In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The blessing of time is one of the greatest blessings that Allah can bestow upon His slaves. Allah, the Exalted, even swears by time in some cases, because of the importance and blessing of time, as He, the Exalted, says,
وَٱلْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ﴿٣[Qur'an, al-‘Asr 103]
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)
Allah emphasizes four times in this very short surah that majority of us are in loss: Oath, Inna إِنَّ, Lafee لَفِى and the sentence construction, except (meaning a few that are not in loss) those who have 1) believed and 2) done righteous deeds and 3) advised to truth (Qur'an and Sunnah) and 4) advised each other to patience.
So be alert and pay attention. If a person is so careless about his time, it is as if he is telling Allah that he doesn't care about His oath and emphasis, and that he wants to follow the majority, who are in loss.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Make the most of five things before five others: life before death, health before sickness, free time before becoming busy, youth before old age, and wealth before poverty.” See Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 1077.
But most people are unaware of the importance of this blessing and are neglectful of their duties towards it, namely to fill it with acts of gratitude and obedience towards Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There are two blessings which many people do not make the most of and thus lose out: good health and free time.” Narrated by al-Bukhari, 6412.
Al-Teebi said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) likened the Muslim (who is accountable for his deeds) to a merchant who has capital and seeks to make a profit whilst also preserving his capital. The way to do that is to look for the right people to deal with and he himself will be honest and will try to be smart lest he be cheated. Good health and free time are our capital, and we should deal with Allah with faith, striving against the evil inclinations of our nafs and the enemy of religion i.e., the Shaytan, so that we may attain the best in this world and in the Hereafter. This is similar to what is mentioned in the passage where Allah says,
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَـٰرَةٍ تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿١٠﴾ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُجَـٰهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِأَمْوَٰلِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١١[Qur'an, al-Saff 61:10-11]
O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment? (10) [It is that] you believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know. (11)
We should avoid following the dictates of the nafs and keep away from the Shaytan lest we lose both our capital and our profit.
Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar.
If time is so important, then we should not have any free time, for we should be going from one act of worship and obedience to another. If we cannot spend all our time going from one act of obedience and worship to another then, we may spend some of our time in permissible pursuits, in which we should ensure that our intention is correct, so that we may earn reward thereby, as Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I get up and I sleep, and I hope for the same when I sleep as I hope for when I get up.” Narrated by al-Bukhari, 6923; Muslim, 1854.
Life is passing by like melting ice. So act, before it is too late.
How to fill your time with beneficial things:
1- Doing acts of worship such as reciting dhikr and wird, praying, reading and memorizing Qur’an, fasting and reflecting on the signs and blessings of Allah.
2- Pay special attention to the Qur’an. Learn Arabic, tajweed, and strive to understand the meanings of the Qur'an. Strive also to memorize the Qur'an before you become burdened with the responsibilities of life. For reading each letter of the Arabic Qur'an is a hasanah, and each hasanah brings a tenfold reward. And each verse raises one in status and increases one’s reward, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Read and rise (in status), for as you used to recite in this world, your position (in the Hereafter) will be determined by the last verse you read.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1464; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheehah, 2240.
3- Spend time with your parents and family.
4- Mix with good and righteous people. Don't keep company of bad and corrupt people.
5- Read Islamic books in particular and useful stories in general.
6- Get involved in da’wah. Just our faith and actions are not enough. We have to convey the Message to others and help others to face it with patience.
7- Adopt a cause affecting Muslims in the country where you live, such as helping to teach Muslim children, undertaking charitable projects, and so on.
8- Find good teachers and resources to learn the basics and essentials of Islam and improve your knowledge.
9- Listen to Islamic lectures, and write summaries which you can distribute to those who will benefit from them.
10- Learn some useful areas of worldly knowledge such as cooking, sewing, gardening, etc.
11- Learn about computers and useful programs, for this is a vast area which will take up a lot of time and can be used to do a lot of good and useful things. This will take you away from sitting in front of the TV, watching movies, listening to music, or idle chatting, which does not help you in any way, and does more harm than good.
12- Read some books which speak of the importance of time and how to manage it; listen to some useful lectures on this topic too.
May Allah give us the right and strong belief and help us do all that is good.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.
Wassalaam
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