Killing time is killing yourself
My dear brothers, today, I think, it is best to remember and reflect on the most important thing we have today – that is, on time, its transience and its preciousness. What is the most precious thing you have? Someone might reply, that it is their children, property, house, relatives, etc. But in fact the most precious thing for us after the grace of Islam is time. If we are unaware of that, we must learn and understand it and remember it every day.
God in the Holy Koran often swears by the time of the day and God only swears by something very precious, otherwise, He would not have mentioned this in the Holy verses and would not have sworn by it. He swears by virtually every time span there is: night, dawn, midday, sunset, only to focus our attention on the importance and preciousness of time for us:
“I swear by the night, as it conceals (the light).”
“I swear by the day as it appears”.
“I swear by the morning”.
“I swear by the break of day, and the nights twice five”.
“I swear by the Sun and his splendor; by the moon, as she follows him.”
“I swear by the afternoon”.
“I swear by the (glorious) morning light”.
Again I want to highlight that the Almighty only swears by the most important and precious things in order to draw our attention to them. Unless we cherish and value time, our daily and public life and that of the Ummah will never change.
God says in the Koran (meaning), “Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind”.
But we can only become the best Ummah when we start to cherish all the gifts of God. As soon as we value and use these gifts, we become the “best” Ummah this ayah mentions. And the greatest treasure for us, after Islam, is time. Mind that the time of Ibadah (five Salah) is associated with a certain time of the day. Five Salah at some random time are not enough, they have to done when it is strictly appointed. When they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the best deed of worship for the Almighty, he answered, “Prayer at its appointed hour.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said nothing about a prayer with ten Raka’ats or a different worship. He talked about a timely prayer. That is what counts. In another ayah God says (meaning), “Prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.”
Fasting in the month of Ramadan. We do not fast once a year at a time most suitable for us, we fast in Ramadan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not fast till you see the new moon and do not break fast till you see it,” i.e., Ramadan fasting is also at a strictly designated time.
Take the Hajj, which is also performed at a stated time. The Koran says (meaning),“For the Hajj the months are well known.”
The Day of Arafat is the day when all pilgrims must be in the Plains of Arafat. If a pilgrim fails to be there, his Hajj is invalid, even if he has done every Rukn (term), Wajib (prescribed actions) and Sunna (preferred actions). The Koran states that Arafat, Hajj, fasting and Salah (prayer) should all be at the fixed time. Even Zakat should be paid once a year. What is all this for? It draws our attention to the priceless value of time.
Our ancestors appreciated time very much. The invention of the clock was a big event. In the squares, big halls, in public places, in the center of the cities the clock was always at the top. This shows each minute was cherished. Only due to this appreciation of time, did Islamic culture enlighten the entire dark medieval world, sharing knowledge with it. Why is there no culture now? Why is the Islamic world lagging behind? There is only one answer: because the Ummah does not appreciate time any more. The West, on the contrary, having no spiritual values, treasures the time on earth, uses each minute and therefore is ahead of us in its development.
Onсe a Muslim and a man from Europe agreed to meet. The Muslim was late. The European was taken aback and asked, “Do you perform Salah?” He replied, “Of course, I do, praise be to God.” The European then asked, “Do you fast in the month of Ramadan?” and the reply was, “Yes, I do.” He said, “Have you performed the Hajj?” – “Yes, I have,” – and then “Do you attend the Friday Salah?” – “Yes, I do.” Then the man from Europe said, “It is amazing, though your confession teaches you these great things, you do appreciate them!” Thus, the person who shared the story learnt to treasure time, as he was staggered by this remark.
When the Judgment Day comes, people will defend themselves by saying, “I did not know, I forgot, no one told me.” God will refute all their arguments in this ayah (meaning), “Did We not give you an age in your life in which lessons could have been learnt by the one who wished to take lessons? And (furthermore) the warner had (also) come to you. So have a taste, because the wrong-doers will have no supporter.”
God says that those who waste their time are wrong-doers. The Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, that on the Judgment Day the feet of Adam’s son will not move before the Almighty without being asked about five things: his life and how he spent his time, his youth and how he took advantage of it, his money, from where he had earned and for what he had spent it, his knowledge and how he disposed of it.
See how this Hadith talks about youth. Youth is the most fruitful and active period in life, that is why we have to account for our youth. Do you know how you will be asked about your youth? God will inquire about your youth in detail: about every minute, each breath. What were you doing when you were perusing a magazine for hours, when you were spending the whole day before the TV switching between the channels, when you loitered in the streets, when you idled away time? All this will be asked on the Judgment Day. We need to appreciate our youth. It is unworthy of a man from the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to waste time. What is our life? It is a chain of years. A year consists of months. Months consist of days. Days are measured in hours. Hours are comprised of minutes. Minutes are a sum of moments. Our life is measured by the number of breaths. Imagine that each your breath is a trunk of boxes that have to be filled. On the Judgment Day all of them are opened. About a hundred of them are empty. One box has a half hour spent reading the Holy Koran, performing congregational prayers and listening to a lecture. Then again come dozens of empty boxes and trunk full of sins or trash. Thus, we need to treasure time, value every breath, to assure that these trunks are full. Imagine a man who picks up a note of money, crumples it and throws it away. What would we say to this person? This man is insane. The same is true about a person who dallies.
Righteous men valued time. We have their famous quotations about it. Hasan al-Basri, one of the Taabi'een, said, “Every day that the sun rises it calls upon us, O 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.” He also said: “O 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.” We have to realize that time is life and life is a number of breaths that can never be retrieved.
The worst thing is when a person ends in the grave in complete darkness and he has done very little in life. His bitterest punishment on the Judgment Day is the sense that he did not have time to do anything. When he sees those who achieved a lot compared to what he could attain himself, he will feel burning pain. It will be the worst ordeal for him. One of the Islamic scholars said that every drop of sweat and every breath we take in life, if not taken for the sake of God, will lead to regret and sorrow on the Judgment Day. If you want to see the signs of God’s love or anger for you, it is enough to note what takes most of your time. If it is something good, besides worship, if a person helps society, his family, others for the sake of God’s grace, then it is useful and is a token of God’s love to you. On the contrary, if a person carelessly wastes away most of his time, it is a sign of God’s wrath. Then you must wake up and dread the signs of the Almighty’s anger.
To be continued…
