a_brother
Make dua for us all
Each of us has a Bank called "T I M E"
B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Alhamduli'Allahi Rabbil-'Aalameen wa-Salaatu wa-Salaamu 'alaa
Ashrafil-Anbiyaa-e-wal-Mursaleen, wa ba'd.
Assalaamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu
Dear Brothers & Sisters
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala says in:
(the interpretation of the meaning)
Surah Al 'Asr
(Time Through The Ages)
103:1-3
By (the Token of)
Time (through the Ages),
Verily Man
Is in loss,
Except such as have Faith
And do righteous deeds,
In the mutual teaching
Of Truth, and of
Patience and Constancy.
~ ~ ~
There is a Bank that credits your
account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day.
very evening deletes whatever part of the
balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out ALL of it,
of course!!!!
Each of us 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 carefully with wisdom and knowledge.
Use your Time to pray sincerely and do good and charity;
To faithfully practice the Five Pillars and perfect your Deen.
To remember to thank Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala for everything;
To adhere to the commandments of the Holy Qur'aan
and the teachings of the Sunnah of the
Prophet Sall Allaahu alayhi wa sallam.
In order that you may benefit the utmost in
blessings and guidance in your life living with
strength of eemaan and taqwaa ~
Seeking only the Pleasure of Allaah Ta'aala
for the sake of your Hereafter.
The clock is running.
Make the most of each day.
Start working on your
'Time'
We should not neglect our Time or use it haphazardly; on the contrary
we should bring ourselves to account, structure our litanies and other
practices during each day and night, and assign to each period a fixed
and specific function for self-development in our Deen and maximise
its potential. The better route towards self-development is, of
course, to integrate all our efforts into a structured daily life.
Acquisitiveness, that is, the passion for seeking an increase in
wealth, position, the number of adherents or followers or supporters,
mass production and mass organisation, may affect an individual as
such, or it may affect whole societies or nations. Other people's
example or rivalry in such things may aggravate the situation. Up to a
certain point it may be good and necessary. But when it becomes
inordinate and monopolises attention, it leaves no Time for higher
things in life, and a clear warning is here sounded from a spiritual
point of view. Man may be engrossed and wastes Time in these things
till death approaches, and he looks back on a wasted life, as far as
the higher things are concerned.
In other words, if life be considered under the metaphor of a business
bargain, man, by merely attending to his material gains, will lose.
When he makes up his day's account in the afternoon, it will show a
loss. It will only show a profit if he has Faith, leads a good life,
and contributes to social welfare by directing and encouraging other
people on the Path of Truth and Constancy. Faith is his armour, which
wards off the wounds of the material world; and his righteous life is
his positive contribution to spiritual ascent. Also, if man lived only
for himself, he would not fulfill his whole duty. Whatever good he
has, especially in moral and spiritual life, he must spread among his
brethen, so that they may see the Truth and stand by in patient hope
and unshaken constancy amidst all the storm and stress of outer life.
For he and they will then have attained Peace within.
(Ref: Abdullah Yusuf Ali - may Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala have Mercy on him).
I have attached below an essay by Imam Abdul Malik Al-Qasim for you to
read on Time.
In shaa'Allaahu, you will find the information beneficial to help you
start working on your Time.
Ten Minutes
What can you do in that Time?
by Abdul Malik Al-Qasim
Adapted from, "Madha taf`al fi `ashara daqa'iq"
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said, "The best
actions are continuous ones even if little..." (Muslim). After I
looked at my own state and the state of those who waste their time, I
wanted to encourage our souls to obey and worship Allah `azza wa jall
by compiling a list of some well-known actions that Allah `azza wa
jall has honored us with and prepared a great reward for those who do
them. This list is also a reminder of better utilizing our time and
seizing the opportunity of every hour and making use of it. My goal in
compiling the list is not to point out the actions as much as to show
the necessity of organizing and planning and preserving one's time by
investing it in something good.
First of all, let us talk about time, with which many are heedless and
wasteful, and which importance only few recognize.
Time is like wealth, it requires our attention and care in both
spending and managing. While it is possible to gather and store
wealth, and even add to it, time, however, is in no way like that. For
every minute that passes can never come back even if you were to spend
all the wealth of this world.
So since time is preordained to be a specific period that can not be
brought forward or delayed and since the value of it depends on what
it is spent on, it is obligatory upon every human being to preserve
time, be it little or long. One should use it in the best possible way
and not be heedless about it.
In order to preserve one's time, one must reflect on how and where to
spend it. The best way to spend time is in obeying Allah ta`ala. One
will never regret time spent in such acts of obedience. The only
regret would be that if one were not to take yet more provisions in
terms of good actions. So set your goal, O brother or sister, make
your intention sincere, beginning with a desire to preserve your time
and beware of wasting any minute of it.
My noble brother and sister,
I selected the time span of ten minutes (for performing particular
righteous actions listed in this book) due to ease of application, so
that one starts with them until he or she engages in good all the
time, by Allah's grace. In these actions there is conformity with the
saying of the Messenger, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam,
"The most beloved action to Allah is the most continuous, even if little."
(Muslim)
Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in relation to this
hadeeth, "In it (the above hadeeth) is an exhortation to perform deeds
regularly and continuously, and [an explanation] that a small deed
done regularly is better than a great one that is interrupted. It is
because by continuously doing a little of such actions as, [one's]
obedience, remembrance, awareness of Allah, sincerity and dedication
to the Creator, subhanahu wa ta`ala, the outcome accumulates and it is
multiplied exceeding what is greater but interrupted."
The Messenger, sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam, spoke the truth. My dear
brother or sister, I will give you an example of the blessing of
utilizing ten minutes in righteousness. Glorifying Allah subanahu wa
ta`ala by saying "Subhan Allah" a hundred times daily means that one
will do so 36,500 times in a year. So take account of your soul, my
brother or sister. You can only glorify Allah this much in a year if
you are regular in performing tasbeeh and if you make good use of your
time.
Similarly, if one reads the Qur'an for ten minutes regularly, one can
finish reading it in full every two months. Is this how you do it? Ask
yourself, do you complete recitation of the full Qur'an outside of
Ramadan? And do not limit, my dear brother or sister, these special
ten minutes, devoted to obedience, to be performed only once a day.
Perhaps you will find the time after the morning prayer, or after the
sunrise, or after the noon prayer, or before sleep.
Likewise, if one manages to memorize only a single verse from the Book
of Allah, `azza wa jall, every day, he or she will complete
memorization the complete Qur'an in only eight years.
Most of the actions mentioned are performed with the tongue, so one is
able to gain rewards at all times and in all situations. So whoever
wants to strive in obedience to Allah, doors of good are open and one
can make one's days and indeed all of one's life like the ten minutes.
Abu Bakra, radhiallahu anhu, related that a person said: "O Messenger
of Allah, which people are the best?" He said, "Whose life is long and
his actions good." He said, "And what people are the worst?" He said,
"Whose life is long and his actions bad." (Muslim)
This is an opportunity for you, dear brother or sister. Ten minutes in
which one can taste the sweetness of regularity of performing
righteous actions and which can be a step towards managing one's time,
until all of one's life becomes beneficial. Ten minutes that are in
agreement with the saying of Allah `azza wa jall, "And I have not
created the Jinn or humans except to worship Me." (adh-Dhaariyaat
51:56)
Ibn ul-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "In conclusion, the
servant, when he turns away from Allah and becomes preoccupied with
sins (in this world), he loses days of his true life (in the
hereafter). He will see the consequence of losing them the Day he
says, "He will say, 'Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my
life (i.e. true, everlasting life in the Hereafter).' (al-Fajr 89:24)
Some actions that can be done in ten minutes:
The forenoon prayer
Recitation of the Quran
Salawat on the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
Praying Salat al-Janazah
Remembrance of Allah, `azza wa jall
Saying Subhan Allah, alhamdulillah and Laa ilaha ill Allah
Teaching children
Supplication
Taking account of oneself
Reading
Removal of others' difficulties and fulfillment of their needs
Preserving ties of kinship
Listening to da`wah tapes
Visiting believers for Allah's sake
Remembering Allah after the obligatory prayers
Making peace between people
Advising
Phoning relatives
Writing one's will
Giving charity
Reading traditions of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
Contemplating
Mailing da`wah information
Feeding the poor
Praying Salat al-Istikharah
Taking care of orphans
Serving one's family
Seeking knowledge
Ordering good
Making sajdah
Spreading Islamic knowledge
Calling to Allah
Giving Sadaqa jariyyah (charity that carries perpetual award)
Guiding and nurturing one's children
Repeating after the mu'adhdhin
Performing the night prayer
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