Time

In the name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful

Our time in this life is limited, as with anything that is limited it is valuable and should not be wasted. 

An example could be, If every second stone you came across was a diamond, diamonds would cease to be valuable.  But as diamonds are limited in supply, they are seen as one of the most valuable commodities around.  

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"We must think of time as a commodity, one that should not be wasted, but rather used as an investment for the hereafter."

Having recently ran a poll on Twitter, to better understand how much of our time we spend on worship and remembrance of Allah. It was not surprising that 50% of those who took part indicated that they only spent less than 30 minutes (2%) of each day dedicated to Allah. A question was raised, "How to better improve this result?"

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How do we see time

We all know that our time is limited, but this is almost like an inconvenient truth i.e. We know time is limited but choose to ignore this fact, and live like we have an endless supply of time. An example we often hear is "When I am older" or "when I get married", etc..

When we ignore the value of time, we will waste time, and time spent can never be unspent. By belittling the value of time (our time) we don't appreciate what a blessing it is and how important it is.

How many hours do we spend channel surfing in front of the TV, or on PlayStation or Xbox (the list is endless) now compare this with the time we dedicate to Allah the Creator of time. Now I am not saying we should not have fun or play, for even the prophet Muhammad (‎ﷺ) used to play, race with his wives, or even wrestle with his companions. But, today we have taken this to the extreme.

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How do we improve?

Umar ibn Al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, deeds are only with intentions. Verily, every person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated to Allah and his messenger, then his emigration is for Allah and his messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, then his emigration is for whatever he emigrated for.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 54, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1907

Allah has given us 24 hours each day, as it's all about our intention & renewing our intention. So if look at day in the life of a Muslim:

1. Remember your Daily Adkhar (e.g. when waking, leaving the house, etc..)
2. Offer the 5 daily obligatory salawat (Prayers) 
3. Follow each of the 5 daily obligatory salawat with Adhkar A'Salah
4. Spend sometime reciting the Quran
5. Going to work (with the intention to provide for the family) is an act of worship
6. Eating while adhering to the Sunnah is an act of worship (e.g. Eating with the right hand, saying BismiAllah before eating and Alhamdulillah afer eating)
7. Praying you nawafil/sunnah prayers before and after the obligatory prayers, Witr & Qiyam Al'Layl/Tahajjud
8. Sleeping in the state of wudhu & with the intention to wake for Fajr is an act of worship
9. Seeking knowledge via Study circles, Books, Website and Videos

Ultimately all we do with the Intention of pleasing Allah, can become an act of worship.  By adopting the above, we will all increase the amount of time we dedicate to the worship & remembrance of Allah, and as such invest in our hereafter In Shaa Allah.