Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Importance of Time

"Take benefit of five before five:

your youth before your old age,

your health before your sickness,

your wealth before your poverty,

your free-time before your preoccupation,

and your life before your death."[Hadith- al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee,
Saheeh]

MANY people forget or neglect the importance of time although man's
life on earth is a span of time. Islam gives due attention to the
issue of time because if people waste their time, they are actually
wasting their life.

The Noble Qur'an gives due attention to the idea of time and this is
clear in many verses of the Qur'an when Allah swears using the
different places of times of the day to reveal the importance of
time, "By the break of Day," (Qur'an, 1:89) "By (the Token of) Time
(through the ages),' (Qur'an, 1:103) etc.

Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alyhi Wa Sallam says in one
Hadith: "There are two things that people are not aware of how
important they are: health and time." This Hadith stresses two
facts: People are not aware of the importance of being in good
health till they fall ill and people are not aware of the importance
of time and therefore waste their time doing trivial things.

There was research published in one of the magazines about how man
spends his time. The research revealed that if man lives for 60
years, he spends one third of his life sleeping because man usually
sleeps eight hours a day. Remaining years are spent in public
transportation, watching TV, eating, in the bathroom.etc. This means
that the larger part of man's life is spent in worldly matters. If a
person, Karen Armstrong, refers to this aspect of time in Prophet
Muhammad's Sallallahu Alyhi Wa Sallam life. She indicated that what
the Prophet Sallallahu Alyhi Wa Sallam did in 23 years was
miraculous and what he accomplished required thousands of
philosophers, reformers, intellectuals and mentors to do in hundreds
of years.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who has failed a
grade.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth
to a pre-mature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask an editor of a weekly
newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage labourer who has
kids to feed.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the bride who is waiting to
meet her groom

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who has missed the
train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who has avoided an
accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND, ask the person who has won
a silver medal in the Olympics.

The Characteristics of Time

We are to bear in mind that time has certain characteristics, among
of which are the following:

Time passes quickly.

Time that passes can never return, nor can it be compensated for,
for time is irretrievable.

Time is the most precious thing that man possesses.

The following are some of the most important duties demanded of
Muslims:

Ensuring benefitting from time.

Utilizing leisure time.

Racing for good deeds.

Learning from the passage of time.

Seeking the superior times.

Planning and organizing time.

Fulfillment of time commitments.

Necessary awareness of time wasters.

One of the methods of managing his time properly is for a Muslim to
get up early and sleep early, for early hours always yield great
blessings. Starting his day with prayer and the supplication of the
morning brings the Muslim Allah's grace. A Muslim should always bear
in mind that every time has its own task that suits it. Doing tasks
in their due times brings about peace of mind and comfort. The most
important aspect being gaining such knowledge of Islam that will
enable and empower one to do such actions at a given time that
pleases Allah abundantly! A Muslim is disciplined and uses every
second constructively and productively!

Narrated Abdullah Bin Mas`ud Allah's Messenger Sallallahu Alyhi Wa
Sallam said:"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, whence he
acquired it, and in what way he spent it; and what was it that he
did with the knowledge that he had." [Hadith]

May Allah guide us to use our time correctly and
beneficially! !!...Ameen

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