Time Management In Islam

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There are two blessings which deceive many people: health and free time.” [ Narrated by Imam Bukhari ]

Among the widespread social diseases common among youth and elderly is time-wasting. These days majority of people spend their evenings and nights in pleasures, distractions, amusements, and wasting time; pleasures that may or maynot be permissible.

After Isha’s prayers or closing down of their shops,people return to their homes and sit in front of the television hopping between channels. Ponder about the loss of time and what you are doing! Boredom has spread amongst people so much that it’s becoming hard for television stations to satisfy their viewers. Most people spend their evenings until midnight or even later watching the news, serials or movies until they get tired and fall Asleep.

Why did we sink to this level?
It is from the lack of knowledge of fundamentals of wisdom! The elderly would advise the youth to heed the importance of time and of one’s lifetime, both in the religious and worldly sense.

The one who does not wish to spend his time in obedience to Allah is heedless and far from his Protector. Therefore it is necessary for him to take stock of his matters in worldly affairs, business, lessons, and his actions.

It is necessary that he busy himself by building for what will come, to develop to acquire new knowledge every day, and not to fritter away his time and energy. For him, who desires success ,it is necessary to exhaust himself and work hard. If such a person finds free time how could he ever waste it?

Take Benefit From FIVE Things Before FIVE Things
Because aiming high requires hard work and exhaustion. In hadith of ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhu the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to a man while he was advising him: “Take advantage of five matters before five things overtake them matters:
· your youth, before you become old;
· your health, before you fall sick;
· your richness, before you become poor;
· your free time before you become busy;
· and Your life, before your death.
{Mustadrak of Al-Haakim, musnad Imam Ahmad, and others, with an authentic chain of narration.}

To profit from something precious necessitates one is keen not to lose it.

Your life, before your death.
You are alive at this moment; you donot know when death will take you and you know it cannot miss you. It may have taken your neighbor, your father, your grandfather, mother, and brother. Perhaps this time will be your turn. One’s time of death is unseen which Almighty Allah has veiled from you.

You are alive at this moment and able to act. When a man dies his actions are cut off You are alive and are able to move, breathe, and physically able to work… Almighty Allah has opened doors of action to earn righteous works and not to commit sins.

Your Free Time Before You Become Busy
You have limited time. Do your utmost in seeking knowledge during the night and during the day. Seeking knowledge is for the sake of discovering wonders of the sovereignty of Allah, increasing faith, benefitting people through medicine, architecture, history, mathematics, and other types of sciences. If you correct your intentions for the sake of Almighty Allah you would be rewarded for this toil and hard work.

Imam Ghazali writes: “You should not neglect your time or use it haphazardly; on the contrary, you should bring yourself into account, structure your litanies and other practices during each day and night, and assign to each period a fixed and specific function.

This is how to bring out the spiritual blessing (barakah) in each period. But if you leave yourself adrift, aimlessly wandering as cattle do, not knowing how to occupy yourself at every moment, your time will be lost.

It is nothing other than your life, and your life is the capital that you make use of to reach perpetual felicity in the proximity of God the Exalted. Each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, since each of them is irreplaceable and, once gone, can never be retrieved. Do not be like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life shortens.

What good is an increase in wealth when life grows ever shorter? Therefore be joyous only for an increase in  knowledge or in good works, for they are your two companions who will accompany you in your grave when your family, wealth, children, and friends stay behind.”
[Ghazali, The Beginnings of Guidance, p23]