An Arab poet once said, “The past is lost forever, and that
which is hoped for is from the unseen, so all that you have is the present
hour.” The past is never to return, the future is yet to come, and so we are
left with the present day—this present moment. Time is something so often
discussed and so often checked. Time is the first thing that pops up on your
phone screen, it’s the one that hangs on almost every wall, the one that some
even tie to their wrists. Time controls our nights and days; without time the
day would not turn into night and the night would not turn into day. We know
how time is counted and we know what time brings, yet why do we often find ourselves “running
out of time” or feeling like there “ aren't enough hours in the day”? These
questions can only be answered when we realize what time really is, how we
should perceive it, and how we should manage it. What is time to a Muslim? In
today’s society we often hear the phrase “time is money”, but is that really
what it is? For when our time is done, will money be there to save us? Truly
for a Muslim, time is not money, time is Allah. Abu Hurayra reported: I heard
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) saying: "Allah
the exalted and Glorious said: The son of Adam abuses Time, whereas I am The
Time. In my hand are the days and the nights”. This means that whatever
occurs during the night or during the day-throughout time in general-happens
only by Allah’s will and His design; according to His knowledge and by His
decree in which no one else has any share. Whatever Allah wills to be will
happen and whatever He wills not to, shall never be. For this reason, we should
never curse time, we should never be angered by the way that things turn out,
and we should always be conscious that Allah is the one who disposes of the
affairs that unfold in time. This should be our mindset when we deal with time.
Now
that we know what time really is, we must perceive it in the correct manner;
this is through looking at the lenses of solely the present day, the present
hour, and the present moment. Being preoccupied with the past and dragging past
woes into the present will only bring an unstable and unsound mind. At the same
time, being anxious over events in the future only adds worry and stress. Rest
assured that your Lord who provided you with solutions to yesterday can
similarly provide for what is to come tomorrow.
And so, look to the present moment. Let events flow in their predestined
path and have faith in Allah’s timings. “Do not cross the bridge until you
reach it”—tomorrow has yet to arrive and you have the present moment to prepare
for it.
In
knowing what time is and with what lenses to look at it, we still have to
realize that we are “managers “of our time. It will run its predestined path,
but it is the requirement of each of us to put in effort at every moment. Every
day should be seen as one goal. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “When the morning comes upon you, then do not expect to see the evening,
and when you see the night, do not expect to see the morning.” Do not have
lofty and long term goals but rather short term appropriate goals that you can
accomplish and surpass within the day. Expect death at any moment and do your
best in doing good deeds. With this mindset, you will be able to concentrate
and spend all of your energies on being productive each day. If I told you
today was your last day to live, how would you spend the day? This should be
our mindset every day. Pray like it is your last prayer every time. Respect
your parents as if you will not be seeing them tomorrow. Live for the present
moment and find comfort in the fact that what has been planned for you has been
planned by the Best of Planners. Avoid fretting about the future, forget about
the pains of the past, and embrace this present moment. In the remembrance of
Allah you will find joy in your time and in His obedience you will find reassurance.
Don’t think about when you can start to make changes, the time is N:OW.
