Time is not money or gold. It is life and it is limited. A Muslim must appreciate every moment of his life. He should always strive to make the best use of it.
The Nature of Time
Time is the longest, yet it is the shortest. It is the swiftest, yet it is the slowest. All of us neglect it. All of us regret it. Nothing can be done without it. It eats away what is small. It builds up all that is great. This is the nature of time.
Time is the longest because it lasts forever; it is the shortest because none of us has enough time to finish life’s work. It is the swiftest for those who are happy. It is the slowest for those who suffer. Life is made of time. Time, therefore, is not gold or money; it is life.
Time lost cannot be recovered. We cannot store it. Time lost is never found. We all have the same supply of time: twenty-four hours a day but we use it differently.
Allah’s Messenger () said, “There are two blessings which many people lose: health and leisure time.” (Ai-Bukhaaree)
The Arabic word “ghabn”, used here as “lose”, actually means buying something at a far higher price than its actual price or selling it at a far lower price than its actual price, which clearly shows a great loss. This hadeeth likens a morally responsible person to a trader and likens health and leisure time to capital, the money used for starting a new business. If someone puts his money to good use, he will get excellent returns on it; otherwise, he will lose it and experience devastation.
This hadeeth also urges us to benefit from our health and leisure time to get closer to Almighty Allah; we should do righteous deeds while enjoying these blessings before we lose them.
Leisure time is the time when you are not working or doing other duties.
Each weekday you get between four or five hours of free time. At the weekend, you get another twenty-four hours or so. Some of your free time will have to be spent doing your homework, so what do you spend your time doing? Do you have enough time to do everything you want?
A journey into the Self
What do you do with your time?
Make a schedule of the things you usually do during the day. Start with the time you get up and end with the time you go to sleep.
6.00 a.m.
7.00 a.m.
8.00 a.m.
And so on
Study the schedule you have made. Mark with a small circle the hours where you do something that benefits you or others. Look over your activities again. Do you waste a lot of time? Do you put off doing things? The way you use your time shows your worth.
If you value time, you will be prompt. You will be punctual. Promptness and punctuality affect the success of any activity.
If you value time, you will divide your hours and the minutes among your different daily activities. How much of your time do you waste just talking to your friends? Do you offer your daily obligatory prayers on time? Do you have time for recreation? Do you do this regularly?
Do you have a balance of work and leisure in your time schedule? While you must always strive to make the best of your time, you must aim for excellence.
Excellence in everything you do. The Prophet () said, “Allah has prescribed Ihsaan (excellence, proficiency) in all things.” (Muslim) It is therefore necessary that everybody must spend some time at the beginning of the week planning in detail the exact schedule of the week.
You must realize that the Qur’an and hadeeth can be fully memorized, books can be read, books can be written, and examinations can be passed by the proper use of time. Time could be spent for self-development. Plan your day each morning by writing down the things to do, and check them off as they are done!
A Muslim begins his day with salah and ends it with salah. These two salahs are Salatul-Fajr and Salatul-lsha.
Our time is our capital, and so we must use it wisely, according to the teachings of our religion, to lead a happy life in this world and eternal bliss in the hereafter.
Exercises
A. Fill in the blanks with suitable words.
1.There are two blessings which people lose: and
2.A Muslim begins his day with salatul- to lead a happy life in this world and ends it with
B. Answer these questions.
1 . How is time the shortest and the longest?
2. What is leisure?
3. What beneficial things can you do to better use your time?
C. Think-up
Write down “A Day in My Life”. Start from the time you get up to the time you go to bed.
