Making Best Use of Time
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! The topic of tonight’s reflection is: “Making Best Use of Time.” One of the ways to ensure that we use our remaining time in this life effectively is to be mindful of our purpose in this life. As Muslims, we believe that Allah not only created mankind but clarified their purpose of being here in this world. Islamic principles make it clear that Allah created life, and Allah created this universe and the rules that embody it. And the purpose of life is to worship, obey and submit to Him without associating anyone or anything with Him. There are many verses in the Qur’an that make reference to this. Allah says:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they should worship and obey Me” (al-Dhariyat, 51:56).
And He says:
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
“Do you think that We created you without any purpose and that you would not be brought back to Us?” (al-Mu’minun 23:115)
Needless to explain, a sense of purpose can help in reconciling the many complex questions and issues that aren’t always that easy for us to comprehend. It helps to instill the energy that we need to keep moving irrespective of the challenges that we face and to adhere to a system of living that we believe was designed by the Creator for His creation.
Secondly, we should become more action oriented. Declaring faith without translating it into good actions is meaningless. Admonishing the believers to put their words into practice, Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ () كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ
“O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do. It is most hateful to Allah that you say what you do not do.” (al-Saff, 61: 2-3)
There are numerous verses in the Quran where the mention of faith is coupled with the need to do righteous deeds. We will be judged on what we do. Our faith is incomplete without us following it up with good actions. What is it that prevents us from taking action or from failing to accomplish enough? We should ask ourselves if we could have accomplished more by this time in our lives.
As it turns out, many of us fall victims to procrastination. We wish to do something; we make plans, but very often lack the discipline or the courage to act. The result is that time passes without us accomplishing much or not as much as we could have achieved. Refocusing to become more action oriented will help us in accomplishing more thus making our lives more fulfilling.
Thirdly, we should not concern ourselves with unnecessary matters. A hadith tells us,
مِنْ حُسْنِ إسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ
“From the perfection of a person’s Islam is that he leaves alone that which does not concern him.”
Today, we find ourselves exposed to a wide range of information outlets waiting to distract us from key priorities. Sunk in the satellite TV, the internet, the smart phones, and various other forms of social media network, we can end up wasting useful time by soaking our minds with information that we usually can do without. While a lot of such information may satisfy our curiosities and habits of gossip, they take up valuable time and drain our energies. We must become selective in using modern techniques and equipments of science and technology based on what benefits us. The Prophet (SAW) used to make a du’a:
اللَّهُمَّ انْفَعْنِى بِمَا عَلَّمْتَنِى وَ عَلِّمْنِى مَا يَنْفَعُنِى وَ ارْزُقْنِى عِلْماً يَنْفَعُنِى
“O Allah! Benefit me with what you taught me and teach me what will benefit me, and provide me with knowledge that will benefit me.”
Brothers and sisters! Don’t forget the remembrance of Allah. Many of us make the mistake of taking advice about remembering Allah as merely a spiritual one and seeing no connection with the real world. Instead, we should remind ourselves that our success in this life related to our work, our earnings, our family, our health and all other aspects of life is tied to the remembrance of Allah, both in our prayers as well as at other times during the day. Consider what Allah tells us in Surat al-Jumu’ah:
وَابْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“And seek the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah much, that you may be successful” (al-Jumu’ah, 62:10).
And listen to what Allah tells us in Surat al-Munafiqun:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ
“O you who believe! Do not let your wealth or your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so will be the losers” (al-Munafiqun, 63:9)
In a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said: “Should I not inform you of the best of deeds, and the most sanctifying of deeds before your Lord, which does more to raise your positions (with Him), and is better for you than the disbursement of gold and money, or battle with the enemy?” The companions said: “Indeed inform us.” He (SAW) then said: “Remembrance of Allah.”
Taking the time to pause and reassess of how we use our time can help us refocus, reprioritize and reenergize. It can also prevent us from going to extremes where we focus on certain priorities of life more than others. It is thus time to reflect on these principles in our actions and accomplishments. I am inviting myself and you to reflect individually and collectively as to how to make best use of the precious gift of time given to us.
The month of Ramadan is a school in which the Muslim’s time is organized and invested in matters that lead to closeness to Allah (SWT).
May Allah give us the tawfiq to make best use of the precious gift of time given to each one of us. Allahumma Amin.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
وَصَلَّ اللهُ عَلَى خيرِ خَلقِهِ مُحمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِه وأصْحَابِه أجْمَعِين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين
