Can Parents waste a little time by

Can Muslims Waste A Little Time? • A guide to seeing and using time based on the instructions of the Qur-an, Sunnah and the life and sayings of righteous early Muslims.

﷽ Can Muslims Waste A Little Time – At Least Sometimes? All praise is due to Allah. Every sane human understands the importance of time in our lives. For example, everyone understands that if a young person wastes all the time in their youth, they are bound for a miserable existence later in life. We hold very different opinions, however, on how much time we can choose to waste. 1

While many people are comfortable to waste a few hours in a day, or a few days in a week, you would occasionally come across people who try to make sure that no minute of their time gets wasted, and a rare few who get close to achieving this by their methods of extreme discipline and self-control. Is there any reason a Muslim would want to achieve this level of discipline? Is it compulsory to want to do so? Can Muslims choose to waste a little time occasionally? Is it justified when some Muslim scholars tell people to stay away from video games or watching football and movies, or pointless conversations 2

and activities on social media partly because they are time-wasting?

First, Is Time Important To Muslims In a Special Way? There is a simple way to think about this question. If a non-Muslim becomes a Muslim today, and they depend on you for guidance, would there be anything new you need to teach them about time, and how they should see time as Muslims? Think about this for a moment. The following verses of the Qur-an, texts of the Prophet’s sayings and 3

sayings of the scholars offer a unique perspective to time in Islam. Let’s see. Allah says, ‘The moment you are freed of one task, then stand up for worship.’1 Imam Assa’dii in his explanation of this verse said, “Allah commands his Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and by extension all of the Muslims, that anytime they are free from the things that keep them busy, and nothing remains on their mind of responsibilities that disturb it, then they should strive in worship and prayer.”2 We believe that we have been created for no other reason except 1 2

Q (94:7) Tayseerul Kareemi Rrahman by Abdurrahman Nasir Assa’dii

to worship Allah, and worship needs time. Muslims, therefore, see time as a commodity without which our one reason of being alive cannot be actualized. We understand also, that not having enough time is not an excuse to not worship Allah as He is fit to be worshipped. Of course, why would anyone imagine they are too busy to worship Allah when all they were created for in the first place was to worship Him? What else could someone have spent their lifetime doing than what they were created to do? Unfortunately, there is an endless variety of choices when it comes to choosing a distraction that is consuming enough to not

have the time, even if little, to worship Allah with. Allah says, ‘And they will cry out loud in Hell, “Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteous deed unlike what we used to do before.” But did We not grant you lives long enough that whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for the wrongdoers have no helper.’3 Here, those who are in the painful humiliating torment of the Fire ask for more time to worship Allah but Allah replies that they had enough time to do this. A Muslim 3

Q (35:37)

understands from this verse that a lifetime is enough time to worship Allah, and no extra time is accorded after death. We understand that there are people who will ignore these facts, waste their lifetime, and for that reason, end up in the humiliation of Hell-Fire, in a situation where they would beg for more time, a request that Allah will never grant. The fruitless act of begging for more time to worship Allah in the face of undisputable reality does not start in the Fire, however; it starts at the moment of death. Allah says, ‘When death comes to one of them, he cries, “My Lord, let 7

me return. That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.” No! It is only a [useless] appeal they make. And there is a barrier behind them until the day they are resurrected.’4 This verse again teaches that at the time of the death of evildoers, they will ask for time, but it will never be granted to them. Thus, Muslims understand the importance of spending time in the worship of Allah before death, and before the severe suffering and pain of Hell-Fire that face people who do not do so when they are forced to make requests that will never be granted. 4

Q (23:100)

So many other verses of the Qur-an, point to these same important facts about time. Allah says, ‘It is He who has made the night and day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires to show gratitude.’5 Here, Allah informs us that the succession of night day, one of the greatest symbols of time, were made for people who want to remember Allah and to be grateful to Him. As it remains that the major goal of our lives is worship, time was created majorly as a commodity to facilitate worship, also.

Q (25:62)

Various sayings of the Prophet, also, contain some guidance about the way Muslims should understand time and use it. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, ‘The feet of the Son of Adam shall not move from before his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about his life, what he spent it on, and about his knowledge: what he did with it, and about his wealth: from where did he acquire it and how did he spend it, and his body: what he wore it out on.’6 Here, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬informs that on the Day of Judgement, we will stand in front of Allah and give 6

Tirmidhi, graded saheeh by Al-Albani in Silsilatus Ssaheehah (946)

account of what we spent our lives, our wealth, our knowledge and our bodies doing. It is apparent that our lives, for which we will give account before Allah is a sum total of the breaths we take, of seconds, minutes, days and years. Muslims understand, thus, that they will be called to account over the manner in which they spent time. Was it spent worshipping the Creator, committing sins against Him, or simply wasted on things that do not offer any benefit? The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, ‘Take advantage of five things before the arrival of five others: youth before old age, health before illness, wealth before poverty, 11

your free time before your preoccupation and your life before your death.7 It is clear from this hadeeth that a Muslim is expected to be careful and deliberate about the manner with which he spends free time, or what is known as leisure time. He is supposed to ‘take advantage’ of times when he doesn’t find himself busy. Taking advantage would mean that he performs actions that are beneficial to him in the Hereafter, and permissible actions that benefit him in the world. The opposite of taking advantage would be wasting time, and time is wasted when it is spent on activities that are 7

Hakim, graded saheeh by Al-Albani in Al-jaami’u Ssagheer (1077)

prohibited, or that are neither beneficial to our Hereafter or our world as Muslims. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said in a short passage from a long hadeeth, ‘Strive to seek that which will benefit you...’ The benefit that can be derived from permissible activities8, thus, dictates whether a Muslim invests his time in them or not. Activities that offer no benefit to us, or offer very little benefit (when compared with other activities that we could spend the same time engaging in) amount to a waste of time. And praise be to Allah, the prohibition on wasting time is clearly established by the 8

When actions are impermissible, we stay completely away from them and do not consider their benefits. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, ‘What I have forbidden for you to do, then stay away from it.’

verses of the Qur-an and sayings of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬cited above. How Did Our Salaf (Righteous Predecessors) Understand Time? In an authentic hadeeth reported by Mu’awiyah bn Abi Sufyan, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬informed the Companions that there would come a time when Muslims would split into seventy-three groups that would all end up in Hell-Fire except for one of them. As you would imagine, the Companions asked about this group that would be saved from Hell-Fire and the Prophet’s response ‫ ﷺ‬was? 14

‘They are those who are upon what I and my Companions are upon.’9 In another narration, the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ said, ‘The people of my generation are the best, then those who follow them, then those who follow the latter…’10 Allah says, ‘And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬after the right path has been shown clearly to him and follows and follows other than the way of the Believers, We shall keep in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination.’ 11 12 9

Reported by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban & Hakim & graded saheeh by them. Bukahri 2652 11 Q (4:115) 12 ‘The way of the Believers’ as mentioned in the verse above refers to none other than the way of the Companions of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬: those who were the Believers when this verse was revealed, and the way of those who follow them, which would apparently be the way of the Companions, too. 10

It is evident from the narrations and verse cited, and others like them that Muslims are supposed to practice Islam as practiced by our righteous predecessors: the Companions, and those who followed their way without deviation. Thus, to really understand how Muslims should understand and use time, we need to look into their lives, study their actions and sayings regarding time and how to use it, and strive hard to be like the best Muslims in this regard, too. Here are a number of sayings and stories from the lives of our predecessors

regarding their understanding of time. Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud said, ‘I dislike people when I see them unoccupied, doing nothing of the deeds of the world or the deeds of the Hereafter.’13 This noble Companion hated to see people not busy doing anything that could be of benefit to them in the world, like trying to earn an income or anything that is benefit to them in the Hereafter like seeking knowledge or worshipping Allah. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, ‘I met some people who were stingier with their time than their money.’14 13 14

Az-Zuhd by Wakee’ bn Aljarrah (1/418) Az-Zuhd by Ibn Mubarak (4)

Al-Hasan was born in the generation that followed the generation of the Companions; the people he met were apparently the Companions. Indeed, he was born two years to the end of the reign of Umar bn Khattab.15 Thus, his description of people who were stingier with time than money is of the Companions of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and it is evident that Al-Hasan took his knowledge and understanding regarding time from the Companions. The following sayings of his attest to this. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, O Son of Adam, you are nothing but days (i.e.

At-Taarekuhul Kabeer by Imam Bukhari (2/289)

the days you spend alive). Every day that ends leaves with a part of you.’16 How would you feel if a small part of one of your limbs was cut off at the end of every day? How hard would you work to put an end to this? This noble salaf saw the passing of days as having a similar effect on humans as a part of them getting cut off every day. Al-Hasan said also, ‘Do not be deceived by little possessions that are momentary and sure to vanish, and do not lie in wait for yourself for this is quick to decrease your age. Be quick to do things and do not procrastinate because you do not 16

Hilyatul Awliyaa by AbuNa’eem Al-Asbhaaniyy (2/140)

know when you are going to meet Allah.’17 Here he offers practical advice, and reminds us that death is nearer than we often imagine. If you learnt some way that you were to die this evening, would you waste time on something that doesn’t matter this morning? Would you postpone important activities? But think about it: anyone, you, or I, could die this evening. Once, Al-Hasan said to the people who sat around him, ‘O elderly people, what does a farmer wait to do with his crops when they are ready?’ They said, ‘Harvest.’ Then he 17

Hilyatul Awliyaa by Abu Na’eem Al-Asbhaaniyy (2/148)

said, ‘O young people, crops could get attacked before they get ready.’ 18

The second part of this saying was directed to the young people of the congregation (and to all young Muslims) to serve as a reminder that we do not have to get old before death or illness comes. The time we have in our youth and in good health should be taken maximum advantage of as the Prophet commanded in a narration that has been earlier cited. Al-Hasan would say in his sermon, ‘Be proactive! Be proactive! It is nothing but the breaths we take; if 18

Az-Zuhudul Kabeer by Al-Bayhaqee (500)

your breaths are held (i.e. if you die) then all the deeds with which you get close to Allah stop. May Allah be merciful to a man that looked at himself and cried over the mass of his sins.’ Then he read “We only count for them a limited number of days…”19 Then he would weep and say, ‘The end of these numbered days is the day you are placed in your grave, the end is the day you are separated from your family, the end is your grave.’20 And indeed, this knowledge shapes our understanding of time, knowledge that there is an end to our limited number of days, an end 19 20

Q (19:84) Qasurl-Amal by Ibn Abi Dunya (107)

that we do not know if Allah has decreed to be today, or tomorrow, or ten years or twenty, an end whose appointed time is unpredictable. Allah says, ‘And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single living creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (a moment).21 An appointed time. Unknown except to Allah, but written, fixed. A Muslim remembers.

Q (16:61)

Al-Hasan used to say, ‘O Son of Adam, beware of procrastination, because all you have to yourself is today and not tomorrow. But if you end up having tomorrow to yourself, then live exactly as you have lived today (i.e. without procrastination and without expecting the next day) and if you do not end up having tomorrow to yourself, you won’t regret your actions. 22 Abu Bakr Ibn ‘Ayyash said, ‘If one of them loses a Dirham (of money) he would say, ‘To Allah we belong! I have lost a Dirham but he wastes a whole day and does not complain that a whole day was lost without 22

Az-Zuhd by Ibn Mubarak (4)

him performing beneficial actions in it.’23 And how often do we spend a day, or sometimes days on end, without any beneficial thing accomplished in those days except, perhaps, the five daily prayers! But we are comfortable to watch movies, play games and spend time on social media. The Muslim should understand that his ability to feel comfortable doing things that bring him no benefit can be a sign of Allah’s wrath and anger. Sayful Yamaaniy said, ‘From the signs that Allah has turned away from is a slave is the He makes him to get busy 23

Hilyatul Awliyaa by AbuNa’eem Al-Asbhaaniyy (8/302)

with things that do not benefit Him.’24 This is something that Muslims have to remember always when we get busy with things that offer no benefit, or very little benefit. Ibn Al-Jawzi said, ‘I have seen a lot of people that do not understand the essence of life. Some of them were made wealthy by Allah by the abundance of their properties so they sit in the markets for most of their day, looking at people, and how often would they have to witness evil and unfortunate ordeals! And some of them would sit down to play chess! And some of them burn time 24

Tabaqaatul Muadditheen Bi Asbahaan by Imam Al-Asbahaaniyy (3/292)

with discussions about the rulers (i.e. they discuss politics), and discussions about the rise and fall of prices and the other things they discuss. So I learned that Allah has not guided anyone to give regard to the passing of the age of good health and to recognize the importance of time except for those whom He brings to accord with these and inspires to have these values. “…And none is granted it except those having a great portion of good.”25 26 Here, Ibn Al-Jawzi describes people who do not spend time judiciously as ‘not knowing the essence of life’. This description is easily justified 25 26

Q (41:35) Saydul Khaatir by Ibn Al-Jawzi (241)

when one ponders on the various verses of the Qur-an and sayings of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that teach the essence of life and tries to imagine the possibility of this knowledge being combined with the love for wasting time in the same heart. He goes on to describe these people whom he considers as ‘not knowing the essence of life’: they could easily be found sitting down staring in markets, playing chess and discussing politics. These are only examples. All other activities that we engage in that bring no benefit put us in the same position as the people described by the scholar. 28

Ibn Qayyim said, ‘Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time takes away from Allah and thoughts of the Hereafter, but death only takes you away from the world and its people.’27 Worse than death. These sayings inform us of the way our pious predecessors thought about time. An accurate understanding of time for the Muslim can be comfortably derived from a summary of these sayings. You might want to go back over the quotes and try to do this consciously. The sayings do not end here, however. Let us take a look at some 27

Al-Fawaaid (31)

sayings and stories from their lives that display practically how they used time, rather than just their understanding of it. How Did our Salaf Use Time? Abu ‘Ubayd said, ‘We entered upon Muhammad bn Sawqah and he said, “Shall I tell you something that will benefit you because it was beneficial to me? ‘Ataa bn Abi Rabah said to me, “My nephew, the people who came before you (i.e. the Companions) disliked speech that was not beneficial, except for the reading of the Qur-an, or commanding good, or forbidding evil

or saying things that were necessary for livelihood.” Then he (Muhammad bn Sawqah) said, “Are you surprised?” [and he read] “But verily, over you are appointed angels. Honourable angels recording (everything).28 One sitting to the right to the right and the other sitting to the left. Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him ready to record it.29” Are you not embarrassed of seeing your book of deeds (on Qiyaamah) that you spent your day and night filling with work and you find that most of what is in there are things

28 29

Q (82: 11 – 12) Q (50: 18 – 19)

that did not benefit you in the world nor in the Hereafter?”30 Abdurrahman Ibn Mahdi said about his teacher, Hammad Ibn Salamah, ‘If Hammad Ibn Salamah was told that he would die the next day, he would not be able to add any extra acts of worship to what he already did routinely.’31 Musa bn Ismaa’eel said about him also, ‘If I told you that I never saw Hammad bn Salamh laughing, then it would be true. He was always busy teaching, or reading, or doing zikr or praying. He divided his day between these activities.’32 30

Hilayatul Awliyaa (3/314) Tazkiratul Huffaaz by Imam Az-Zahabi (1/203) 32 Siyar A’laami Nnubalaa (7/44) 31

His routine consisted of basically just worshipping Allah and seeking and teaching knowledge, and when he would die, he died while praying.33 Ibn ‘Aqeel said, ‘I try hard to limit the time I spend eating so much that I prefer pies soaked until they are liquefied over bread because of the time involved in chewing bread.’34 It was reported that Daawud AtTaaiyy used to soak bread crumbs in water and drink this mixture, rather than eat bread. He was asked about the reason for this and he said, ‘The difference in the time spent on chewing bread and the time spent on

33 34

Tazkiratul Huffaaz by Imam Az-Zahabi (1/203 Zaylu Tabaqaatil Hanaabilah by Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbalee (1/145)

drinking this mixture is enough to read fifty verses.’35 Uthman Al-Baaqilaaniyy said, ‘The time I despise most is the time I eat breakfast because I get busy with eating rather than the remembrance of Allah. 36 Khaleel bn Ahmad Al-Faraahidiyy used to say, ‘The time I find most difficult to bear is the time I spend eating.’37 Ibn ‘Aqeel cared so much about his use of time that his choice of food was decided by how much time he would spend chewing it, and Daawud At-Taaiyy would never lose 35

Al-Mujaalastu wa Jawaahirul ‘Ilm (1/346) Tanbeehu-nnaaimul Ghumr ‘Alaa Mawaasimil ‘Umr by Ibn Al-Jawzi (7 – 8) 37 Al-Hath ‘Alaa Talabil ‘ilm Wal Ijtihad Fii Jam’ih by Abu Hilal Al’askaree 36

the time of fifty verses of the Qur-an to chewing food. Al-Baaqilaaniyy despised the time he spent on eating, and Al-Faraahidiyy was troubled by the time he spent eating. Eating is not only beneficial; it is something we have to do for survival but they still cared about how much time they spent doing it. May Allah be merciful to them and to the rest of the pious predecessors and scholars. It was reported from ‘Aamir bn Qays that a man said to him, ‘Come, let’s have a discussion’. ‘Aamir replied, ‘Hold the sun.’38 38

Arshiif Multaqaa Ahlil Hadeeth 5 (16/426)

This follower of the Companions would not stand to talk to this man while time kept running, so he gave him the task of stopping time before they could have the discussion, and we know that time never waits. In an account given by Ibn Jawzi on how he used to receive guests he said, ‘…Then I prepared some activities that could be carried out while in conversation with my guests so the time I spent would not be wasted time. So for the time of our meetings, I prepared paper that I would cut and pens that I would sharpen and sheets that needed binding.

These are things that I had to do but they didn’t require deep thought or concentration so I planned these activities for the time my guests would visit, so time would not go wasted while I was with them.’39 Even when receiving guests and having unavoidable conversations, Ibn Jawzi made sure to perform tasks that didn’t need his full concentration so they could easily be done in the time he spent with guests. There is a big lesson here for Muslims who stand in queues or ride in vehicles for hours and all they do is stare! Have we thought about 39

Saydul Khaatir (206)

how many pages of the Qur-an that could get completed in an hour of queueing, or thirty minutes of riding in buses? We could finish reading large books in days by taking advantage of the free time we get in queues and buses alone. Abdurrahman ibn Abi Hatim said, ‘We were in Egypt for seven months and we never tasted soup. Our days were divided between different sittings of scholars, and at night we wrote from scholars and revised. So one day, I and a companion of mine went to a sheikh and we were told that the sheikh was ill.

On our way home, we came across fish that were on sale. We liked them and bought some. When we got home, it was time for a sitting so we could not prepare the fish and we went to the sitting, and we remained busy for three days until the fish spent three days unprepared. By then, it had started to decay so we ate the fish raw; there was not enough time to give the fish to someone who would help grill it.’ After narrating this story, he said, ‘Knowledge is not sought in a state of comfort.’40 In this story, this scholar describes his years of seeking knowledge and 40

Hilyatul Awliyaa (2//365)

how he was so busy with it that he couldn’t cook good food. Once when he tried, he ended having to eat decaying raw fisMay Allah be merciful to our predecessors. There is no end to accounts of these good Muslims from among the predecessors on how they spent their time, and from the little that was narrated of these, we can create a clear picture of how the early Muslims from among the Companions and those who followed their footsteps used time. A picture of how our role models used time.

Advice & Stories from Present-Day Scholars Regarding the Use of Time It is common amongst Muslims today, when stories of the righteous predecessors are narrated to them, to declare that we can never be like these people, to claim that they lived hundreds of years ago, when the world was a saner place, less diseased by what it suffers today of all that turn one away from Allah. While these claims in themselves might sometimes be partially true, they fit a perfect description of an absolutely thoughtless excuse when offered as a reason one doesn’t

embrace the way of the righteous predecessors. If you don’t embrace the way of the best of humans and try hard to be like them, who do you follow then? The worst of them? Besides, the texts of the Qur-an and Sunnah that motivated the actions of these righteous Muslims remain unchanged, and they still carry exactly the same relevance they did in their time, and will always do so till the end of time. It is upon us then to do all that we can to be like these righteous servants of Allah. The closer we get to living like they lived, the closer we

get to achieving the pleasure of Allah. However, in our quest to understand how Muslims should see and use time, and to find an answer to our original question about Muslims wasting time, what if we not only talk about the salaf, but also extend this discussion to present-day scholars who live in this same age that we live in: the age of the internet, social media, movies, games and sports? That sounds like a fair thing to do. Ibrahim bn Muhammad bn Aliyy wrote about Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddeen Al-Albani (1914 – 1999), ‘Sometimes he would remain there 43

for over twelve hours not pausing from reading, commenting and authenticating except for the periods of salaah. He would not even eat his usually meagre meal in the library itself. This was why the library authorities decided to give him a special room in the library. He would usually arrive the library before the librarians in the morning. And sometimes, as it was the practice of the librarians to go home in the early afternoon (after Solatu Zuhr) and not return that day. AshSheikh would remain there and would sometimes observe his Solatul Isha before going home. 41 41

Muhammad Naasiruddeen Al Albani, Muhaddeth ul ‘Asri wa Naasirus Sunnah by Ibrahim Muhammad Al Aliyy (17)

There are numerous other reports like this from the students of Sheikh Al-Albani regarding his judicious use of time. He once invited a carpenter to help him remove a door and reinstall it somewhere else just because he needed five steps to move around the door with its old setting. Sheikh Al-Albani was concerned about the time he spent taking five extra walking steps that could be eliminated if the door was removed. Fixe extra walking steps! He was not from among the Companions; he lived and died in the last century. It is not completely surprising to learn these about him, though, 45

when you consider the great wealth of knowledge he acquired in his lifetime, and the great wealth he left behind in his numerous books. May Allah be merciful to him. This, reported about the sheikh, remains the way of a lot of righteous Muslims today from among the scholars and serious seekers of knowledge. Sheikh Sa’eed Raslaan, in a clip where he advised people about the use of time said, ‘You will die alone. You will be alone in the grave. You will be asked questions in the grave alone. You will be raised alone. You will stand in front of Allah alone.’

‘You will walk on As-Siraat, a narrow bridge close to Jannah alone if Allah decrees that you are from the people of Jannah. You will enter Jannah alone. And you will be in Hell-Fire alone (if Allah decrees that for you).’ ‘So be responsible! Life is not about amusement and entertainment. There is no time for amusement and entertainment; life is a limited number of seconds. We have to spend time on useful things.’ ‘Think about a man that you consider to be intelligent. He walks on a path where he finds a pearl and finds manure so he picks the manure and leaves the pearl. This is a foolish person!’ 47

‘Moments that pass you by that would only be empty boxes of deeds on the Day of Judgement. What if something gets in this box that will be harmful to you (while you are wasting time)?’ ‘A man would say something that angers Allah while he doesn’t pay much attention to it but this (speech) would fall him into a Hell-Fire with a greater depth than what is between the heaven and the earth.’42 ‘A man would say something that angers Allah, that he doesn’t pay much attention to because he wants to make the people around him

Bukhari (6487)

laugh, and Allah would decree his anger on him till the day he meets.’ ‘And the opposite applies to what pleases Allah too. Life is hard; it is a trial. It is not a place for entertainment. Our lives cannot endure play!’ ‘Think about your condition and hold on the words of your Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, “Be devoted to what benefits you…”. If the play benefits you, then play on. If the entertainment benefits you, then devote yourself to entertainment. If wasting time benefits you, then waste your time. As long as it benefits you!’ ‘But if it (wasting time) brings bad consequences and causes you evil, I 49

mean, time doesn’t just waste that way without bringing you good or causing you harm.’ ‘It would be better if it were the case that time wastes without causing you any good or evil. (But wasting time causes you harm).’ ‘Many people waste their lives on things that do not benefit them because they absolutely do not accord any special respect to time.’ ‘Aamir ibn Abdil-Qays was walking once and a man told him, “I want to have a word with you.” He replied, “I can’t even have half a word with you.” So the man said, “Please wait, let me talk to you.” He replied, “Hold the sun.” The means: hold time from 50

running, from counting, so that the time I will waste with you will not bring me good or cause me any evil consequence. But do not waste my time! He told him, “Hold the sun.” ‘Waste your time as you want but don’t waste the time of other people. Fear Allah! Be serious and full of esteem. Do not be an unserious person, an irresponsible person, a jester.’ ‘A man, Abdullah ibn Busr, came to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and he said, “O prophet of Allah, the tenets of Islam have become so many for me. Please direct me to one thing I will hold on to that encompasses a lot.’

So the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬directed him to something that would seem to not be so beneficial to a lot of people. He said, “Your tongue should always remain moist with the remembrance of Allah.” Every second, make sure you do zikr. Make sure you do tasbeeh.’ ‘On the Day of Judgement, you (might) need just one good deed that will be the decider.’ ‘…You will walk up to your father on Day of Judgement. You! I am telling you, you! I am not saying this about anyone else. You! You will walk up to your father and ask him, “Was I a good son to you?” And he will say, “You were a good son to me.” You 52

will say, “I need some good deeds from you today.” He will say, “No! I am afraid of the same thing you are afraid of.” Your father will walk up to you and ask, “Was I a good father to you?” You will say, “You were a good father to me.” He will say, “I need a good deed from you today.” You will say, “I am afraid of the same thing you are afraid of.” Your mother! Your sister!’ ‘It’s a personal responsibility. Be serious and dedicated. Don’t waste your time. Don’t waste your life. You are only a number of breaths; every time you breathe, a part of you goes.’

‘Hasan Al-Basri said, “O Son of Adam, you a number of breaths. Every time a breath goes, a part of you has gone.” That means, you are getting closer to the grave. Every day you spend takes a step closer to the grave.’ ‘Your lifetime has a fixed duration. From start to finish. It will never increase, and it will never reduce, but it is fixed. Its end is known to Allah. Not known to me or you or any human, but known to Allah!’ ‘When is it? You don’t know. It could be now. It could be a moment from now. It could be in a few moments, in an hour, in two hours.’

‘We have seen people who lived for over a hundred years and after they died, what happened? They were forgotten. Your family can’t benefit you. They will forget you. Your sons. They won’t remember you.’ ‘They will enjoy the wealth you amassed from by means, by suspicious means, by extortion, by bribe, they enjoy these and you meet your torment.’ ‘There is no time to waste!’43 Numerous other scholars of our present time have also been recorded advising Muslims in a similar manner. Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Sheikh Salih Al-Fawzan, 43

Click here to watch this clip of Shayk Sa’eed Raslaan.

Sheikh Sulayman Ar-Ruhaylee, and various other scholars have tapes with which they warn and advise Muslims to use their time judiciously. In fact, rarely would you find a scholar of Sunnah today who does not continuously warn Muslims to use their time judiciously and to stay away from activities that offer no benefit, or very little benefit. It is obvious, therefore, that there is absolutely no difference in how the Companions and the righteous Muslims who followed them understood time hundreds of years ago and the way the good Muslims of today understand time. The proliferation of distracting activities 56

in the present age does not give us a license to discard the lessons learnt from our righteous predecessors; rather it is a call for us to be more careful and deliberate with how we spend time now. The Conclusion We hope that every Muslim who reads this booklet sees the true lens with which Muslims should look at time, and the right way to use time. We hope that you will make a decision to use time the way Allah demands of you, the way your righteous predecessors and those who follow their way use time.

This will take a lot of du’a, discipline and determination to achieve, but in the end it will be one of the best decisions you ever made, one of the best commitments to ever implement. Allah says, “But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except those except one having a great portion [of good].”44 It is sad, however, that for many of us, a lot of time has been wasted, already. This was time that we could have spent worshipping Allah, reading the Qur-an, praying, seeking His forgiveness or seeking and 44

Q (41:35)

teaching beneficial knowledge, time that we could have spent studying from the things that benefit us in the Hereafter and the world, time that we could have spent learning skills with which we can earn halal sustenance. Those are truly regrettable times. But regret alone cannot help us. Regret alone, without a firm a firm resolve to see value in time, and to take charge of how we spend it while asking Allah for help, will not help us. Rather, more and more time will get lost and our regret worsens. This is the time to be serious, to make du’a, eliminate our distractions, to focus 59

on what benefits us only, and to feel the joy that comes with living as a true Muslim. We finish this part with the words of Ibn Qayyim where he said: What has gone from a lifetime are dreams, but what remains are hopes and between them, time gets lost.45

The Summary & the End 45

Al-Fawaaid (48)

We started this short trip with a study of the verses of the Qur-an that shape the perspective with which Muslims should see time. These verses teach that we have been accorded time on earth as a tool with which to worship Allah. They teach that those who do not spend their time in worship before death will be forced in their moment of harsh torment in the grave and in Hell-Fire to request for more time from Allah – a request that will never be granted. Then we studied the sayings of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that shape a Muslim’s 61

perspective to time and the use of time. Here, we learn that humans will stand before Allah and make account of the time they spent on earth, just like they will account for their wealth. We studied the saying of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬where he instructed that one take advantage of the time they have before death, and to take advantage of their time of good health before illness comes. We studied his saying where he instructed us to be dedicated, committed and persistent on things that benefit us. Then we examined the sayings of our righteous predecessors that 62

describe their understanding of time. It became evident that the righteous Muslims before us from among the Companions and those who followed their guidance saw time as the most valuable commodity a Muslim possesses. They valued their time above their wealth, and just as they would never spend wealth on what holds no benefit, they saw that time too should never be spent on any activity that does not bring benefit to us in the Hereafter and/or the world. They saw time as the currency that buys one everlasting success in the 63

world and the Hereafter and also the currency with which one could buy for themselves everlasting torment in the world and the Hereafter. Then we studied stories from the lives of these righteous Muslims regarding their use of time and it became apparent that their actions were always in consonance with their understanding of time, derived from the Qur-an and Sunnah. They would not waste a minute of their time on things that did not matter. They even found it difficult to spend time on activities that were necessary but brought little or no

benefit to them in the Hereafter like eating and sleeping. Then we came to stories and advice similar to those from our righteous predecessors but from people who live with us in this generation. This generation with its abundance of choices when it comes to the most suitable time-wasting activity to engage in. Equipped with all of this knowledge, we might on our own try examine some of the questions at the beginning of this trip. Is there a new, different way that a non-Muslim who becomes Muslim should understand and use time now that they are Muslim? And, can 65

Muslims waste some time, even if little? And we are sure that you know the answers to them now, in shaa Allah. May Allah purify our intention regarding this writing. May He forgive our mistakes in it, reward us for it and to benefit Muslims by it. May Allah make us from the sincere followers of the Prophets, and true worshippers of Allah, able to control our desires, and to be patient upon hardship. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, his family, his Companions and all those who follow him till the Day of Judgement.