The Value of Time
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.”
Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “Every gulp of air that goes out in a cause other than the cause of Allah (SWT) will turn to sorrow and regret on the Day of Judgment.” He also said, “A sign that Allah (SWT) despises you is when you find yourself wasting your time with trivial matters; in this way you miss your chance of going to heaven. And a sign that Allah (SWT) 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 (SWT).”
Ibn Masoud said, “I never regretted anything except a day that passed by without having increased my deeds.”
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 (SWT).”
A man asked Ibn Al-Jawzi to chat with him for a while. The Imam replied, “Only if you could stop the sun from revolving.” That’s 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 16 years old, Usama bin-Zaid was an army commander. Under his command were Abu-Bakr and Omar(RAA). The Prophet (SAW) said, “By Allah, Usama is fully qualified for this job.” Usama fought the Romans and prevailed. The companions said, “No army was ever rewarded like Usama’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.
Saad bin 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.
Omar al-Mukhtar led the struggle against the Italian occupation from the age of 60 until he was 70.
Muhammad bin Al-Qasim conquered India when he was 17 years old. He fought twelve battles in one year and he won them all.
Zaid bin Thabet became a Muslim at the age of ten. The Prophet (SAW) 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’s 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.
"Time bears witness that these people shall definitely be in a state of loss. Yes! except those who accepted faith and did righteous deeds and exhorted one another to the truth and exhorted one another to remain steadfast on it." (Surah Asr: 1-3)
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