In modern science, time is still a mysterious phenomenon to explore, know and discover. One thing on which science could reach up till now is that time is a that dimension which is one way, it goes and it has no return. In holy Quran, Allah swt has talked specifically about time in these words;
Al-Quran - surah 103
Many people complain that their days passes away so quickly that they do not even know when morning turns into evening. This is so because we spend most of time in useless things like:
1: laziness: that is, we wait and wait and wait and do not do anything on its proper time until its eleventh hour and we are left with no choice but to do it.
2: we spend our time in too much sleep: We sleep like we have nothing else to do.
3: we talk too much, we discuss people, we discuss about events and we spend hours and hours in useless, unproductive chat.
4: lack of goals. When we do not have goals, we simply indulge ourselves into a never ending loop and locating problems in our lives.
5: our lack of self control. We spend time in eating, in chatting and in disorganizing ourselves that we eventually loose control on ourselves.
6: and lastly, our lack of time management is due to our egoistic behavior. We cannot simply bear to hear a word against us.
These are those six points which have been identified as the main reasons why people waste their time. There are several ahadith which talk about the human behavior and the importance of time as follows;
This hadith is an excellent time management tool. These five matters make our lives into whatever we want. If we spend our time wisely, then we would not be held accountable for misusing this greatest blessing of Allah swt. If we do not use our lives properly, then we will not only have nothing in this life but we will have nothing to say, and loads of shame, in the hereafter before Allah swt.
Our lives are bound by time, and our universe is also bound by time. With every passing second, a second of your life time is over. By the time you are born in this world, your life clock starts ticking backwards. Do not think that you have a minute more, but think that you have a minute less. Life is what you cannot waste by any chance. Allah swt says in Quran;
Al-Quran - surah 103
“I swear) by the Time, (1) Man is in a state of loss indeed, (2) Except those who believed and did righteous deeds, and exhorted each other to follow truth, and exhorted each other to observe patience. (3) “Allah swt has sworn by the time. In Quran, time is expressed as a passing thing i.e. an ongoing never returning phenomenon. Allah swt say that man is in a sate of loss, because of his decisions and deeds. And time is the witness of this. When Allah swt has sworn on time, then it means that this is a very serious and important phenomenon. When time is so important, most of us do not know its importance half so much. Look at the daily routines that we have, what do we mostly do? Mostly we spend time in speaking about this and that. We discuss people or events and our time goes away.
Many people complain that their days passes away so quickly that they do not even know when morning turns into evening. This is so because we spend most of time in useless things like:
1: laziness: that is, we wait and wait and wait and do not do anything on its proper time until its eleventh hour and we are left with no choice but to do it.
2: we spend our time in too much sleep: We sleep like we have nothing else to do.
3: we talk too much, we discuss people, we discuss about events and we spend hours and hours in useless, unproductive chat.
4: lack of goals. When we do not have goals, we simply indulge ourselves into a never ending loop and locating problems in our lives.
5: our lack of self control. We spend time in eating, in chatting and in disorganizing ourselves that we eventually loose control on ourselves.
6: and lastly, our lack of time management is due to our egoistic behavior. We cannot simply bear to hear a word against us.
These are those six points which have been identified as the main reasons why people waste their time. There are several ahadith which talk about the human behavior and the importance of time as follows;
Ibn Abbas (r.a.a) narrates that the Prophet (s.a.w) said, “There are two blessings which many people lose. (They are) health and free time for doing good” (Bukhari)and
The Prophet (s.a.w) said: “On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam will not move away till he is questioned about five matters:
1.On what he spent his life
2. In doing what he made his youth pass away
3. From where he acquired his property
4. On what he spent it (property)
5. What he did regarding what he knew.”
(Tirmidhi)
This hadith is an excellent time management tool. These five matters make our lives into whatever we want. If we spend our time wisely, then we would not be held accountable for misusing this greatest blessing of Allah swt. If we do not use our lives properly, then we will not only have nothing in this life but we will have nothing to say, and loads of shame, in the hereafter before Allah swt.
Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w) said: “Grasp five things before five others: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your leisure before your work and your life before your death.” (Tirmidhi)This hadith also indicates that our life has important times. We have strength and energy in our youth and experience and skill at old age. When we have strength to do things physically with ease, that is the time of gold. We should utilize it as much as possible. Similarly, what time we are left from our work, we can utilize it wisely in making our hereafter. And our entire life, we can use it in best possible way before our time in this world is over.
Abdullah bin Umar (r.a.a) said, “ Allah’s Apostle (s.a.w) took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.’
Ibn Umar (r.a.a) used to say, “ If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening and take from your health for your sickness, and take from your life for your death.” (Bukhari)That is, the life is uncertain. There is no surety of life. So, those who think time and life are same thing, they are wrong. Our lives have a small, very small chunk of time. And it is upon us that how we spend it. If we spend this time according to the commandments of Allah swt, they our endless life in hereafter would be in paradise.
Our lives are bound by time, and our universe is also bound by time. With every passing second, a second of your life time is over. By the time you are born in this world, your life clock starts ticking backwards. Do not think that you have a minute more, but think that you have a minute less. Life is what you cannot waste by any chance. Allah swt says in Quran;
[006:032] The life of this world is nothing more than play and pastime. The abode of the hereafter is certainly far better for the pious. Do you not understand?Therefore, set your goals, make use of every minute. Think of life as a bounded opportunity with endless chances of survival and opportunities. Remember Allah as much as you can, and live like a stranger in this world. Wait for the endless joyous times to come.