Are we making the best use of our time in this life? Are we to simply pass our time in whatever way possible so that we can get to the hereafter? How are we to balance our time across various aspects of this life? Is there a right balance? Are our life’s priorities purpose driven?
These are some of the questions we Muslims ought to ask ourselves to get the most from our lives. It matters because we have at best only a few years to live. Considering the various phases of our lives individually, the available time is even shorter. Have you thought whether you will be satisfied when you get to the end of the road? Will you do things differently if you know how much time you have left? What if your remaining time is very little?
Time is passing us quickly – and as it does, we should ask ourselves whether we have much to show for it. Are we fulfilling both our religious and worldly responsibilities? Are our families getting our fair share or is it all about other matters? Are we balancing our time across all other obligations? Are we even conscious about how we use our time?
Time is therefore one of the most valuable assets that we have. Being wise in the use of that asset is thus only prudent. Time is one of the many things that Allah has used to swear by in the Quran (verse 1 of Surah Al-Asr). The Prophet, too, told us to use time to make the most of certain assets before time takes it away from us.
He (Sallellahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
“Make the most of five things before five others:
*LIFE before death,
* HEALTH before sickness,
* FREE TIME before becoming busy,
* YOUTH before old age, and
* WEALTH before poverty.”
[Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 1077.]
Those who have run out of time will tell us its value. Ask the old who have nearly run out of time or ask the terminally ill who have been given only a few months to live. They will tell us how productive they would get if they got more time.
The reality is that our lives are too busy and daily routines too engaging to make us pause to assess what we are earning or opportunities that we are missing as we pass our allotted time. But there are some of the things we can do to ensure that we use our remaining time in this life effectively.