Time: A Blessing From Allah Almighty

By Dr. Ahmad Adam

To read the previous part: How Should Time be Spent

[He causes the dawn to break, and He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for reckoning; this is an arrangement of the Mighty, the Knowing.] (Al-An`am 6:96)

[He it is Who made the sun a shining brightness and the moon a light, and ordained for it mansions that you might know the computation of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create it but with truth; He makes the signs manifest for a people who know] (Yunus 10:5)

Allah Almighty, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, has blessed us with an earth that revolves on its axis, thus giving us the alternation of the day with the night. If the earth did not rotate, then one half would be very cold and in perpetual light and the other half would be very cold and in perpetual darkness. The revolution of the day and night that we take for granted is a tremendous blessing from Allah Almighty. This brings harmony and balance in our life, so that the day can be spent on seeking the bounties of Allah Almighty and the night is for rest and recuperation. Furthermore, the phases of the moon and the changes in the seasons, are useful indicators to keep track of the passage of time.

However, the blessings of Allah Almighty do not end there. Each and every day, every living person is given a fresh, new allocation of 24 hours (except on your last day on earth). Allah Almighty is Al–’Adl — The Just. Everyone is given those 24 hours whether a prince or a pauper, a president or a prisoner, a believer or non-believer, or dark or light-skinned — everyone gets an equal share. However, there is one slight problem that makes life interesting and challenging:

•    You cannot save any hours, not even one second, for the next day — there is  no savings account for time.
•    You cannot sell your hours to anyone.
•    You cannot donate any of this time to anyone — not even to your nearest or dearest who may be on the death-bed.
•    There is not an instant replay button — you cannot go back in time to rectify your mistakes, and you cannot push a “fast forward button” to find out the challenges of tomorrow. Furthermore,   there is no “pause button,” while you decide what to do next.
•     You either use your time or waste it!

You either use your life or waste it. Time is life, not money. Time is more precious than money — it is the most valuable commodity that we have, yet we do not value it.

To read the next part: Time is Relative