Enter a mosque and you can hear sound of running tap water coming from the ablution (wudu) area. A common sight at the ablution area of the mosque is that of everyone doing ablution with the tap running at full pressure, until their wudu is complete.
Islam instructs its followers to preserve the environment in the form of not wasting water, food or anything given to this world by Allah. Making the most of the holy month, a 10-year-old decided to bring into practice what he read and learnt about Islam through Hadith and Quran.
Dubai resident, Grade 6 student Faiz Mohammed, has started creating awareness on water wastage during ablutions (wudu) at the mosque where he goes for Taraweeh prayers with his parents.
In order to educate people about being conscious of water wastage, Faiz first experimented by doing wudu in running water and keeping a bucket beneath the tap to check how much water he used. The second time, he used a mug of water instead of running tap water and did wudu with it. The difference in the amount of the water used in both occasions shocked him and his family.
“The first time, I used 7.3 litres and the second time, being careful, I used only 1.2 litres. Now imagine the wastage of water when we do wudu five times a day, 35 times per week and 150 times per month. Furthermore, this is only for one individual. This means before I was using 36.5 litres per day, 252 litres per week and 1,080 litres per month. While using the mug, I used six litres per day, 42 litres per week and 180 litres per month. This means that I would save 900 liters per month by opting for the second method,” Faiz revealed.
Determined to take action and stop the wastage, Faiz demonstrated this activity to his relatives and friends at Iftar get- togethers as well. Later on, he decided to spread the awareness where it was needed the most – the mosques. ” Since I go for Taraweeh prayers with my parents every night in Ramadan, I thought it was best to utilise this opportunity. I have hence started an awareness drive at the mosque, first by demonstrating the wudu using a mug of water, instead of using running water,” he said.
Faiz has also made a colourful poster with information on water conservation, which shows to people who come for doing the wudu in the ablution area. Also, after prayers, he speaks to the children, asking them to go home and tell their parents and family members not to waste water.
“A lot people have complimented me for this act and have reduced the amount of water while doing wudu themselves.” he said.
Giving out his message, the Sabari Indian school student said: “Let us all opt this Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and let’s gain a reward before performing Salah. The most important message that I want to spread amongst everyone is that small drops together can create a great ocean. These small drops represent each one of us, whereas the sea represents the ability of all our drops, which will assist us to conserve water and use it for our succeeding generations. Let us use our resources according to our needs and not according to our wants.”
