Make the Most of your Fasting Time Part 1

1. Time is not Money The Muslims Duty Regarding Time Make the Most of your Fasting Time Part 1

2. Islam In Regards to Time: • Encourages us to care for it • Encourages us to not waste it • Hold us responsible for how we spend it

3. , Hassan Al-Basry said, "I saw those people and how they were more careful about their time than about their Dirhams and Dinars” [i.e. their money]." How the companions spent their time:

4. Ibn-ul Qayyim says, "The highest, most worthy and most useful of reflection is what is intended for Allah and the Hereafter. There are various forms of reflection intended for Allah. One of them is reflecting on time duty and function and focusing entirely on it, for the knowledgeable one is the breed of his time. If he wastes it, all his interests are wasted, for all interests arise from time. If he wastes his time, he can never regain it." The Believer is careful of time and invests and benefits from it

5. "Out of my company with Sufis, I benefited only two things, one of which is their saying: like a sword, time will cut you if you do not cut it. ..." In other words, if you do not spend time doing something useful, you are the loser by wasting it. Imam Shafi said:

6. "Time is life itself." This reflects Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah's saying: "One's time is in fact his age. It is the material of his eternal life either in everlasting joy or painful torture. It passes more quickly than clouds do. It is only the time one dedicates to Allah that constitutes one's real life and age. The rest does not count; the life he leads in it is only animal life. Compared to a life of indulgence in appetitive activities, false aspirations and negligence of Allah's remembrance - and at best in sleep and being idle - death is a much better alternative." Imam Hassan Al-Banna said:

7. Work towards the hereafter. As the clock ticks, your life passes you by. Did you spend the hours of the day doing what will benefit you in the hereafter or not? Time is considered a vehicle for work

8. The companions: • They worked for the hereafter • They made sure they spent the majority of their time remembering Allah and doing good deeds to bring them closer to him • They did not put this world over the hereafter

9. As Muslims duty demands that we: • Benefit from time • Utilize leisure time • Race for good deeds • Learn from the passage of time • Seek the superior times • Plan and organize time • Fulfil time commitments • Have Necessary awareness of time wasters

10. “Grab five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death." [al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak] The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:

11. This hadith brings about so much meaning: • It points out the importance of time • the initiative to invest it • the importance of utilizing the power of the youth stage • Importance of utilizing leisure time in fruitful good work. • It also warns against five obstacles that prevent proper utilization of time

12. He 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, al-Baihaqi] The Prophet (sa), used to call on Muslims to take the initiative to do good deeds before any obstacles arise.

13. This Hadith: • Urges Muslims to take the initiative • To not delay good deeds • Also reminds us that man's life is not free from impediments, such as those calamities, which can prevent him from accomplishing what could have been done earlier. • Wise are those who grab available opportunities before being handicapped by obstacles.

14. If one becomes worried, he hurries up, and if he hurries up, he sooner reaches his destination." [at-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim] The Prophet (sa) also said:

15. "The Prophet gave this as an example to illustrate man's journey to a safe haven in the afterlife. Satan, supported by man's evil desires and wishful thinking, obstructs his way. If he is fully aware and has kept purity of intention regarding his deeds, he is safe from Satan's conniving." The example can be true in the case of the person who has set himself targets, and is worried lest he should be encountered by obstacles before reaching them. He, therefore, makes a greater effort in order to reach his targets. In this hadith:

16. Aisha reported the Prophet (sa) said, " Rise early to earn your living and do your affairs, for it brings about blessing and success." [at-Tabarani] Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, said that when he saw her still lying in bed one morning, he told her, "My daughter, get up and witness your Lord's bounty, and do not be among the indifferent; Allah distributes daily bread between the break of dawn and sunrise." [al-Baihaqi] The Prophet encouraged to begin the day early:

17. 'O Allah, bless my nation's early rising.' [Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban] Also the prophet made duaa saying:

18. One of the first things we learn about time is that it should not be allowed to escape from us or be wasted. We should start the day off early and not fall victim to laziness or procrastination.. So thus:

19. QUESTIONS TO BE CONTINUED...