The Importance of Time

https://www.khutbah.info/the-importance-of-time/ All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all lords, Who created His creation from dust. He manifested the signs of His power in every place, and revealed the lights of His guidance at all times. Al Furqan (25) 62: And it is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude.  People’s lives are a great blessing for which they should be grateful to Allah Almighty. For life is an opportunity for success. For this reason, Allah has bestowed the sunrise and sunset upon His servants. Allah Almighty said: 

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ  ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ  وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ ,  وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا  ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ  فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,  وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,  وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ   وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ    

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

 يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102 

Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

Oh people:

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all lords, Who created His creation from dust. He manifested the signs of His power in every place, and revealed the lights of His guidance at all times.

Allah Almighty said: 

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ خِلْفَةً لِّمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يَذَّكَّرَ أَوْ أَرَادَ شُكُورًا

Al Furqan (25) 62: And it is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude. 

People’s lives are a great blessing for which they should be grateful to Allah Almighty. For life is an opportunity for success. For this reason, Allah has bestowed the sunrise and sunset upon His servants. Allah Almighty said: 

 اللَّهُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ

Ghafer (40) 61: It is Allah who made for you the night that you may rest therein and the day giving sight. Indeed, Allah is full of bounty to the people, but most of the people are not grateful.

Allah Almighty took an oath by time in more than one verse in His Noble Book. He, the Most High, said:

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى  * وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى

Al Layl (92) 1-2: (1) By the night when it covers, (2) And [by] the day when it appears.

And Allah Almighty said: 

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ  *وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ

Al Takwir (81) 17-18: (17) By the night as it envelops, (18) And [by] the dawn when it breathes,

And Allah Almighty said: 

وَالْفَجْرِ  *وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ

Al Fajr (89) 1-2: (1) By the dawn (2) And [by] ten nights

And Allah Almighty said: 

وَالْعَصْرِ (1) إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ (2) إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

Al Asr (89) 1-3: (1) By time, (2) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (3) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.

Allah took an oath by time because of the wonders it contains, and because time is the basis of all blessings.

Time is a golden opportunity and those squandering it are described as foolish. Indeed, the true Muslim places great value on time. For time is there very life. If they allow it to be lost and let distractions rob them of it, then through this reckless path, they are slowly committing suicide.

Materialistic people say: “time is gold”. However, they have failed and lost, because their entire view of this world is shaped by the notion that life is merely material. They have no standard except that of material value. For it they live, by it they survive, and upon it they base their loyalty and enmity.

From this standpoint, a previous community objected that Allah sent among them someone to lead them and establish the ordainments of Allah among them- someone who had devoted his time to the obedience of Allah, calling to Him, and doing what pleases Him: 

قَالُوا أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ عَلَيْنَا وَنَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِالْمُلْكِ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يُؤْتَ سَعَةً مِنَ الْمَالِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ

Al Baqarah (2) 247: They said, How can he have kingship over us while we are more worthy of kingship than him and he has not been given any measure of wealth?” He said, Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature.

An abundance in knowledge and stature is explained by the saying of the Prophet ﷺ as narrated in al-Bukhari:  

نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ

There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time. [Bukhari 6412]

Because if people have good health and have free time, and they do not use it well in performing righteous deeds and praiseworthy endeavors, then they will incur failure and loss.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 

لَا تَزُولُ قَدَمَا عَبْدٍ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ  حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاه  وَعَنْ عِلْمِهِ  فيمَ فَعَل وَعَنْ مَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ  وَفِيمَا أَنْفَقَهُ  وَعَنْ جِسْمِهِ فِيمَا أَبْلَاهُ

The feet of the servant will not move on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about his life—how he spent it; about his knowledge—what he did with it; about his wealth—from where he earned it and how he spent it; and about his body—how he wore it out. [Tirmidhi 2417, Grade: Sahih (Albani)]

This hadith, which emanates from the lamp of prophethood, represents a person’s days as an extended rope, which one does not know when it will be cut. It is subject to loss and is destined to be severed. So perhaps the opportunity may be lost, and a smile may turn into grief.

Youth is one of the most critical phases in people’s lives, because it is a phase of strength between two weaknesses: the weakness of childhood and the weakness of old age.  Since youth is part of a person’s lifetime, and a person will be questioned about their lifetime, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ singled out youth by saying:

اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ خَمْسٍ  شَبَابَكَ قَبْلَ هَرَمِكَ  وَصِحَّتَكَ قَبْلَ سَقَمِكَ  وَغِنَاكَ قَبْلَ فَقْرِكَ وَفَرَاغَكَ قَبْلَ شُغْلِكَ  وَحَيَاتِكَ قَبْلَ مَوْتِكَ

Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your preoccupation, and your life before your death. [al-Bayhaqi (10248) , Grade: Hasan]  

It is natural and reasonable for young people to feel disengaged despite being in perfect health. However, what is neither natural nor reasonable is for a young man or woman to feel this, and then for society to pressure them, in various ways, to fill their idleness with entertainment which angers Allah and His Messenger. Then they, except for those whom Allah has mercy upon, fill their idleness with frivolous entertainment, cheap films, misleading advertisements, and the latest forms of communication.

Islamic communities must provide their youth, during their breaks and vacations, productive activities that refine their morals, develop their culture, limit their recklessness, and save them from the arms of idleness—which begets thousands of vices and harbors the seeds of destruction and collapse.

And Muslim communities must convince the youth, through their actions, that striving is a characteristic of the living and that the idle are as good as dead.  And idle people are more likely to be resurrected bankrupt, having no harvest but ruin and loss. So be conscious of Allah, and use your time wisely, for you will inevitably receive the returns. That is why it will be said to the joyous:

كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِي الْأَيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ

Al Haaqa (69) 24: Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth in the days past.

And it will be said to the miserable: 

ذَلِكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَمْرَحُونَ

Ghafer (40) 75: That is because you rejoiced in the earth without right and because you were insolent.

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Khutbah

الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ,  وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ  , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ

All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

Oh Muslims:

Be conscious of Allah and know that the ordainments of Islam revolve around striving against oneself and striving among people. Both strivings take up one’s entire life, moment by moment. The fact that one spends one’s entire time in both strivings is a well-known fact from the life of the Chosen One ﷺ. Whenever he ﷺrested from striving against disbelief in one corner of the earth, he then moved on to another corner, filling it with faith and piety. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, proceeded after him, leaving no room for idleness, and they filled the corners of the earth with the illumination of faith.

Nothing will rectify the state of this Ummah except that which rectified its earliest generations, and that is by following the path of the righteous predecessors in their concern for time and in valuing it properly.

Ibn Masoud —may Allah be pleased with him—said: I have never regretted anything more than I regret a day in which the sun set and my deeds did not increase but my lifespan decreased. 

It is narrated from Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī—the well-known commentator of the Qur’an—that he said to his students: “Are you willing to work on a tafsīr of the Qur’an?” They asked, “How large would it be?” He replied, “Thirty thousand pages.” They said, “Lifetimes would end before it is finished!” So he said, “To Allah do we belong! Resolve has died.” And so he shortened it to approximately three thousand pages.

And Ibn al-Jawzī—may Allah have mercy on him—who passed away nine centuries before us, said: “I saw that the majority of people waste their time in astonishing ways. If the night is long, it is spent on things of no benefit. If the day is long, it is spent in sleep-and they are at the riverbanks of the Tigris or in the markets at the edges of the day. I have seen many people who do not understand the meaning of life. Some of them were made wealthy by Allah and spared from needing to earn a living. Yet they spend most of the day sitting in the marketplace watching people, being exposed to all sorts of sins and evils. Others spend their time occupied with politics, inflation, deflation, and the like. So I realized that only those granted success by Allah understand the value of time and are inspired to take advantage of it.

Allah Almighty said: 

وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ

Fussilat (41) verse 35: But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good].

Make Allah make us successful in using our time for that which pleases Him. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering. 

هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed.  For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good

 عِبَادَ اللّهِ  إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ  يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. 

اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا   وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein.  And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.  

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