye kindle? Is it ye who grow the tree which feeds the fire, or do we grow it? We have made it a memorial (of Our handiwork), An article of comfort and convenience for the denizens of deserts. Then celebrate with praises the name of thy Lord, the Supreme!” (Qur’an 56:63-74)
“Read in the name of your Lord, who created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by then pen.” (Qur’an 96:1-4).
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Dr. Jane Goodall
Notes:
1. Muslim Heritage: https://muslimheritage.com/agriculture-in-muslim-civilisation-a-green-revolution-in-pre-modern-times/
For more information:
Good Tree Farm: http://www.goodtreefarm.com/
Green Deen - Abdul Matin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J0BN-MiY7o)
EcoMENA: https://www.ecomena.org/islam-environment/
International Institute of Islamic Medicine: http://www.iiim.org/
1001 Inventions: the Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization: http://www.1001inventions.com