Everything, when lost, can be regained, except time. If it is lost, there is no hope to regain it. That is why time is the most precious thing that can ever be possessed in this life.

Islam is a religion that acknowledges the importance of time and appreciates its seriousness. Allah Almighty says (what means): {Indeed, in the alternation of the night and the day and [in] what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who fear Allah.} [Quran 10: 6] Islam distributed its great acts of worship over the parts of the day and the seasons of the year to form an accurate, precise system that organizes the Islamic life and measures it with minutes, from the rise of dawn till sunset. Allah Almighty says (what means): {So exalted Is Allah when you reach the evening and when you reach the morning. And to Him is [due all] praise throughout the heavens and the earth. And [exalted Is He] at night and when you are at noon.} [Quran 30: 17-18]

Man's lifespan is his huge capital about which he will be asked on the Day of Judgment. He will be asked about how he spent it and how he dealt with it. It was narrated in Jami‘ At-Tirmithi that the Prophet  said: "The feet of a slave will not move on the Day of Judgment until he has been questioned about four things: his life – how he spent it; his youth – how he consumed it; his wealth – from where he earned it and how he spent it; and his knowledge – how he acted upon it."


Time has characteristics that are specific to it. They include the following:

- Its quick passage: Time passes like the clouds. No matter how long man lives in this life, his life is short, as death is the end of every living creature. When Nooh (i.e. Noah), may Allah exalt his mention, was asked: "O the longest living prophet, how did you find this world?" He said: "It is like a house that has two doors. I entered from one of them and got out through the other." This is what the Quran expressed, by mentioning one's regarding of his lifespan as short, upon death and on the day of Judgment. Allah Almighty says (what means): {It will be, on the Day they see it, as though they had not remained [in the world] except for an afternoon or a morning thereof.} [Quran 79: 46]

- Whatever goes by thereof does not return and cannot be compensated for: every day, hour, or moment that passes cannot be regained and thus cannot be compensated for. This meaning was expressed by Al-Hasan Al-Basri  when he said: "Every day calls, saying: 'O son of Adam, I am a new creation and I am a witness on your deeds, so take provisions from me for if I pass, I do not return until the Day of Judgment.'"

- It is the most precious thing that man can ever own: the preciousness of time is attributed to the fact that it is the container of all deeds. In fact, it is the real capital of man, whether the individual or the society. Time is not only gold as the common proverb goes, but it is more precious than gold, pearls, and coral. Time is life. Indeed, man's life is nothing but the time that he is given from the day of his birth till the day of his death. Al-Hasan Al-Basri  said: "O son of Adam, indeed you are nothing but some days…whenever a day perishes a part of you perishes." That is why we should be keen on benefiting from time. ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez  said: "Night and day consume you, so consume them." Al-Hasan Al-Basri  said: "I saw a lot of people who were keener on their times than you are on your money." ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to hit his feet with his whip when night came and say to himself: "What did you do today?"

From among the blessings in which many people are heedless and ungrateful about, and ignorant of its value, is the blessing of leisure. It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may

Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet  said: "There are two blessings in which many people incur loss: health and free time." [Al-Bukhari]

 

 

That is why the predecessors used to dislike for a man to be free and not preoccupied by the matter of his religion or the matter of his worldly life. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I dislike that a man is free and not preoccupied by the matter of his religion or the matter of his worldly life."

There is no doubt that man loves life and loves to live long, and rather forever, if he can. Long life is considered one of the blessings of Allah Almighty, if one uses it in supporting the truth and doing righteous deeds. At-Tirmithi narrated that the Prophet  was asked: "Which among the people is best?" He said: "The one who lives a long life and does righteous deeds."

The truth is that the real life of man is not the years that he spends from the day of his birth till the day of his death. Rather, his real age is determined according to the good deeds recorded for him by Allah Almighty. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I never regretted something like I regretted a day whose sun has set in which my life decreased and my good deeds did not increase."

 

Both the Quran and the Sunnah emphasize the importance of time in the life of a Muslim. Allah swears at the beginning of many Soorahs (Chapters) by time or moments in time, for example, Allah Says (what means): “By the dawn and the ten nights (i.e. the first ten days of the month of Thul-Hijjah)...” [Quran 89: 1-2]

Allah also Says (what means): “By the night when it covers, and by the day when it appears...” [Quran 92:1]

Another verse reads (what means): “By the morning brightness and by the night when it covers with darkness...” [Quran 93:1]

Also, Allah Says (what means): “By the time...” [Quran 103:1]

When Allah swears by something of His creation, it is evidence of its importance, and this directs our attention to the benefit of that thing. The Prophet  also emphasized the value of time in many authentic Ahadeeth. For example, Mu’aath bin Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet  said: “A person will not move on (on the Day of Judgment) until he has been asked about four things: his life and in what he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, his wealth, from where he acquired it and on what he spent it, and his body and how he wore it out.”

Youth is considered the peak stage in human life, because young people have the capacity and energy to accomplish many good deeds, but when they get older, they cannot do so. These are stages of development as mentioned in the Quran; for example in Soorah Ar-Room (The Romans), Allah Says (what means): “Allah is He Who created you in (a state of) weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness and grey hair ...” [Quran 30:54]

If we do not use our time effectively for something good, then we will definitely use it for something bad, which destroys our reward and our lives. For example, if you do not praise and mention Allah, you will be saying something else, perhaps backbiting or talking about your children, your work, your neighbors, your friends or your enemies. What counts for you is using the time for something useful, doing good deeds and saying good words.

Try to hold your own self into account at the end of each day. Ask yourself: What did I do today? What did I do that was bad today? You should repent for the bad things that you have done and said, and be sincerely determined not to do them again. As regards the good deeds that you did, then be determined to do them again, probably more often, and do them in a better way.

Our lives are judged according to what we did, and not according to how many years we lived. Life is very short. Death awaits us. We do not know when we are going to die, so we have to make sure that we do as many good deeds as possible before we pass into the next life. Once dead, we are unable to return to this life in order to repent from our bad deeds, or to do more good deeds. Time passes very quickly as Allah Says (what means): “The Day they see it, (it will be) as if they had not tarried (in this world) except an afternoon and a morning.” [Quran 79:46]

Allah also Says (what means): “And on the Day when He shall gather (resurrect) them together, (it will be) as if they had not stayed (in the life of this world and graves, etc) but an hour of a day.” [Quran 10:45]

Time is very precious; if it goes by, you cannot make use of it again. YESTERDAY can never become TOMORROW. A time that has passed will never come back again.

When it is time for a person to die, he asks that his life be extended in order to do more good deeds, as Allah Says (what means): {“And they will cry out therein, "Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness - other than what we were doing!" But did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper.” [Quran 35:37]

We say that we are so busy with our work and our children, but Allah warns us against this saying (what means): “O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers. And spend [in the way of Allah] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous." But never will Allah delay a soul when its time has come. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” [Quran 63: 9-11]

Many people before us used their time effectively by performing good deeds, teaching, doing something for the benefit of the Muslims, their families and their relatives, or by advising others to be good, and calling others to Allah and Islam, etc. They considered every day that passed which they did not use effectively for the sake of Allah as denying the favors of Allah.

Today we have those who “kill time.” People gather to talk about things that are of no benefit to them, things that are not related to Islam or to the affairs of the Muslims. They spend their time in idle talk, in backbiting and so forth. TIME IS PRECIOUS. IT SHOULD BE PRESERVED.


The Prophet  said: “There are two blessings concerning which many people are cheated: health and free time.” [Al-Bukhari]

People underestimate the value of these two favors, and thus, they are cheated. This is like a person who has a house that he wants to sell. Someone comes and offers him 50,000 dollars for it. He isn’t sure of its value, so he hesitates. Finally, he agrees and sells it for that amount. Later he finds out that his house was actually worth a million dollars. Imagine how cheated he feels; imagine that feeling that if he had only known beforehand what it was really worth, he could have gotten more!

It is the same with our time. We underestimate its great value, and once it is gone, we feel that we have been cheated because we didn’t get everything out of it that we could have. But just as the one who sold his house for less than its real value, he cannot get it back and sell it at its real value. It is the same thing, we cannot go back and do more with the time that is already gone. At the end of our lives, we will not be able to go back and live our lives over again. We will not be given more time to do good deeds and try to make up for the time we wasted.

So, we must organize our time wisely, being very careful about what we use it for. We must consider the free time that we have, in which we could do good deeds, as a precious resource, guarding it against waste or misuse.

TIME IS PRECIOUS. WE SHOULD PRESERVE IT.