Resources

You know,

when God made humankind they were put on a world that could give them all the things that they needed

All they had to do was find those things and share them around.

For a start think of all the different things that grow that they can eat,

things that can simply be picked from off of trees and bushes,

like apples and blackberries,

strawberries and tomatoes,

peas and beans and nuts.

Then there are the things they can eat that they can pick straight off of the ground,

like cabbages and cauliflowers,

or from under the ground

like carrots and potatoes.

Or they can eat the seeds of grasses

like oats and corn and wheat.

Even the stuff that grows but isn't good for them to eat can be eaten by animals,

and they can eat the animals.

Or they can eat the fish in the sea, if they can manage to catch them,

although that's not so easy.

And God has provided much more sea for them to use as a resource to provide food for them than they have land on which to grow things.

But although the fish can live in the sea, humans can't drink the water because it's salty.

For that they need the pure water God gives them that falls from the sky and gathers in rivers and lochs.

What a wonderful resource.

Then think of all the other things they might need that are on the earth as resources for them.

All the different kinds of trees that grow long and strong,

wood they can use to build with, or burn to heat themselves or to light their way.

Or the coal that used to be trees, that died and got buried underground, and over many years turned from wood into a kind of stone, but one that burns.

And under the ground they can find iron to make armour,

and copper and silver and gold,

with lots of uses, not just to decorate themselves,

and diamonds and other precious stones.

The world is full of resources God has left or humans to discover,

and although they may have found many different resources over the years, you can be sure there are many more to find.

But the world is not endless,

so it is part of the muslim way of life to find ways to use what they have carefully,

so as not to run out of what they need.

Not to be so greedy that they waste what others need.

So they try to keep things, and use them more than once,

and some things they can grow to love and use over and over again for many years.

And of course, they try to make sure they leave enough for their children, and their grandchildren,

and those who come after them.