Do you understand how precious time is? Muslim scholars appreciated their time long before the West ever did, and this is how they achieved their revival. Their sayings and practices bear testimony to this.

I never regretted anything except a day that passed by without having increased my deeds. 

Every day the sun rises it calls upon us, “O people! I am a new day; I am an observer of your actions. Take advantage of me for I will not return until the Day of Judgment. O son of Adam, you are nothing but a few breaths. Once one breath goes out, part of you goes with it. In the same way that part of you has gone, soon all of you will go.” 

Every gulp of air that goes out in a cause other than the cause of Allah will turn to sorrow and regret on the Day of Judgment.

A sign that Allah despises you is when you find yourself wasting your time with trivial matters; in this way you miss your chance of going to Heaven. And a sign that Allah likes you is when you find yourself fulfilling more duties than you have time for.

The devil makes work for idle thumbs. If you want to know whether Allah is pleased with you, then think: Are you busy or idle? 

I wish that time could be acquired with money. If so, I would buy time from wasteful and ungrateful people so that I could spend it serving Allah. 

You should know where your time goes. You should know when you can go out and when you have some extra time. When you do have extra time, don’t waste it—watching one soccer game is enough. You needn’t watch six. 

Abu-Yusuf, a prominent student of Abu Hanifah, once said, “Abu Hanifah was on his deathbed when he asked for a paper and a pencil to solve a problem in jurisprudence, saying, ‘If I have but one instant to live, I would spend it doing something that pleases Allah.’” 

A man asked Ibn Al-Jawzi to chat with him for a while. The imam replied, “Only if you could stop the sun from revolving.” That’s how in a very short period of time, a few generations offered humanity many advances. Allah blessed their lives; they were able to accomplish what would take us many years. 

When 16 years old, Usamah ibn Zaid was an army commander. Under his command were Abu-Bakr and `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). Usamah fought the Romans and prevailed. The Companions said, “No army was ever rewarded like Usamah’s army and the Muslims didn’t suffer any casualties.”

Sa`d ibn Mu`adh accepted Islam when he was 30 years old and died when he was 37. Despite living only seven years as a Muslim, the throne of Allah was shaken for his death, and seventy thousand angels came down for his funeral. 

`Umar Al-Mukhtar led the struggle against the Italian occupation of Libya from the age of 60 until he was 70. 

Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim conquered India when he was 17 years old. He fought twelve battles in one year and won them all. 

We waste a great deal of time: For eight hours we sleep and another eight we use for meals and personal needs. That’s two-thirds wasted, and the remaining third is where productivity can be achieved. Imagine that every breath you take is stored away in a locker and that on the Day of Judgment these lockers will be opened. Can you see them empty? Or do you see them full of service, help, invention, and worship? Picture someone throwing a hundred thousand dollars in the sea—he would be considered crazy and be put under great restriction. You do the same if you waste your time, for your greatest assets are your breaths in this limited life.

Now, are you ready for change or is it all talk and no commitment? Are you willing to make adjustments to your time? If you are truly ready, let us agree on the details that will help you to organize your time:

1. Every day write down in a daily planner what you are planning to do the next day.

2. Focus on your work and don’t stop for any reason. Time gets wasted because of all the interruptions. Press hard on yourself and you will notice a great increase in productivity.

3. Cut down on your sleeping hours; even an hour a day will add up to 365 hours a year. You can use this time to prepare for a PhD or memorize the Qur’an. Imagine that!

4. Stay away from idle and careless people.

5. Do things in parallel; for example, while waiting at the doctor’s office or traveling on the bus, read a book. Instead of wasting your time waiting, take advantage of that time and do something productive. A great example is Ibn Al-Qayyim, who wrote his famous book Zad al-M`ad during his journey to Makkah for Hajj.

6. Be cautious of all the free time you have in the summer; use it wisely, for example in voluntary work.

7. Every night, ask yourself what you have accomplished that day, and soon you will be thrilled with your results. Assess how much you were able to complete from the productive week project. You may start with anything as low as 30 percent, but everyday your productivity and efficiency will increase.

8. Never leave the house without your daily planner.

Finally, never forget that you can’t utilize your time wisely unless you have a goal in life. When you do, you will be vigilant with your time and you will be able to divide it so you can achieve your goal efficiently.

* Based on the episode “The Value of Time” of Amr Khaled’s television series Life Makers.