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Available for over a year

Good morning. On Sunday, Sir David Attenborough is narrating a new one hour special called ‘Extinction: The Facts’. It promises to take us on a journey across different parts of the world and into places we would otherwise never know about. The programme will give us stark warnings about how our habits and lifestyles are contributing to biodiversity loss, and that we have a lot to answer for as humans. Last year a UN report revealed that around one million animal and plant species in the world are threatened with extinction. This is the global impact of collective human behaviour and it can sometimes feel intangible and somehow separate from everyday life. Yet our relationship with animals is also local and personal. Last week I saw in our local paper a photo of a dog that had been abandoned next to the river. With a badly injured leg he was completely vulnerable and essentially left to die. A passer by stayed with him until the vets were called. The dog was taken away, his injury was too bad so he was put to sleep. I feel upset every time I think of the story but it’s uplifting to think about the very last moments when he was loved and looked after by strangers. This reminds me of the importance of thinking about our community not just in terms of a human community. In the Qur’an there is a verse that says: "There is not an animal that lives on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but they form communities like you” (Quran 6:38) We like to think of ourselves, human beings, as the best of creation. Throughout the Qur’an and Islamic teachings Muslims are reminded that as humans we have been made responsible by God to look after all of creation – “all creatures great and small”, as the hymn puts it. The beauty and wonder of nature is a common theme throughout the Qur’an and there are many animals mentioned. Six chapters are named after animals. In a recent interview Sir David described how lucky he has been to have encountered some of the world's most remarkable species of animals and said “many of these wonders seem set to disappear forever.” While most of us will never be lucky enough to see them with our own eyes, their future and our future are dependent on the choices we make in our lives. It means honouring the great and the small and reminding ourselves that everything matters and when we talk about community we really have to think about that in the widest sense.