Time Is a Blessing | Learn How We Can Value Our Time Effectively

Time Management

Valuing Our Precious Time (Part 2)

Mawlana Muhammad Asif Iqbal Attari Madani

Every breath and moment of life is a valuable pearl. However, most people are unknowing of how to use it correctly and effectively. The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said:

نِعْمَتَانِ مَبْغُوْنٌ فِیْھِمَا کَثِیْرٌ مِّنَ النَّاسِ اَلصِّحَةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ

“There are two bounties regarding which many people are misled: health and free time.”^[1]

Wasting time causes loss in this world and the Hereafter. Even after entering Paradise, the person will regret the time he misspent in his worldly life. The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said:

لَیْسَ یَتَحَسَّرُ اَھْلُ الْجَنّةَ عَلَی شَیْءٍ اِلَّا عَلَی سَاعَةٍ مَرَّتْ بِھِمْ لَمْ یَذْکُرُوا الـلّٰـهَ عَزَّوَجَلَّ فِیْھَا

”The denizens of Paradise will not regret anything, except the moments that passed by without Allah’s remembrance.”^[2]

The regrets associated with wasting time were discussed by the eminent Companion, Sayyidunā ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿūd رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, who remarked:

مَانَدِمْتُ عَلَی شَیْءٍ نَدْمِیْ عَلَی یَوْمٍ غَرَبَتْ شَمْسُةُ نَقَصَ فِیْهِ اَجَلِیْ وَلَمْ یَزِدْ فِیْهِ عَمَلِیْ

“I regret nothing more than a day that ends and my lifespan decreases, yet my deeds have not increased.”^[3]

In relation to time, these esteemed individuals did not favour those who would misuse it. Sayyidunā ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿūd رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ said:

اِنِّیْ لَاَمْقُتُ الرَّجُلَ اَنْ اَرَاہُ فَارِغًا لَیْسَ فِیْ شَیْءٍمِنْ عَمَلِ الدُّنْیَاوَلَاعَمَلِ الْآخِرَۃ

”I despise the free yet useless individual, whom I see not engaged in any worldly or religious work.”^[4]

Pioneers who contribute to society share this trait: they value time. The time we receive in this life is an irreplaceable blessing. We will be judged in the Hereafter based on how we spent our time. How we choose to live in this temporary world determines how we spend eternity in the Hereafter. A significant sign of good fortune is to manage your time correctly and use it with sincerity. By the bounty and grace of Allah Almighty, and through the value of time, Sayyidunā Nuʿmān ibn Thābit became the “Greatest Imam” (al-Imam al-Aʿẓam), Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī emerged as the “Greatest Helper” (al-Ghawth al-Aʿẓam), ʿAlī ibn ʿUthmān al-Hujwīrī became “He Who Gives Generously” (Dātā Ganj Bakhsh), and Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī became the “Comfort to the Poor” (Gharīb Nawāz).

The authors we read and the gifted souls whose lives we take as beacons of guidance, all of them used time effectively and recognised its value. We are reliant on their expertise and experience to progress in life. So we pay homage to them by sharing selections from their wisdom:^[5]

1.   Imam Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه said, “I swear by Allah! I have great regret in abandoning academic work [writing and reading] whilst I am eating, as time is a precious treasure.”^[6]

2.   Imam ibn Hajar Asqalani رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه said, “Sayyiduna Shams al-Din Asbahani رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه would eat very little in the evening. He feared eating and drinking a lot would lead to a need of relieving himself more often, causing a lot of time to be wasted.”^[7]

3.   Sayyidunā al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه would read even as he walked in the streets.^[8]

4.   Sayyidunā ibnʿAqīl رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه, whose book Kitāb al-Funūn spans 800 volumes, said, “Acquiring knowledge is an excellent way of spending your time, as you busy yourself and become closer to Allah. Knowledge removes you from the darkness of ignorance and leads you to the light of Islam. I engaged myself in this and spent my time on it.”^[9]

اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم