Making the Most of Your Youth

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

"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." 

Youthfulness 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. So the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to take advantage of this time before the time comes when you do not have that enthusiasm, when you do not have that zeal, or that outlook. The enthusiasm and energy that you have been blessed with will never again be given to you after this age. Therefore, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to seize the moment and take advantage of it. 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.

Youth here does not mean the western concept of youth that youthfulness finishes when someone is eighteen or nineteen years old. In the Islamic Shari'ah, a man's life has been divided into a number of sectors or stages. Shabbab or shab, according to the strongest opinion, means before reaching the age of forty. This is because forty is the prime of life, when mental and physical capabilities have reached a peak, and after that they start to go down.

It is usually within our youth, we have less responsibility, we are at the peak of our health, we have vast amounts of time which we can let easily slip away.

Time is like a very sharp sword (in arabic phrase is al-waqt kal seif), If you don’t use it, it will cut you. In fact, every breath is expelled by humans are part of their age. It is like the pearl of great price.

So, Abdullah Ibn Mas `ud radhiallahu ‘anhu said, “I never regret for anything, except when the sun sets and reduced my age, but my deen not increased.”

Ibn Qayyim gives the parable of the time: “Numbers of years in are like a tree, while months are like the branches. Days were like twigs and hours like leaves, and breaths like fruit. When his breath he used to worship, the fruit is good. ”

Make the most of your youth and your whole life by learning. Do not be deceived by procrastination and wishful thinking about the future. Every moment of your life that passes cannot be replaced. So do away with whatever you can of distractions and obstacles which prevent you from striving your utmost to attain knowledge.

The salaf encouraged keeping away from one’s family and keeping a distance from one’s homeland, because when a person is distracted he will not be able to understand facts of knowledge and subtle issues. Allah has not given man two hearts in his chest, and similarly it is said that knowledge will not give you a part of it until you give it your all.

May Allah make us of those who love learning and enable us to utilize our time better. Ameen.

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

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.

Wassalaam