A Study in the Light of Qur’an, Hadith and Modern Science
By: Moulana Aneesur Rahman Nadvi
In the previous pages, we have discussed elaborately the threat posed to planet Earth in the form of desertification. This study revealed how serious the threat of desertification to the planet Earth is and how terrible its results are going to be to the whole planet and its dwellers. Similarly, we have also discussed in length the causes of desertification and it was established that the desertification i.e., the process of fertile land being converted into deserts characterized by its transition through two phases. In the first phase, the fertile and productive land turns into dry and arid land and in the second phase, this arid land gradually turns into desert.
Both of these phases have been described in the Holy Quran and hadith effectively in different styles. But in the previous pages, we have discussed only the second phase in detail, and the first phase has not been discussed elaborately. Since the consequences caused by infertility of land are extremely serious, and are universal in nature, in which the shortage of food grains, starvation and large scale displacement and migration of people globally are noteworthy which the mankind will be poised to face, we considered it necessary to discuss it under a separate topic.
Shortage of Food
Food is the basic necessity of every living creature on earth. All the living creatures on earth can survive only on energy obtained through food grains to perform their specific functions and activities. This basic necessity of life cannot be created but can only be transferred from a source to another one. This source for animals is food. Without this energy no life form can survive on earth. The way food and energy are necessary for the survival of life on earth; equally water is inevitable for the production of food grains. Without the supply of sufficient water, the agricultural system ceases to exist and the greenery and meadows will be converted into barren land and deserts.
An important sign of doomsday has been mentioned in hadiths with regard to the planet turning infertile and that the earth will cease to be fertile and it will unable to produce food grains. This will happen despite increased rainfall on the earth. Some of the hadiths narrated in this regard are as follow:
Anas bin Malik narrates from Prophet Mohammed pbuh that he said: A time will come on the people when it will rain plenty but the earth will not yield anything.1
Anas bin Malik narrates from Prophet Mohammed pbuh that he said: Doomsday will not come until it will not rain plenty and the earth will not yield anything.2
Among the sings of doomsday is the abundance of rain and lack of vegetation.3
The above hadiths are very clear in their meaning. In fact, two sings of doomsday have been mentioned in these hadiths. The first is that the earth will witness abundant rainfall more than usual. The second is that despite this overwhelming rainfall, the earth will not be able to yield anything. These two statements of hadith seem contradictory that how is it possible that at a given time earth should witness both increase in rainfall and decrease or cessation of vegetation. In the previous pages, we have already seen some discussion on certain aspects of these two apparent contradictory phenomena. Here we will make a brief summary of previous discussions.
Abundance of Rainfall
The normalcy of water cycle of planet earth is connected with the normalcy of the temperature of the earth. If the average temperature of planet earth remains moderate, the average precipitation too will remain normal. If the average temperature of the earth increased, the rainfall too will inevitably increase proportionally as a consequence. It is because, if the temperature increases, it will lead to the increase of evaporation, and consequently there will be more rains. Hence today almost each and every region and country of the world is facing overwhelmingly abundant rains and the devastations caused by it such as floods, storms, cyclones and cloud bursts etc. due to rise in global warming. According to scientists, this situation will worsen in the years to come with further rise in global warming.
According to a study by scientists of Adelaide University, an increase in the average temperature of earth by 1 degree Celsius will cause an increase of 7% to 8% in the rainfall. Now one can image what will be the state of affairs of precipitation in the coming years when the average temperature of the earth is expected to increase by 8 to 10 degree Celsius as scientists predict!!
Inability of the Earth to yield
The second point of the above hadiths is that despite the abundance of rain, the earth will not be able to yield anything. So here the question arises is that why this will happen and what are the reasons behind it? In the previous pages, we have discussed this topic randomly and in detail. We will try to give an extract of its causes here. Some of the reasons for the inability of the earth to yield anything despite abundance of rain are as follows:
- Untimely rains and rains with changed pattern as it has come out in the reports presented at the recent meeting of IPCC for the first time.
- Infertility of land due to acid rain forever as it has been explained in detail earlier.
- Loss of natural fresh water reservoirs which lock the rain water for use throughout the year on earth due to the melting of mountain glaciers. For example, scientists predict that all the Himalayan glaciers will completely melt down in the next few decades, resulting in the destruction of the agricultural system of the Indian sub-continent. This will not only be the fate of Himalayan glaciers alone, but all the other mountain glaciers of the world will face the same music.
- Add to that the unforeseen natural disasters which are taking place due to the increase in global warming. They are also posing threat to the food production and food security day by day, which include floods, storms, hurricanes and forest fires, etc. Scientists say that the frequency and intensity of these terrible natural disasters will increase with the increase in the intensity of global warming and climate change.
Food shortage and its devastating consequences
On the other hand, the situation resulted from the food shortage is extremely terrible. According to a study published in the American journal Science, half of the world’s population could face severe food shortages by the end of this century as rising temperatures shorten the growing season in the tropics and subtropics; increase the risk of drought, and reduce the harvest of dietary staples.
According to another scientific research, climate change risks extend beyond agricultural production to other elements of global food systems that are critical for food security, including the processing, storage, transportation, and consumption of food. This study further found that climate risks to food security increase as the increase in magnitude and rate of climate change. Higher emissions and concentrations of greenhouse gases are much more likely to have damaging effects than lower emissions and concentrations.
The United Nations in its recent statement said that the number of victims due to desertification on the planet earth has reached one billion. This means that about one in six persons on planet earth has fallen prey to the desertification, and is now in search of new livelihood. According to the World Meteorological Society, by 2025 around 3 billion people will be living in areas suffering from extreme water shortage and will be forced to relocate. This will lead to wide spread internal distractions and anarchy in a number of countries and regions.
Three Stages of Infertility of Earth
The discussion put forward in the previous pages regarding threats posed by desertification to the planet earth and the three stage of desertification too hold utmost importance in the case of infertility of earth. This is because as stated earlier, the infertility of land and desertification are the two gradual phases of one natural phenomenon, i.e., infertility of land is the first phase and the desertification is the second phase. So the statistics presented in the previous pages regarding the desertification of planet earth are equally important and holds good in case of infertility of earth too. We will present here just one hadith narrated with regard to the three stages of desertification of planet earth.
Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him said: “At the hands of doomsday, there will be three famines. In the first famine the sky will withhold one third of its water and the earth will hold back one third of its plants. In the second famine, the sky will withhold its two-thirds of water and the earth will hold back two-thirds of its plants. In the third famine, the sky will withhold all of its water and earth will hold back all of its plants and vegetation, until there won’t remain any animal and livestock.”5
A detailed discussion on this hadith has been put forward in the previous pages which included discussion on topics like the literal and conventional meaning of the term ‘sana’ (famine), three stage of desertification of planet earth and the relation of these three stages of desertification with the three geographical regions of planet earth. Here, we just like to draw attention of the reader to the statistics related to the three stages of desertification of planet earth. The available data with regard to infertility and desertification of planet earth shows that nearly one third of the planet earth has become victim of infertility and consequently has been desertified. Another about 30% of land area of earth has lost about 25% of its fertility and rapidly moving towards its further deterioration. These statistics show the universal nature of threat posed by infertility and desertification to the planet earth and the magnitude of its horror and dreadfulness.
In a nutshell, the green and fertile land is rapidly losing its fertility and the dry and arid lands are turning into deserts. According to scientists, with the further increase in global warming in future, the situation will worsen more rapidly and more areas will fall prey to infertility and desertification. The estimates put forward by scientists in this regard clearly shows that the entire planet earth is going to fall prey to the threat of infertility and desertification for sure as predicted in the above hadiths sooner or later. (to be cont.)
Footnotes:
1 – Mustadrak Hakim, hadith: 8567; Musnad Al Bazzaz, hadith: 7411.
2 – Musnad Ahmed, hadith: 14047; Mustadrak Hakim, hadith: 8513.
3 – Tabrani via Kanzul Ummal, V. 14, P. 220, hadith: 38472.
4- http://www.globalchange.gov
5 – The source of this hadith has been discussed earlier.