بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
One day you have something and the next day that something is gone. You made all these plans and in the end it didn't happen. Don't wonder. Don't despair. Allah, the One who is responsible over everything, He is able to do what He wants. He can change everything and anything. He organizes and reorganizes. We are but helpless without Him, al-Karim.
"God turns about the day and the night; surely in that is a lesson for those who have eyes." [Qur'an 24:44]
All we need to do is seize the moment in worship of Him and obedience to Him.
"I swear by the time! Surely Man is in the way of loss, save those who believe, and do righteous deeds, and counsel each other truth, and counsel each other patience." [Qur'an, Al-'Asr 103:1-3]
Take advantage of the five before five.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to a man while he was advising him:
"Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death."
You should exercise the energy that you have for the sake of Allah by procuring knowledge of Allah, obtaining halal sustenance, and worshiping Allah through acts that you might not be able to do later on in life.
We all fall sick at one time or another. If we did not fall sick, we would not be humans. Some sicknesses can be more severe that the other, and for certain people even more severe. We won't know how long we will have full possession of our faculties before we fall sick. Therefore, take advantage of it before that time comes.
The majority of mankind do not appreciate these two blessings--good health and free time. We don't want to be among those!
Do not forget to invest for your next life, the real eternal life, so you can pick the fruits when you need it the most. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Verily, the money that you spend in charity is your money, and the money that you leave behind is the money of your inheritors." Do you love your own money more or the money of your inheritors?
How much free time do we have and what do we waste it on? Think about it. Spending time wisely does not necessarily mean doing purely religious deeds. Islam is a complete way of life. Many acts can be rewarded if you change your intention and do them for the sake of Allah. But everyone of us should recite the Qur'an everyday, even if it is only for five or ten minutes. Surely, you can find 5 or 10 minutes everyday to build this relationship with the Qur'an. Everyone of us should pray some extra prayers as well, a few sunnahs. One of the greatest act of worship is to seek beneficial knowledge. Do whatever you can to increase your knowledge of Islam--have a daily routine. These are some of the most important religious deeds to fill your time. Don't start with the distractors--TV and the like--the greatest waste of time are these things. There is more to life than them! Read a book instead.
You are only allowed one life on this earth and you will not be able to come back and change that life. For every good you do you will be rewarded, and for every evil you do you will be punished. Inna lillahi wainna ilayhi raji'un. When you are in your grave, the only thing that will follow you that can help you is your Iman and good deeds. So seize the moment in doing righteous deeds and not let a moment pass you by without remembrance of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
May Allah guide is to excellence and give us tawfiq. Ameen.
Please do not forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
