Take Advantage Of Five Before Five

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

I pray that you are well.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) advised to: “Take advantage of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you become preoccupied, and your life before your death”

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِرَجُلٍ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ خَمْسٍ شَبَابَكَ قَبْلَ هَرَمِكَ وَصِحَّتَكَ قَبْلَ سَقَمِكَ وَغِنَاكَ قَبْلَ فَقْرِكَ وَفَرَاغَكَ قَبْلَ شُغُلِكَ وَحَيَاتَكَ قَبْلَ مَوْتِكَ

[Narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported by Al Hakim]

Many of us are familiar with this hadith. It summarises the phases which we may go through throughout life -- youth, middle age, old age. If we sit back and think, throughout these phases, we gain and lose. This hadith advises us to take advantage of what is of its highest during these phases, all aimed at worshiping Allah. We are going through or have gone through some, if not all, of these phases of life or we have seen others going through them. Sometimes we take lessons from them. Sometimes we don’t.

One of the beauties of Islam is that we are given a secure way of life, and the best understanding, which gives us the highest strength and motive. Islam prevents us from making grave mistakes, warns us of what we may fall into, gives us stepping stones and gives us aims, goals and aspirations. If we follow Allah’s commands – we know we can never go wrong or regret the decisions we have made.

1- Take Advantage Of Your Youth Before Your Old Age

Youth is a time when a person is the most energetic, when he lays out the foundations for his future, and when he plans his life. One of the things that most people take for granted is their youth. Often we see that their energy is wasted in one way or another.

The enthusiasm and energy that you have been blessed with during your youth will never again be given to you after this age. A person should exercise this energy for the sake of Allah by procuring knowledge of Allah, obtaining halal sustenance, and worshiping Allah through acts that he might not be able to do later on in life.

When people lose their youth, they will find it harder to do those deeds and acts of worship that they found somewhat easier to do at a younger age. With old age, people find it harder to keep their obligatory fasts, they may not be able perform wudhu properly or to pray properly, and they may not have the energy to recite the Qur’an very often.

It is common to hear young people claim that they will start ‘practising’ Islam when they get older. We should always be mindful of the fact that ‘older’ may never come around for us. We have no guarantee that we will even be alive tomorrow, let alone be alive to see our pensions, or our grandchildren. And even if we are blessed with a long life, how can we be sure that we have the health – physical and mental – to practise Islam? On top of all this, we should remember that people do not just magically become ‘good’ overnight; often, we find that bad habits are hard to shift – what if we can’t get rid of our bad habits when we get old?

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Seven are the people that will be sheltered on the Day of Judgment, the day in which there is no shade except the shade of Allah"

One of the seven people, the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned was a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah. Remember, the youth is up to forty. So this young person, whether he is twenty or thirty or right before reaching the age of forty, he has grown up and has been raised or has raised himself busy in the worship of Allah.

Likewise, the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said that Allah is pleased with and amazed at the youth who does not have any evil inclinations. This means he does not do evil. Allah loves such a youth who is straight in the worship of Allah and does not turn left or right to the paths of Shaytan. Allah loves this person and is amazed at him because in general it is the youth, due to their virility and strong desires, who swerve left and right away from the path of the worship of Allah.

2- Take Advantage of Your Health Before Your Sickness

Everyone falls sick. If we did not fall sick, we would not be humans. There will come a time when we will fall sick. Some of those times the sicknesses will be more severe, and for certain people even more severe and debilitating.

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is reminding us that we do not know when we will have full possession of our faculties, of our strength, of our mental powers, before we will fall sick. Therefore, take advantage of it before that time comes.

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "There are two blessings the majority of mankind have been deceived concerning." The majority of mankind do not appreciate these two blessings. They are "health," good health, "and free time."

Once a person came to Yunus ibn 'Ubayy, one of the scholars of the Salaf, and he complained of extreme poverty as he had not been blessed with much. Yunus ibn Ubayy asked him, "Would you be willing to give away your sight for a certain amount of money?" The man said, "No, of course not." Then he asked him, "Would you be willing to give your hands away?" He said, "No, of course not." He asked, "Your feet?" He said, "Of course not." When he finished he said "I see that you have hundreds of thousands of millions of blessings, yet you are complaining of poverty?"

We have our full faculties, we can see and hear. Look at someone who Allah has tested with blindness. It is a very severe test, and that is why the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam has said:

"There are two things if Allah takes them away from a person and he is patient, he is guaranteed Paradise. These two things are the two eyes."

How about one who has been blessed not just with eyesight, but with hearing, health, arms, limbs, energy, vitality, enthusiasm, and many other things. Should we not appreciate the blessing from Allah? Do we not realize how sweet health is? It can be used for the worship of Allah. When we are blessed with these bodies, why do we not use them in the worship of Allah?

The least we can do is the obligatory actions such as salah five times a day, fasting in Ramadhan, and going for the Hajj. All of these require that we use our physical bodies. That is the bare minimum we should do to show our appreciation to the One who blesses us with all that.

Obviously, youth can do more -- sunnah prayers and fasts. Unfortunately, we find many young people not only they neglected the sunnahs, but also the obligatory prayers and fasts, and don't have the intention at all to do any of the sunnahs. We hear them making excuses for missing the prayers or fasts – ‘I have exam/class’ – for not making the time to recite or memorize the Qur’an – ‘I have an project deadline tomorrow’ – or for not attending circles of knowledge.

We need to be aware of the fact that there is no guarantee of our good health. There are so many things that can happen that can leave us full of regret for not having taken advantage of what we had when we had it. What if something was to happen to you on your way home from university or work tomorrow? An accident that can leave you paralyzed so that you cannot perform your prayers properly. You may develop health problems that stop you from fasting. You can lose your eyesight so that you cannot see or recite the Qur’an. Any of these things can happen at any time to any one us.

3- Take Advantage of Your Wealth Before Your Poverty

Wealth is another blessing granted to us by Allah. Wealth in this context does not necessarily mean that we have large amounts of savings, or the fact that we can afford a huge house, the top cars, etc. The simpler things such as a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our fridges make us among the world’s wealthiest people – a fact that we, more often than not, seem to overlook, particularly when we see people that have a lot more worldly possessions than we do. There are millions of people in the world today that don’t even have a drop of clean water to drink, and they don’t know where their next meal will be coming from. These are the people that we need to be helping with our wealth. Even a small donation can go a long way.

We should give as much as we can in the way of Allah. We are assured of the reward for doing so. Allah Almighty says,

مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَ‌ٰلَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِى كُلِّ سُنۢبُلَةٍ مِّا۟ئَةُ حَبَّةٍ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَ‌ٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٦١

The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (261)

[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:261]

The wise person uses his wealth before he becomes poor. He invests for his future.

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam once asked his companions, "Who among you loves his inheritors' money more than his own money?"

The Sahabah said, "O RasulAllah, all of us love our own money more than we love the money of our inheritors. We all love our own money. We guard it and protect it more than the money of our inheritors."

Then the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam 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."

How true it is. The one who loves his own money more than the money of his son, does he not realize that one day his son will take that very money of his and he will have nothing to do with it? All that is left of his money is what he spent during his life for the sake of Allah, if there was any such money. Any of it spent in charity for the sake of Allah, is money that will be yours permanently. The Arabic word for charity includes zakah, sadaqah, waqf, and any type of monetary good that you did. Everything besides this will go into the hands of your inheritors.

Remember that feeding your family is worship if you are doing it for the sake of Allah. If you are doing it for the sake of Allah, you will be rewarded. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said that, "A morsel of food," one morsel of food, one handful of food, "if you put it in your wife's mouth, this will be a reward for you on the Day of Judgment." Now everybody, Muslim or non-Muslim, feeds his family. But will everybody be rewarded for that? No. Because only the one who does it remembering Allah, thinking about Allah, and doing it for the sake of Allah will be rewarded.

Ask yourself if the last time you went shopping, Allah was in your mind? Did you think of doing this for Allah? When you picked up the milk and the bread, was your heart thinking, "Oh Allah, I am buying this food through halal money, and this is halal food, because I want to feed my family and this is an obligation that You have put upon me, therefore, I am doing it for your sake." Who among us has this in his mind?

When we say, "That is spent for the sake of Allah," we are not just talking about money, zakah, sadaqah, and charity. Of course, giving in charity is the best thing you can do with your money. But do not forget that the majority of income that we spend, and in fact for the believer, all of the income that he spends, can be for the sake of Allah as well. This means thinking of Allah, spending for the sake of Allah, and having the intention of pleasing Allah.

4- Take Advantage of Your Free Time Before You Become Preoccupied

The concept of time is so important in Islam that Allah swears by it in the Qur’an:

وَٱلْعَصْرِ‌ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ‌ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ‌ ﴿٣

By time, (1) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (3)

[Qur'an, Al-'Asr 103:1-3]

In line with the above verses, we have to discipline ourselves by giving value to the importance of time. We should be prompt in doing good deeds, which will increase our faith and subsequently enable us to gain Allah’s pleasure and mercy.

We should use the time we have to do as much in the way of Allah as possible, because as time passes, as well as having to contend with old age and all that entails, we will inevitably have a lot more things to worry about, like jobs, homes and families – things that most people in their teens and 20s or even 30s aren’t necessarily worried about. If you think that finding the time to practise Islam is difficult now, what will you do when life really starts to pick up pace? There is nothing wrong with getting married and having a family, but you should appreciate the relative freedom that you have now, and spend as much of it as you can on good deeds.

Every single one of us must use our free time before we become preoccupied. Think about how much free time you have and what you waste it on. We have hours and hours every day and they go by. What do we waste it on? Primarily, television/internet/social media. It is also wasted on gossip and socialization of which there is no benefit whatsoever, in this world nor in the hereafter.

Spend your time wisely. Spending time wisely does not necessarily mean purely religious deeds. But spending your time wisely and can even be something of this world. Learn a trade. Learn something that can benefit you in this world and that can benefit other people as well. Islam is a complete way of life, a complete code. Do not forget that all of the acts a believer does can be transformed into acts of worship if, and only if, he does them for the sake of Allah.

Of course that there are religious deeds which are the best deeds to do. Every one of us should recite the Qur'an everyday, even if it's only for five or ten minutes. Start with 1 or 2 pages daily and increase gradually to a juz or two daily. You should have this relationship with the Qur'an. As well, we should pray some extra prayers as well, a few sunnahs, if not the continual sunnahs that the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam used to pray. Pick up the sunnah prayers before and after obligatory prayers, wake up for tahajjud in the last third of the night, and pray 2 to 8 cycles of dhuha prayer in the morning. This is the most important thing for us to do. But at the same time, do not forget that there can be many acts that can be rewarded if you change your intention and do them for the sake of Allah.

Do not waste your time. The greatest waster of time is the television. You turn it on, and an hour or two go by, and not only have you not gained anything for the Akhirah, you have not gained anything for this world. You have literally killed your time, and done absolutely nothing with it. And realize that you are lucky if you don't come away from those two hours without any sin. How many are the sins that are in television, with music, and the women, and other things. It's better to throw the TV away, if you have it, because of the evil that comes from it. Like Allah says about alcohol, the evil that comes from it is more than the good that is obtained from it.

When you have some free time, take advantage of it. The greatest thing that we can do in this free time is to worship Allah. And one of the greatest acts of worship is to seek knowledge. Read a book or listen to lectures or attend some lectures. Do whatever you can do to increase your knowledge. If nothing else, visit one another for the sake of Allah and with proper adab, or volunteer at the hospital. These are things you can do that will pass your time away, and will benefit you.

5- Your Life Before Your Death

The last thing that we have been advised to take advantage of is our life before our death. Every night when we go to sleep, we enter a state where our soul leaves us. When we wake up, it is only because Allah has blessed us by returning our souls and granting us the opportunity to worship Him for at least one more day. Upon waking up in the morning, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to say (and we are also encouraged to do the same):

‘Praise be to Allah who gave me life after death, and to Him is the final return.’ [Bukhari]

Often we do not fully appreciate how great a blessing it is to be given another opportunity to live. We become relaxed about death, and we don’t fully comprehend or appreciate that at some point – and only Allah knows when – our life will be taken away from us, leaving no second chance, no opportunity to make up for the wrongs we have done, and no turning back time. We must not forget what a mercy life is. We should savor every moment and use it to our best advantage -- to achieve Paradise in the Hereafter.

Good things don’t just come to us – we have to strive for them, day in and day out. Whether we are a studying or working, or raising a family, in order to excel at what we do, we know we have to work hard, and the harder we work, the better the reward. Paradise is no exception to this. And we know that, if we strive hard enough, Allah will reward us with the ultimate prize, inshaa Allah.

People who make this life their goal, then they will live only to appease and satisfy every desire of theirs. Then on the Day of Judgment, they will beg Allah to send them back to this life. Allah describes this in the Qur'an: "When death comes to them, he will say, "O my Lord!..."

All of a sudden, when his Lord comes to him he remembers Allah. Whereas throughout all of the years that he lived, Allah was nowhere near him; Allah was the furthest thing from his death. On the Day of Judgment when he is resurrected, he will say: "Oh my Lord! Allow me to go back so that I may do good in the time that I had left."

Allah obviously will say, "Kalla"- no. You have only been allowed one life and you will not be able to go back and change that life. For every good you do you will be rewarded, and for every evil you do you will be punished.

Allah describes them in the Qur'an as saying on the Day of Judgment: "O our Lord, we have seen and we have heard. Let us go back to do good deeds; we are now believers."

They claim to believe in Allah and the Day of Judgment but Allah will not allow this to happen because everyone has only one life. That is what Allah has given and this is what we must make the best of in this world so that we are compensated accordingly in the Hereafter.

This hadith deals with responsibility, wisdom, foresight, long-term planning, and good strategy. Every one of us has been blessed with these five blessings. There is no one among us who has not been blessed with these five things. So how do we utilize them? What do we utilize them for? Why do we utilize them?

The wise person is the one who strives to achieve the pleasure of Allah and then expects the best from Allah. The wise one is one who tries to arrive at the goal and then has tawakkul in Allah. Tawakkul does not mean to sit back and say, "Oh, this will happen to me." Rather, you must strive for it. The fool is the one who follows his desires and then presumes that Allah will reward him.

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 the Allah.

‘A man shall be asked concerning five things on the Day of Resurrection: concerning his life, how he spent it; concerning his youth, how he grew old; concerning his wealth, how he acquired it and how he spent it; and what he did with the knowledge he had.’ [Tirmidhi]

We ask that Allah makes us of those who can seize these five things, who can take advantage of them before the five come. May Allah grant us well being and enable us to worship Him well. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam