Earth day, is an event celebrated every year by Wessex Jamaat since 2009. It is the climax of the week long celebrations of "Dahwul Ardh". The phrase "Dahwul Ardh" literally means "The spread of the earth"
The 25th of Dhulqa'dah, according to a tradition of the Noble Prophet (saww) is the day when the earth was spread for the advantage of human beings.
At Wessex Madrasah this event has become a focal point of our madrasah activities where the students get an opportunity to reflect on the Earth and its bounties.
On Saturday 28th September, Madrasah students celebrated this special day. A tree planting venture was organised for all Madrasah classes; whereby each class was allocated their own tree. In addition, they had to pay special attention to the name and species of their allocated tree for a quiz held during the Dahwul Ardh assembly.
At the assembly, there were a range of exciting awards including the Golden Student and the House of the Year for the academic 2012-2013 year. Saleha Moledina was awarded the Golden Student prize while the Karbala house took away the House of the Year award.
The theme for the day was elaborated by the Resident Alim, Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo. This was then followed by a quiz focused on Dahwul Ardh. The emerging winners were the Makka and Madina houses – both scoring full points.
Sheikh Fazle Abbas said: “Celebrating Dahwul Ardh is a prime example of how Muslims demonstrate in practice the stewardship of this gift – our home, the planet. The Earth is our cradle and we need to take care of this cradle. We do so because we care about the gift given to us by the Almighty. It is a pleasure to have the Madrasah join in to celebrate this event productively.”
The day drew to a close with chocolates and sweets being served. After all, isn’t Earth the only planet with chocolates?