Make your Deen Green: Muslim Couples
Required to Plant Trees Before Marriage


In the surge of seasonal love related posts, the following article by Arwa
Abuarwa, from one of my favorite green sites, the Green Prophet, was just
'love'ly. The Green Prophet “loves to promote all things green in love and
marriage“. They have published a top tips for a green Muslim wedding.
Arwa shared 'how the authorities in Muslim Indonesia have taken green
love one step further with new couples being required to plant a tree
before they are granted their marriage permit”.

Imagine if every country in the world took eco-progressive steps like
these, which are easy to implement, and revive a sunnah. The couple
could make the trees symbols of their love, taking care of them as they
nurture their new relationship. Sharing their love with the earth.

The Prophet said “If a Muslim plants a tree, or sows a field
and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity
from him”. [Muslim]

Muslim couples in Indonesia are now required to plant two trees
before receiving their marriage permit

“The policy has a noble purpose, and it is necessary to support the
government's tree-planting program,” Iwan Zulhami, an official at the
religious affairs office, told the BBC. The policy is only being applied to the
Sumatran capital in Medan and in a number of districts on Sulawesi Island.
Couples will get two seedlings when they register and the trees must then
planted in the couple's home before the marriage permit is granted.

One official estimated that Medan will get at least 2,000 new trees as a
result of the plan which starts in March. The initiative was announced by
the religious affairs office, which is where Muslim couples intending to
marry must register.

Indonesia is the largest forest nation in South-eastern Asia with an
estimated 120 million hectres of rainforest. Illegal and legal logging, forest
fires as well as the pressures of a growing population have all had a
negative impact on their forests. According to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, Indonesia lost an estimated 18.7 million hectares of forest
every year between 2000 and 2005.

In the last couple of years, the Muslim community in Indonesia has been
playing an important role in promoting environmental conservation in the
region. Indonesia's Muslim scholars formed an organization called Dignifying
Environment Institution in 2011 with the aim of protecting the country's
forests from harmful practices causing deforestation. Certain madrasahs in
Indonesia have also been lauded for their work promoting environmental
awareness through Islamic teachings.


http://muslimmatters.org/2012/02/16/...fore-marriage/

This is a great initiative.. it kind of reminds me of a book I saw in the store today called "Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Protecting the Planet" http://www.greendeenbook.com/book.html