Let us strengthen our taqwa to Allah. Let us perform all that He commands. And let us leave all that He forbids. One of the things that Allah has forbidden us is to destroy this earth that He has created. Allah has created Mankind as a khalifah of this earth. Our purpose is to make it prosper not to destroy it.
Allah does not like those who destroy things as Allah says in surah Al-Baqarah ayat 205: Meaning: When he turns his back, his aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah does not love mischief.
Research has shown that this world is almost 4.5 billion years old. If we compare this to the lifespan of Mankind in totally, we will found that Man has existed on this earth for a time equivalent to less than 1% of the age of this earth. One percent of 4.5 billion years!
But. The amount of destruction that Man has created on this earth is tremendous. Especially, especially within this last century or so. Within this last century pollution has reached its peak. Pollution is so bad that the environment has changed. The weather is becoming increasingly hot because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide gas emitted by the activities of mankind.
Everyday, thousands of tones of poisonous gas are emitted by Mankind into the atmosphere. They are emitted by the millions of cars and factories that exist today. So it is not surprising that we find our earth's atmosphere changing. Just four years ago we experienced the El-Nino phenomenon. A phenonmenon that arise because of extremely hot and dry weather. A phenomenon that led to the burning and self destruction of many of our forests and nature reserves. We suffered through the haze. And then. After that, we went through the La-Nina phenomenon. A phenomenon that led to constant heavy rainfalls such that numerous places became flooded. 
Man not only pollute the atmosphere. He also pollutes the land. Everyday, increasing number of trees are cut down. Big swath of forest has been cleared. Forest has become quite a rarity in most places on Earth. Land has been converted from agriculture to other usage that contributes to the pollution. As a result, world temperature is steadily rising. Forests are like Earth's lung. It takes in carbon dioxide and gives out the life-giving oxygen. If our forests are getting smaller, less carbon dioxide will be converted to oxygen. This will be aggravated by too much burning done by human, which contributed to the increasing volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Mankind has not only destroyed the atmosphere and the earth. But. Mankind has also destroyed the sea. Look at the number of times that an oil tanker has broken down on high seas. Tons and tons of oil are spilled onto the clean waters. Tons and tons of oil that destroy the lives and purity of the water and the creatures living in it. Look at each ship that crosses the oceans, look at the amount of rubbish and dirt they leave behind as residues of their sailing.
Man's activities on the seas destroy the lives of the creatures of the sea. For example, before there exist big mechanical ships, whales could communicate with each other across thousands of kilometers. But now, Man has polluted the sea with noise and sounds that disable the ability of whales to communicate with each other. Imagine this! Its almost like a person who, although has perfect hearing abilities, is now deaf and unable to hear anything because the environment he is in has destroyed his hearing abilities. This is what Man has done to his fellow creations. This is how we have caused our fellow creations to suffer. Is this what we know as a khalifah of Allah?
Not only that. Mankind has taken fishing to the extremes. How do we know? If once we could easily catch fish in shallow waters, now, its almost impossible. Now extensive fishing can only take place in deep seas. The proportion of fish available for fishing has also been drastically reduced.
Why has this occurred? How can it come to this? How could so much destruction and pollution occur in the hands of Man? Haven't we been selected as the khalifah of this earth? A khalifah to help protect and make it prosper?
Instead, we have destroyed it. Allah s.w.t. has said in surah Ar-Rum ayat 41: Meaning: Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of that the hands of men have earned. That (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil).
This ayat clearly tells us that the pollution that takes place on the face of this earth today is caused by mankind. And Man will eventually suffer the effects of it. This is so that Man will realize the consequences of his own destructive actions. This is so that Man will learn to repent and will stop his acts of destruction on the earth.
Surely, the actions to destroy this earth and the environment is forbidden in Islam.
And surely the cause of such destruction is the greed of Man. Mankind is increasingly becoming greedy. Greedy to decorate their lives in this short existence they have on this earth. Mankind is increasingly greedy for wealth.
To accumulate wealth, Mankind has to speed up the economy. And to speed up the economy Man has to exploit the earth's natural reserves and creatures. Forests are destroyed. Wild animals are used for sports. Factories are happily releasing poisonous gasses. More and more vehicles spot the face of this earth. Its like, Mankind, slowly but surely, are killing themselves and killing the other creatures on this earth.
Know, that a person who has iman, a person who has faith, will not destroy things on this earth. This is because Islam is a religion of peace. It brings peace to Mankind. And it brings peace to all other creations of Allah on this earth. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. has been appointed as the mercy to this world. So a person who truly believes, who truly has faith will not destroy others.
They are characterized by Allah s.w.t in surah Haj ayat 41: Meaning: They are those who if we establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoing the right and forbid wrong : with Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs.
Let us reduce the pollution on this earth by reducing our greed for the material things of this world. Let us make the life on this earth better. Better not only for ourselves but also for Allah's creations. That is what is meant by being a khalifah of Allah on this earth.
