{"id":105412,"date":"2026-04-21T08:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=105412"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:21:10","slug":"breaking-the-culture-of-excess-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/breaking-the-culture-of-excess-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Culture of Excess – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Earth is an Amanah: Live Like It Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Breaking the Culture of Excess<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday we discussed that we are khalifah \u2013 stewards of the earth. Today we get practical. We open our fridges, our shopping bags, and our bin lids. Because the place where most environmental harm starts is not in factories or oil rigs \u2013 it starts right in our own homes. <\/em><\/p>\n

Let me ask you a direct question. When was the last time you threw away food? Not scraps \u2013 but perfectly good bread, rice, vegetables, or leftovers that sat too long in the fridge? When was the last time you bought something you didn’t need, simply because it was on sale? When was the last time you filled a plate more than you could eat?<\/p>\n

If you’re like most of us, the answer is: recently. Possibly today. And that, dear listeners, is not a small matter. It is a spiritual crisis.<\/p>\n

Allah \ufdfb gives us a command so clear, so direct, that there is no room for interpretation. He says in Surah Al-A’raf:<\/p>\n

\u064a\u064e\u0640\u0670\u0628\u064e\u0646\u0650\u0649\u0653 \u0621\u064e\u0627\u062f\u064e\u0645\u064e \u062e\u064f\u0630\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0632\u0650\u064a\u0646\u064e\u062a\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0652 \u0639\u0650\u0646\u062f\u064e \u0643\u064f\u0644\u0651\u0650 \u0645\u064e\u0633\u0652\u062c\u0650\u062f\u064d \u0648\u064e\u0643\u064f\u0644\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0648\u064e\u0671\u0634\u0652\u0631\u064e\u0628\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0648\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0627 \u062a\u064f\u0633\u0652\u0631\u0650\u0641\u064f\u0648\u0653\u0627\u06df \u06da \u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064f\u06e5 \u0644\u064e\u0627 \u064a\u064f\u062d\u0650\u0628\u0651\u064f \u0671\u0644\u0652\u0645\u064f\u0633\u0652\u0631\u0650\u0641\u0650\u064a\u0646\u064e<\/strong><\/p>\n

“O children of Adam! Take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but do not waste. Indeed, He does not like the wasteful.”<\/em>\u00a0(Surah Al-A’raf, 7: 31)<\/p>\n

Pause here. Allah does not say He dislikes waste. He says He does not\u00a0love<\/em>\u00a0the wasteful. And in the Qur’an, when Allah says He does not love a certain type of person \u2013 the arrogant, the treacherous, the wasteful \u2013 it is a severe warning.<\/p>\n

But we live in a culture of excess, don’t we? We are surrounded by\u00a0ifraat<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 going beyond the limit. Supermarkets pile food high. Restaurants serve portions that could feed three people. Advertisements tell us we need more, bigger, newer, better. Sales convince us to buy what we never intended to buy. And before we know it, we have normalised excess.<\/p>\n

The Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa lived the opposite way. His life was a masterclass in simplicity. Aisha radhiAllahu anha said:\u00a0“The family of Muhammad never ate their fill of wheat bread for three consecutive days from the time he came to Madinah until he passed away.”<\/em>\u00a0(Bukhari). Not because they were poor \u2013 but because they chose simplicity. They ate what they needed, not what they wanted.<\/p>\n

Compare that to our homes today. We fill our trolleys without thinking. We cook enough for an army when we are only a few people. We leave lights on in empty rooms. We run our air conditioners with windows open. And then we wonder why the earth is groaning under our weight.<\/p>\n

Let me focus on one area specifically, dear listeners:\u00a0food waste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Globally, one third of all food produced is thrown away. One third. Imagine a plate of biryani. Now imagine throwing one third of it directly into the bin. That is what we do as a human family \u2013 every single day. And here is the most painful part: The food we waste could feed every hungry person on earth nearly twice over.<\/p>\n

The Prophet \ufdfa taught us specific manners of eating that directly fight waste. He said:\u00a0“The son of Adam does not fill a vessel worse than his stomach. A few bites are enough to keep his back straight. But if he must eat more, then one third for food, one third for drink, and one third for air.”<\/em>\u00a0(Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).<\/p>\n

One third for food. Not half. Not a mountain. Just enough.<\/p>\n

He \ufdfa also never criticised food. If he liked it, he ate it. If he didn’t, he simply left it \u2013 without complaint or waste. And he taught us to lick our plates clean \u2013 not out of desperation, but out of gratitude and the understanding that every crumb is a blessing from Allah.<\/p>\n

So what can we do, starting today?<\/p>\n

Number one:<\/strong> Plan your meals before you shop. Buy what you need, not what catches your eye.<\/p>\n

Number two:<\/strong> Serve smaller portions. People can always take more. They cannot return half-eaten food to the pot.<\/p>\n

Number three:<\/strong> Save leftovers intentionally. One of the great forgotten Sunnahs is respecting yesterday’s food.<\/p>\n

Number four:<\/strong> Compost what you cannot eat. Even peels and scraps can return to the earth as goodness rather than landfill gas.<\/p>\n

Number five:<\/strong> Before you throw anything away, ask yourself: Did I need this in the first place? Could I have bought less? Could I have finished it?<\/p>\n

Dear listeners, the culture of excess is not neutral. It is a direct contradiction of the Qur’anic command. Allah gave us permission to eat and drink \u2013 enjoy His blessings, yes. But He drew a clear line.\u00a0Do not waste.<\/em>\u00a0Not “try not to waste.” Not “waste a little.” Do not waste.<\/p>\n

Today, make a small promise to Allah. One meal. One portion. One less thing in the bin. Because every grain of rice we save is a thank you to the One who provided it. And every plate we empty is a step back toward the balance \u2013 the\u00a0mizan<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 that Allah loves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Earth is an Amanah: Live Like It Matters Breaking the Culture of Excess Yesterday we discussed that we are khalifah \u2013 stewards of the earth. Today we get practical. We open our fridges, our shopping bags, and our bin lids. Because the place where most environmental harm starts is not in factories or oil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[5476],"class_list":["post-105412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","tag-special-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/download1.jpg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-rqc","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 11:45:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105413,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105412\/revisions\/105413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}