The Sunday Mail
The Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan came to end last week. Here Muslims break their fast on one of the days during the month at a mosque in Mbare. — Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda
HAVING all this great value and importance, time is to be duly appreciated and managed. A great scholar of the past, Al-Hasan Al-Basri says: “At the beginning of each day a herald calls: “O son of Adam! I am a new creation and a witness of your deeds. So take a provision from me because when I pass, I never come back till the Day of Resurrection.”
Umari Stambuli
We must remember that opportunity is something which is quick to vanish and late to return. Another great scholar would remind one and all, by saying at the end of each year: “Another year passes by and time marches on!” Another year has passed; minutes move into hours, into days, into weeks, into months, into years, seemingly faster than ever; yet every moment is a precious component of life and every moment counts. Wise are those who grab available opportunities before being handicapped by obstacles.
Thus for believers there is no room for slogans like the so-called “killing time”. In fact, wasting time is much more dangerous than squandering property, because unlike property, time cannot be compensated. As highlighted earlier, free time is a blessing that is overlooked, and not wholly appreciated by many people. It is extremely important for a believer to try his utmost to manage his time and make the best use of it in all that which is beneficial.
A believer should learn how to organise his time, and make a realistic plan for his worldly and religious duties, without any of them overlapping the other. That is to say that one should know how to arrange his priorities: the most important and the most urgent comes first, and carried out according to schedule. Organising time also includes making an allowance for relaxation and entertainment, for ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ But even then this has to be done within the confines of the boundaries and limits set down by The Almighty – one can never indulge in such acts of entertainment which go against His laws, encroaching on that which is immoral or vile.
Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!
Well, everyone has such a “bank” – its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back; there is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To help us gain some deeper realisation with regards to the great value of time, we are reminded of the well-known passage:
To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who has failed a grade.
To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a pre-mature baby.
To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage labourer who has children to feed.
To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who has missed the train.
To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who has avoided an accident.
To realise the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND, ask the person who has won a silver medal (second place) in the Olympics.
Therefore, treasure every moment that you have! And remember that time waits for no one. . . Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift that is why it’s called the “present”!
For further information on Islam or a free copy of the Holy Qur’aan, please contact:
Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe, Council of Islamic Scholars
Publications Department
P.O. Box W93, Waterfalls, Harare
Tel: 04-614078 / 614004, Fax : 04-614003
e-mail: [email protected].
