Just a Matter of Time

By  Dr Ahmed Adam
Medical Physician, Counselor, and Writer — S. Africa

These comments are very common today:

“There just isn’t any more time.”
“Look how time flies.”
“If only I had more time.”
“Look how the months and years are flying past.”
“Life is a rat race — I want to get off.”

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• The Precious Gift of Life
• Time Management
• How Time Should Be Spent
• Time: A Blessing From Allah Almighty
• Time Is Relative
• Time Usage
• Action Plan

The Precious Gift of Life

What is this entity called “time”? Does time control us, or can we control it? Why do we sometimes get the feeling that our life is out of control, that things are happening too fast? We are living in a world of information technology where everything is geared to making things faster: We have jet planes, microwave ovens, instant coffee, fax machines, e-mail, the Internet, etc. Yet, despite all these time-saving devices, instead of having more free time, we somehow appear to have less time than before.

In our everyday existence, we get into a routine that remains fairly stable from one day to the next. This routine usually involves waking up, the time we sleep, go to work, leave work, eat, pray, watch TV, or socialize. We get into certain habits, which develop into rigid patterns, and these habits determine how we spend our life during our short stay here on earth.

At a certain point in our life, and this awareness differs for each person, we come to an uneasy awareness that there is more to life than our daily routine. We also, come to a scary awareness that our youth and middle age are behind us and that we are entering into the autumn and winter years of our life in this world; thus bringing us closer to our inevitable abode in the grave and our accountability in the hereafter. With this realization comes some glaring questions:

    * “Have I prepared for the hereafter?”
    * “Do I have the provisions that I need for my journey into the hereafter?”
    * “Do I know what provisions I will need?”
    * “Do I have the time to prepare myself for that journey?”

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that there will come a stage when time will pass quickly, and this is one of the signs signifying the nearness of the Day of Judgment:

“The Hour [Day of Judgment] will not be established until… religious knowledge is taken away…earthquakes will increase in number… time will pass quickly” (Sahih Al-Bukhari 9:237)

To read the next part: How Time Should Be Spent