Episode 15: The Value of Time

 

In the name of Allah the All-Merciful, the Ever- Merciful; peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad (SAWS[1]).

 

At this point in time, the first phase of our project is approaching its end.  Until now, we have talked about many of the shackles that tie us back.  We have started to get rid of them, and many people have been able to bear this responsibility.  First let us make a quick revision of what we hope to achieve through this program:

 

1.      To raise a generation of people who have a useful and productive role in their communities.

2.      To instil hope and optimism among the youth.

3.      To increase our ability to persevere in the way of Allah (SWT) and to resist sins.

 

The second aim is of grave importance.  We must replace our current state of depression and failure with hope of success, because a depressed people can never achieve a revival.  We need hope and optimism.

 

The Prophet (SAWS) used to focus on this crucial aim.  On the day of the Battle of al-Khandaq (The Trench), ten thousand disbelievers surrounded al-Madinah.  The Muslims started to dig a trench around al-Madinah on all sides except for the side where the Jews resided, because they had a defence treaty together.  When rumour spread that the Jews had breached the treaty, the Prophet (SAWS) sent Sa’ad Ibn-Moadh to them, telling him, “Go to Bani Quraidha and find out whether or not the news of their breaching the treaty is true.  If you find that they are still abiding by the treaty then come to me while I am amongst people in the mosque and announce it in a loud voice, in order to raise the Muslims’ spirits.  If however you find that they have breached the treaty, do not announce it but make a gesture, ensuring that only I would understand it and nobody else would.”

 

See how the Prophet (SAWS) was keen on raising the spirits of the nation? Consequently, Moadh made the gesture and the Prophet (SAWS) said “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest).”  By saying that, the Prophet (SAWS) kept spirits high, because he knew that the only way to victory was by keeping spirits up.

 

All nations who have ever succeeded did so by ensuring that morale was very high.  An example: at the beginning of the twentieth century, China was a poor, ignorant and undeveloped country.  In the twenties, it was subjected to a number of floods and earthquakes that caused catastrophic destruction.  In the forties, it endured a vicious civil war, but in the fifties, the Chinese decided to wake up.  Within 30 years they became a major superpower.  Their leader was Mao Tse-Tung, whose motto was ‘Say no to depression.’  He knew that high aspirations were the key to success.  Other nations also took giant steps forward in 30 years, such as Japan and Germany.  On the other hand, the Prophet (SAWS) and his companions achieved what no one else before them had done in only 25 years.

 

From the time scale mentioned here, you may begin to realize that the shackle we want to get rid of today, is that of wasting time.  Before that I shall remind you of our previous projects and what we managed to achieve in them:

 

1. Fighting narcotics: 1,000 entrants took part in our competition to design a logo featuring the motto ‘Do not harm us with your smoke.’ Three of them have been chosen as finalists.  Now it is up to you to vote for the best design out of these three in the online poll that is now on the website.
2. The ‘Guardians of the Future’ and the fight against drugs: we have agreed that the best way to warn people of the dangers of drugs is to designate a group of four or five youths who will strive for this cause in every school, college and sports club.  The good news is that we had calls from international experts who wish to go a step further in this project by training the youths to the highest international standards.
3. The project of collecting clothes for distribution to the needy: may Allah (SWT) reward you for your clothes and your efforts with better clothes in the hereafter.  Right now the phase of collecting clothes has ended and we will begin to sort them in preparation for distribution.  Anyone who has ideas concerning distribution or a place for distributing the clothes please contact us.  We need specific ideas about distributing clothes, bearing in mind the following two points:

 

• The distribution of clothes must be completely free of charge.
• I ask those who have collected clothes outside the Middle East to search for the needy within their own countries first, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, before considering shipping them.  It is our intention that the good we are doing reaches all people throughout the whole world.

 

We also need officials to help in the distribution of clothes, so if you are willing to help, please contact us.  

 

Now back to our topic today, which is the shackle of wasting time.   If we were to consider the difference between the West and us (Muslims) it would be like comparing the difference between the speed of a very fast car and that of a slow car.  Time for the West is money, gold and life.  However, in our countries we look for ways to kill time, to waste time, and to get rid of time.  To counter this we have devised a suitable project for the shackle of time: ‘The Fruitful Week.’  The idea of the project is as follows: how can we change the whole 24 hours into profit and energy? How can we invest the 24 hours in the best way? This project is particularly suitable for this time of year, even for students who are having their exams these days, because this project will not require them to leave their homes.

 

We have agreed before upon how to get rid of our shackles.  We train ourselves and learn through a project, and tell ourselves that if we implement the project we will free ourselves from the shackle.  This method is to prevent the program from being only theoretical; there would be no point in lecturing you about the importance of time without giving you a way to benefit from these words.  We are practical people, and thus we must put our words into action.  Today’s project aims at teaching us how to stop wasting our time.  How can we fully utilise the 24 hours of the day? I guess telling you that every one of us could carry out the new project without having to leave their house and that its name is ‘The Fruitful Week’ has made you eager to know more about it.  This is the project that we will practice everyday throughout the coming week.  Are you ready to make an agreement concerning the next week?

 

‘The Fruitful Week’

 

We will need to stick to four things throughout the coming week, and we will need to encourage and motivate each other to make sure that we all do them.  The scholars in this field say, “If you intend to do something, begin with a condition, then observation, and then judgment.”  Right now I want you to make a condition on yourself, or to promise yourself, that you will do the following:

 

1.      Work: everyday you must work productively.

2.      Worship: everyday you must worship more than the minimum.

3.      Fitness: everyday we must keep fit by doing exercise.

4.      Social life: everyday we must do something social.

 

The first point is for yourself, the second for your spirit, the third for your body, and the fourth for your family.  Let us stick to doing them, as they constitute the very essence of life. We have extracted the ideas for this project from the Seerah of the Prophet (SAWS).  We analysed his day and how he spent it, and we extracted the four points that he used to stick to everyday.  We want to imitate the Prophet (SAWS) in how he spent his day.  We have never seen him, nor do we know how he walked, nor how he smiled, but one thing we do know is what constituted his day, and in this we must imitate him.  We want to tell him when we meet him on the Day of Judgement, “Oh! Prophet, we have imitated you (even if only for a week).”

 

Allah  says in the Qur’an what can be translated as, “Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern (of conduct)”. “Say: if ye do love God, follow me: God will love you and forgive you your sin: for God is oft forgiving, most merciful.” (TMQ, 3:31)[2].   Through this project, we will imitate the Prophet (SAWS), be rewarded plentifully by Allah (SWT), become better people, and we will get rid of the shackle of wasting time.

 

1.      In work:

 

As our first point, we must aim for six net hours of work or study, meaning six pure hours of work.  The average net period of time spent working in the West is 6-7 hours per day, while in the Arab world it is merely 27 minutes.  Net hours mean with no interruptions, no phone calls, and no games, nothing but focused work.  This project suits everyone from employees at work to housewives in their housework and the raising of their children.  The Prophet (SAWS) used to connect day with night; that was how he was able to spread this religion to the world in 23 years.  He did all this just to make us Muslims, thus we need to work to follow in his footsteps.  Omar (RA) used to say, ‘When can I sleep? If I sleep at night I would be giving up my Allah’s right, and if I sleep by day I would be giving up the subjects’ (the peoples’) rights.’

 

2.      In worship:

 

There are four acts of worship that the Prophet (SAWS) performed every single day, namely: Qiyam al-Lail (night prayers), Dhikr (supplications), reading Qur’an, and Dua’a (invocation of Allah (SWT)).  You could pray at least two raka’as (unit of prayer) by night, and while praying, read at least one page of Qur’an, then after praying make Dhikr and make Dua’a, even if only for a few minutes each.  If you succeed in doing all these, then you have managed to perform the four acts of worship that the Prophet (SAWS) never left throughout his life.

 

I have a recipe that might help you to practice this worship: Wake up fifteen minutes before dawn to pray two raka’as and use the Qur’an to read from it whilst praying.  This period of time is the most beloved time to pray to Allah (SWT).  Then make Dua’a as this is the time when Dua’a is most answered, then pray al-Fajr (dawn prayer), and after it say the morning supplications for five minutes.  In this way, you have managed to gather all the four types of worship in only 25 minutes.  Now imagine if you woke other people to do the same! Imagine how pleased the Prophet (SAWS) would be if all Muslims woke up to do these things.

 

3.      In fitness:

 

If you look at the nation of Muhammad (SAWS) now, many people suffer from smoking and collapse from the smallest effort.  In order for us all to increase our fitness, it is important that each of us does at least 30 minutes of physical exercise each day, at home or outdoors, and that women also play sports but in a closed area.  The Prophet (SAWS) was a sportsman; when he used to race his wife Aisha he used to beat her, even though he was 60 years old and she was only 18.

 

4.      In social life:

 

Plan a thirty-minute slot each day when you will sit with your parents and relatives or spend time with your wife and children.  Imagine how your family relations would improve if you just spent more time together.  We are asking for half an hour of quality time.

 

Imagine if we all made a huge effort to ensure that we perform these four tasks.  Allah (SWT) would look over Muhammad’s nation to find them doing four things that the Prophet (SAWS) used to do all the time.  Think of how your relationships with your Lord, your wife, and even your boss would improve, and how your abilities and physical well-being would progress in a week’s time.  The time required to accomplish this is: 6 hours for studying + 25 minutes for worship + 30 minutes of exercise + 30 minutes of social activities equalling a total of 8 hours, and you still have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.  Just try this project, and you might feel more content with yourself.  However this time, we won’t ask you to send the results to our website.  What we want is for everyone to awaken the people around them and inshallah (if Allah (SWT) permits) on the Day of Judgment we will know the numbers.  Every individual should be certain of his own success.  This way you will succeed and the people around you will succeed and the result will be seen on the Day of Judgment.  On that day we will be called, “So and so followed the Prophet’s footsteps and they didn’t even know each other.”  Imagine then how thrilled the Prophet (SAWS) will be.  Let us have a look at some statistics:

• The Arab citizen spends 60% of his day watching TV, 28% busy with insignificant matters, and then sleeps at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning.
• The Western citizen gets up at 6 o’clock in the morning, sleeps at 10 o’clock at night, and doesn’t have any fun except on weekends.
• The Western citizen reads all the time; on the bus, in doctors’ waiting rooms.
• The Arab citizen wastes his time playing games on the Internet or chatting.  The young men spend their time driving around in their cars, or eating at cafes, while the young ladies spend two to three hours on the phone.

 

In conclusion we, as Arab citizens, are operating with only 25% of our energy, making it impossible for us to ever catch up with the West, or see any changes in our current situation, no matter how many prayers we make to Allah (SWT).  Keep in mind that every kind of worship is connected to time: prayer, charity and pilgrimages.

 

• Allah  says what can be translated as, “Verily, as-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.” (TMQ, 4:103).
• “Oh Messenger of Allah, which deed is the best?” “Prayer on time,” he replied.
• Fast a fixed number of days, “Fast when you sight the new moon and break your fast when you sight the new moon.”
• Allah  also says what can be translated as, “The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months” (TMQ, 2:197).
• In charity, a year has to pass by in order to pay it.

 

Allah (SWT) always reminds us with ayahs or miracles about time which can be translated as; “And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayat (signs etc.).  Then, We have obliterated the sign of the night (with darkness) while We have made the sign of the day illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning.” (TMQ, 17:12).

 

Allah (SWT) swears by time in many ayahs in the Qur’an.  Allah (SWT) doesn’t vow by something unless it is of great significance. Allah  says what can be translated as,

• “By the forenoon (after sunrise).  By the night when it darkens.” (TMQ, 93:1-2)
• “By the dawn; by the ten nights.” (TMQ, 89:1-2)
• “So I swear by the afterglow of sunset.” (TMQ, 84: 16)
• “By al-Asr (the time).  Verily, man is in loss.” (TMQ, 103:1-2)

 

Muslims, be aware that time is precious.  Despite all of these ayahs in the Qur’an, we still hear youth saying, “I am just killing time.”  Don’t they understand that time is life itself, and that they are only killing themselves? Is this the nation of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)? A huge amount of time is being wasted but in the end we are only eating up our own lives.  How can we be happy with this situation? The following examples show how important time is:

• France has appointed a minister for wasted time, so that they can use that time for things that benefit the French society.
• The Prophet (SAWS) said, “Rush to action before seven things….” Do you await a sudden death, fatal illness or poverty before you realise what you have lost?
• Allah  says in the Qur'an what can be translated as, “And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord.” (TMQ, 3:133). Allah (SWT) also says what can be translated as, “Race with one another.” (TMQ, 57:21).

 

Do you understand how valuable time is? Muslim scholars appreciated their time a long time before the West ever did.  This is how they achieved their revival:

 

• Al-Hasan al-Basri said, “Every day the sun rises it calls upon us, ‘Oh people! I am a new day; I am an observer of your actions.  Take advantage of me for I will not return until the Day of Judgment.’”
• “Oh, son of Adam you are nothing but a few breaths.  Once one breath goes out, part of you goes with it.  In the same way that part of you has gone, soon all of you will go.”
• Ibnul-Qayyem said, “Every gulp of air that goes out in a cause other than the cause of Allah will turn to sorrow and regret on the Day of Judgment.” He also said, “A sign that Allah despises you is when you find yourself wasting your time with trivial matters; in this way, you miss your chance of going to heaven.  A sign that Allah likes you is when you find yourself fulfilling more duties than you have time for.”  A saying goes, ‘The devil makes work for idle thumbs.’  If you want to know whether Allah (SWT) is pleased with you, then think: are you busy or idle?
• Al-Muhasiby said, “I wish that time could be acquired with money.  If so I would buy time from wasteful and ungrateful people so that I could spend it serving Allah.”
• Ibn-Masoud said, “I never regretted anything except a day that passed by without having increased my deeds.”
• Ibn-Akeel wrote ‘The Book of Arts,’ which contains 800 volumes.  He used to say, “I don’t eat like you do; I mix dry bread with water until it becomes liquid.  This way I save time by just swallowing it instead of chewing it.”  You should know where your time goes.  You should know when you can go out and when you have some extra time.  When you do have extra time, don’t waste it; watching one soccer game is enough, you needn’t watch six.

·        Abu-Yusuf, who was a student of Abu-Hanifa, once said, “Abu-Hanifa was on his death bed, when he asked for a paper and a pencil to solve a problem in jurisprudence, saying, if I have but one instant to live, I would spend it doing something that pleases Allah.”

• A man asked Ibnul-Jawzi to chat with him for a while.  The Imam replied, “Only if you could stop the sun from revolving.”  That is how in a very short period of time, a few generations offered humanity many advances.  Allah (SWT) blessed their lives; they were able to accomplish what would take us many years.
• When only 16 years old, Osama Ibn-Zayd was an army commander.  Under his command were Abu-Bakr (RA) and Omar (RA).  The Prophet (SAWS) said, “By Allah, Osama is fully qualified for this job.” Osama fought the Romans and prevailed.  The companions said, “No army was ever rewarded like Osama’s army and the Muslims didn’t suffer any casualties.”  A successful person works even during his vacation; if he doesn’t find a regular job, he works as a volunteer.
• Sa’ad Ibn-Muaadh accepted Islam when he was 30 years old and died when he was 37.  Despite living only seven years as a Muslim, the Throne of Allah (SWT) was shaken for his death, and seventy thousand angels came down for his funeral.
• Mustafa Kamel fought the British occupation and brought the British Empire to its knees.  He died at the age of 33.
• Omar al-Mukhtar led the struggle against the Italian occupation from the age of 60 until he was 70.
• Muhammad Ibnul-Quasem conquered India when he was 17 years old.  He fought twelve battles in one year and he won them all.
• Zayd Ibn-Thabet became a Muslim at the age of ten.  The Prophet (SAWS) taught him the whole Qur’an when he was twelve.  He learned Hebrew at 14, became the Prophet’s own translator at 16, and then became one of the few companions chosen to write down the revelation at 17.  When he was 19 he was the head of the committee in charge of distributing inheritance.  When he was 21 years old he was assigned the greatest task in history, which was collecting the Qur’an and writing it down in one manuscript.

 

We waste a great deal of time: for eight hours we sleep and another eight we use for meals and personal needs.  That is two thirds wasted, and the remaining third is where productivity can be achieved.  Imagine that every breath you take is stored away in a locker and that on the Day of Judgment these lockers will be opened.  Can you see them empty or do you see them full of service, help, invention and worship? Picture someone throwing a hundred thousand dollars in the sea; he would be considered crazy and be put under great restriction. You do the same if you waste your time, for your greatest assets are your breaths in this limited life.

 

Home Work:

 

I will summarize it in the following points:

1. You can’t utilize your time wisely unless you have a goal in life.  When you do, you will be vigilant with your time and you will be able to divide it so you can achieve your goal efficiently (refer to the previous episode).
2. Make a schedule as follows:

 

Time                            Work                           Time needed

    4:00 - 4:15

    4:15 - 4:30

    4:30 - 5:00

 

If you complete the schedule you will find that 60% of your time is wasted.  Are you ready for change or it is all talk and no commitment? Are you willing to make adjustments to your time? If you are truly ready, let us agree on the details that will help you to organize your time:

1. Every day write down what you are planning to do the next day.
2. Write this down in a daily planner.
3. Focus on your work and don’t stop for any reason.  Time in the Middle East gets wasted because of all the interruptions.  Press hard on yourself and you will notice a great increase in productivity.
4. Cut down on your sleeping hours; even an hour a day will add up to 365 hours a year. You can use this time to prepare for a PHD or memorize the Qur’an, imagine that!
5. Stay away from idle and careless people.
6. Do things in parallel, for example while waiting at the doctor’s office or travelling on the bus, read a book.  Instead of wasting your time waiting, take advantage of that time and do something productive.  A great example is Ibnul-Qayyem, who wrote his book ‘Zad al-Maad’ during his journey to Makkah for Hajj (pilgrimage).
7. Be cautious of all the free time you have in the summer; use it wisely, for example in voluntary work.
8. Every night, ask yourself what you have accomplished that day, and soon you will be thrilled with your results.  Assess how much you were able to complete from the productive week project.  You may start with anything as low as 30%, but everyday your productivity and efficiency will increase.
9. Finally, never leave the house without your daily planner.

 

I believe that if we are able to keep track of our time in this efficient week, our appreciation of time will change.  Please work with us on this project.  Have a clear intention that you want to glorify time for the sake of Allah (SWT) and for the love of the Prophet (SAWS).  I hope I was able to convey this message clearly.  I seek Allah’s help and hope to see you next week.  Peace and blessing of Allah (SWT) be upon you all .