Our Prophet (PBUH) says: "If the Resurrection comes upon one of you while he has a sapling in his hand, then if he can plant it before he stands up, let him do so." Even if you are the one planting it, someone else will cool off in its shade, eat from its fruit, and pray beneath it — and each one will be written in your book of deeds.
Leave a shade behind. The sapling you plant continues to green, become breath, and provide shade long after you leave this world. "When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: sadaqah jariyah (ongoing charity), beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him." A sapling is this ongoing charity taking root in the earth.
It starts with a sapling and transforms into a forest. Every sapling you bring together with the soil today greens an arid land, becomes a nest for a bird, shade for a traveler, and abundance for the land. You can plant it on behalf of a relative or deceased loved ones, leaving an ongoing good deed behind them.
Even when your breath ends, let your reward continue to breathe. Plant a sapling, leave a mark behind.
