|
Ramadan Calls for the
Preservation of Time
by Shaykh `A’id
`Abdullah Al-Qarni
Allah
describes the discourse between Himself and the reckless
and negligent on the Day of Judgement: {[And] He will ask
[the doomed]: "What number of years have you spent on
earth?" They will answer: "We have spent there a day, or
part of a day; but ask those who [are able to] count
time... .[Whereupon] He will say: "You have spent there
but a short while: had you but known [how short it was to
be]! Did you then think that We created you in mere idle
play, and that you not have to return to Us? [Know,] then,
[that] God is sublimely exalted, the Ultimate Sovereign,
the Ultimate Truth: there is no deity save Him, the
Sustainer, in bountiful almightiness enthroned!} (23:
112-16)
One of the righteous predecessors noted: life is short, do
not shorten it with negligence. This is, certainly, true.
Negligence shortens the hours and consumes the night.
Hence the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said:
'Two favors that many people are deceived by: health and
spare time.' The lesson being that many people are healthy
and have a lot of time on their hands yet their lives pass
by quickly before them without their using them or
benefiting anyone. He also warned: 'The foot of a believer
will not move on the Day of Judgement until he is asked
about four things and mention his life span and how he
utilized it.' Life is, undoubtedly, a treasure, whomsoever
spends it in obedience to Allah will find his treasure on
the Day when wealth and sons will be of no avail but
instead only those who returned to Allah with clean
hearts. Thus, those who spent their lives in negligence,
disobedience and play will on that Day regret in such a
manner that will never be equaled thereafter. They will
say: 'Alas for us, that we disregarded our lives.'
In effect, both the night and day are like riding animals
that transport man to either eternal happiness or loss.
Our righteous forbears used to take every initiative to
preserve their time. There are strange stories about them
concerning this matter. There were among them those who
used to read the Quran and they were on the threshold of
death. Such an example was Junaid Ibn Muhammad. His sons
said to him, 'You are exhausting yourself.' He replied,
'And should there be among the people one who exerts
himself more than me?'
Al-Aswad Ibn Yazid used to stand in prayer for most of the
night. Some of his friends advised him to relax at least
for a small portion of the night. He told them it is this
very relaxation he is in search of; meaning in the
Hereafter.
Sufiyan Ath-Thawri once sat in the Sacred Mosque speaking
to some people. Then suddenly he arose terrified and said;
we are sitting here and the day is doing its work. There
were among our forbears those who used to divide their
days and nights into hours. Hence they allocated specific
hours for prayers, recitation, remembrance, meditation,
acquisition of knowledge, work and sleep. They ascribed no
time for merriment.
As for their successors, they have been afflicted by the
calamity of time-wasting. Except, of course, those to whom
Allah has shown mercy. They indulge in excessive sleep,
idleness, aimless wandering, spending on amusements and
sittings in which there is no benefit; or in meetings
which, if they do not involve disobedience, are definitely
the cause of disobedience.
Among the greatest things that organize time and work are
the five daily prayers. Allah the Sublime and Most
Excellent Speaker affirms in the Quran: {Verily, for all
believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to
particular times [of day]}. (4: 104)
The month of Ramadan is a school in which the Muslim's
time is organized and invested in matters that lead to
closeness to Allah. Notwithstanding, some people do not
know the meaning of fasting. They engage in ample
negligence and deep slumber. They spend their days
sleeping and their nights in wasted wakefulness.
O Allah! Preserve for us our lives. Plant our feet firmly
on Your path, and make us obey You always. O Lord of all
the worlds.
Excerpted from
www.islaam.com with slight modifications.
back
|
