Ahh, good ole summer vacation! Time to chill, kick back, and relax huh? No more school and no more homework. That time of the year when you count down the days until school is out is upon us again. Some of us are fortunate enough to witness this time again, while others unfortunately did not make it and had their time come when they were to meet Allah, and in His Hand is all that is good.

The funny thing is, although we look forward to the end of school so much, it seems we are all bored to death within five, six, or maybe 15 days into summer vacation.

We either stare at the television for six hours straight or sleep for 14 hours a day. It seems many of us get into that mode: sleep, wake up, eat, watch TV, chat online, sleep, wake up…. etc. And don’t act like you guys don’t know what I am talking about.

So, to avoid yet another boring and wasted summer vacation, here are some ideas that maybe we can try. Because as Muslims, we want to, now more than ever, try and utilize our time as much as possible. One way to do that is to have some goals for yourself, both short-term and long-term.

Once, there were four young men chilling at the Ka’ba talking. By the way, look where the teenagers of the Prophet’s time would be, while the teenagers of our time are chilling at malls and movie theaters. Subhan Allah, how times have changed.

The youth of the early generations of Muslims had lofty long-term goals. They stuck to them and by the will and mercy of Allah, they were able to fulfill them. Some became great scholars while others became powerful leaders. Our youth, however, are chilling at malls and watching movies all day long.

If we want to be as successful as they were, we should have some long-term goals in our lives. Where do we want to be in 10, 20, or 50 years from now?

We also need some short-term goals as well, which is the point of this article. Since summer vacation is near, and we know that we are going to end up being bored to death, let’s set some goals to utilize our time and accomplish some things. Here are some ideas. Set your goals in three areas that we’ll call the Three E’s.

The first “E” is in your E-man (faith). Set some goals to work on your Iman. We consistently must watch our Iman-o-meter and make sure it’s at a high level.

This will better our relationship with Allah. How do we achieve that? By doing more worship; by praying all five times regularly and with concentration; and by making sincere Du’a. We can review the Qur’an we memorized and learn new Surahs with their meaning. We can commit ourselves to reading one page of the Qur’an every day in Arabic along with its meaning in the language we understand.

How about some fasting, charity, serving our parents, or praying late at night? The list is endless. Don’t overburden yourself in the starting step. The key is to be consistent. Choose some and stick to them. You can increase it slowly later on.

The second “E” is E-ducation. Increase your knowledge, both worldly and religious. Read beneficial books. There are a variety of books to choose from.

You could take up science books that reveal some interesting facts or guide you to do some cool projects. You could read history and Seerah.

The third “E” is E-xercise. It is important to take care of the body that Allah has blessed us with. Enroll yourself in some physical activity – be it sports, gymnasium, or aerobics. Keep your body fit and fine.

Lastly, have a good timetable to achieve these things. Without a timetable and good eating and sleeping habits, it will be difficult to do anything. How much can one achieve by sleeping all through the day and evening, while staying awake at night?

A good way to jump-start your activity is to form a group and have some “group goals”. Doing it together will help you and others. It would be like a competition as to how much every one of you is achieving in each of the three “E’s”. And together your group could also have a blast of Halaal fun. All the best for your summer!

– By Rashid Ridhwan