What is time, what causes it? We tend to think of the ways in which we measure the passing of time, a clock or watch, or we think of a measured interval of time such as an hour or minute. Humankind has always been concerned with time, the passage of time, the measurement of time, and the scientific qualities of time. There are theories and concepts of time and it is studied in religion, philosophy and science. Time even has economic value. Time is money. Time has social and personal importance; we use our concept of time to place events appointments and milestones in sequence. We order our lives around time, in Islam lives are structured around the daily prayers. In the 11th century, Avicenna doubted the existence of physical time, arguing that time exists only in the mind due to memory and expectation. Islamic and Christian theologians adopted the idea that time is linear. Verses from the Bible tell us there is a time for everything. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Both the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, make it clear that Islam considers time to a very valuable resource.
Believers are encouraged to be conscious of time, to recognise its importance and to organise it wisely. If human beings do not waste or abuse time, but rather think of it as a blessing from God then they have every reason to hope for success both in this life and in the hereafter. “By Al-’Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience.” (Quran 103) Prophet Muhammad instructed his followers and thus the believers to know and value the importance of time in the following traditions. Humankind will remain standing on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it up, his property and how he acquired and managed it and his knowledge and how he utilized it. There are two of God’s favours that are forgotten by many people; health and free time. Islam teaches us that time passes quickly and can never return, it is irretrievable. It is also the most precious gift that humankind possesses and can be taken from us at any given moment. God is the Giver but He is also the Withholder.
Time passes swiftly and God reminds us in the Quran that the months and years pass but when we are standing before Him on the Day of Judgement our time on earth will seem as though we had lived, dreamed and worshipped for less than a day. A speaker from among them said, “How long have you stayed (here)?” They said, “We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord (alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here). (Quran 18:19) They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account.” (Quran 23:113) A believer should not waste precious time on things that will not bring him closer to his Creator. Actions that do not contain a benefit for himself, his society or humankind in general are usually wasted actions, wasted time. Islam categorised things according to their level of importance. The first Muslims used to capture and use every single second of their time. Create Thabit Al-Bunany said, “When my father was on his deathbed, I went to assist him in pronouncing the testimony that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, but he said, ‘Son! Leave me alone, for I have recited all my supplications five times and I’m on my sixth cycle now.”Prophet Muhammad also told his followers, “Do not curse time (al-dahr), for God is the one who crafted time. ” Imam An Nawawi commented on this by saying, The meaning of the phrase “for God is the one who crafted time” means that He is the One Who causes those events and accidents to happen, and He is the Creator of all that happens. Those who understand the value of time should make an effort to organise their time and make realistic plans. The entire life of a believer can be considered worship when that person is conscious of doing only what is pleasing to God.
Religious obligations must be a first priority, however God is generous and time that seems so fleeting when we are flittering it becomes filled with blessing when we are using it to please our Creator. The words of God in the Quran and the message of Prophet Muhammad to the believers are clear, we, humankind are told to be conscious of time. God reminds us that life in this world is but temporary and we do not know our appointed time of death. As believers we must never waste or abuse time, rather we must value it as a blessing from God. We must all understand that wasting even a single moment is an opportunity gone, never to return. When our time in this world is up, there is no going back and we will be held accountable for all that we do. Time is indeed precious! Our beloved Prophet (SAW) said about time in Hadith: “There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good” (Bukhari). From this saying, we can conclude that we should utilize our time for doing good deeds for the sake of Almighty Allah’s pleasure. We order our lives around time, in Islam lives are structured around the daily prayers. We should offer prayers on time which are obligatory on every Muslim. In Islam believers are encouraged to be certain of time, to know its importance and to organize it intelligently. If human beings do not waste or abuse time, but rather think of it as a blessing from Lord then they have every reason to hope for success both in this life and in the hereafter.
Importance of Time in Quran
Allah Almighty has mentioned everything in Quran which is the source of Guidance for us. Similarly, Allah has stated the importance of time in Holy Quran that we will discuss below: Indeed, we displease Allah the Most High when we misuse time. We must remember that time must be spent to fulfill our very purpose in life that is to worship Allah during our lives. Allah makes the importance of time very clear in the Quran when He says: “I have only created Jinns and Men that they may serve Me. No Sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me. For Allah is He Who gives (all) Sustenance, Lord of Power, Steadfast forever).” (Quran, 51:56-58). From this verse we can say that we should use our time to worship Allah instead of doing some other useless things. For every true believer knows that life on earth is temporary and its eternal accomplishment lies in terms of pleasing Allah (SWT) and living its life according to His Commandments. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter Al-Asr about the importance of time: “By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Quran, 103: 1-3).
The Ayahs explain the worth of time in life of a Muslim. The Creator of the world of the worlds declares time as a great measure of one`s success or failure. The Exalted One says that with every advancing moment of existence, human has a great warning that is associated with it. Time is one of mankind’s most precious resources since it can never be replaced or renewed once it has passed. When we waste our time it is much like someone investing his capital impulsively and not using it to generate profit. Invest time in Good deeds, our beliefs form the basic foundation of our life, and those, whose beliefs are established on the Quran, are normal to act on those beliefs by giving themselves to doing good deeds or we can say by investing their time in doing good deeds. Allah Almighty says in Holy Quran: “O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger, and make not vain your deeds!” (Quran, 47:33). From this verse we can say that we should do our best to utilize our time in doing good deeds instead of wasting in useless deeds.
Importance of Time According to Sunnah of Prophet (SAW)
We have so many examples from the life of our Beloved Prophet (SAW) to know about the importance of time. Below we will discuss some of them so we can take lesson and can utilize our time in best manner. The Prophet Mohammad (SAW), used to call on Muslims to take the initiative to do good deeds before any obstacles arise. He (SAW) said, “Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal (Antichrist); or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter.” (At-Tirmidhi) Prophet (SAW) also said in one of His Hadiths: “Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become preoccupied, and your life, before your death” (Musnad Imam Ahmad). The whole hadith is about the limited nature of our life and how the time is running out. We should utilize the time in best manner before it’s too late. In another Hadith Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Allah said, ‘The son of Adam wrongs me for he curses Ad-Dahr (Time); though I am Ad-Dahr (Time).
In My Hands are all things, and I cause the revolution of day and night’” (Al-Bukhari). The one who is misusing the time is doing things that are beyond Allah’s commandments. And those who act against Allah’s commandments will be in loss in this life and in the Hereafter too. In short, humankind is told to be conscious of time. Allah Almighty reminds us that life in this world is but temporary and we do not know our appointed time of death. We should utilize our time in doing good deeds in best manner. As believers we must never waste or misuse time, instead we must value it as a blessing from Almighty Allah. We must all understand that wasting even a single moment is an opportunity gone, never to return. We are accountable to everything that we did in this life and when our time in this world will be up we can’t do anything because our time in this world is up and that time will never going to come back. Time is precious we should try to invest it in best manner!
(The authors are writing on Islamic topics exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. Their views are personal)
