Have you noticed how time flies by so quickly? The day hardly begins and suddenly the night is upon us. We begin a new calendar year full of hope and promise and before we know it, the year is almost over.
Before we realise what’s happened, it is too late to go back to change the things we want. One year rolls into the next and we find ourselves asking, “Where has the time gone?”
How often have you said, “I just don’t have the time!” But really we need to ask ourselves, “How are we spending our time?
Time is such a blessing from Allah and barakah in our time is so important. There’s so much we can achieve if we are conscious and intentional about how we use our time.
With barakah a little of something can always suffice, bringing tremendous benefits. A few morsels can feed and satisfy an entire family. A modest earning can sustain the running of a large home, with just a little time. one can achieve great accomplishments. But what can we do to have this kind of barakah in our time?
1. Recite, understand, learn, teach and act upon the Quran
Quran is word of Allah. We need to believe in it and strive to live by it, following its commands rather than just reciting and memorising it.
Consciously seek Allah’s forgiveness with regular istighfar
“Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is a perpetual forgiver. He will send the sky upon you in showers. And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.” Quran 71:10-12
2. Maintain family ties and set a specific time aside to do so
The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
He who wishes to have his earnings grow (and be blessed) and his term of life prolonged, he should keep his ties with his kin.
[Bulugh Al-Maram]
3. Give charity in order to seek Allah’s pleasure
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) as saying: There is never a day wherein servants (of Allah) get up at morning but are not visited by two angels. One of them says: O Allah, give him more who spends (for the sake of Allah), and the other says, O Allah bring destruction to the one who withholds. [Muslim]
4. Make meal time a family bonding time
Free from devices or distractions, use this as quality time to connect with your loved ones.
The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
Eat together and do not eat separately, for the blessing is in being together.
[Ibn Majah]
5. Greet each other with warm feelings
Do not just greet with Assalamu alaikum but as though we are wishing duas for peace.
When you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other - a greeting from Allah, blessed and good. (Quran 24:61)
6. Send salawaat upon the Prophet (ﷺ)
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: if anyone invokes blessings on me once, Allah will bless him ten times. [Abi Dawud 1530]
What a beautiful gift to give our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) and get reward for it as well.
7. Being grateful and having Tawwakul
Having good expectations of Allah is so important.
“And when your Lord proclaimed, ‘if you are grateful, I will surely increase you.’” [Quran 14:7]
Let’s trust in Allah, having good expectations from Him and be grateful to Him in every situation He decreed for us. We will then not only experience apparent blessings but also blessings in disguise – in situations which may not seem pleasant at the time.
8. Truthfulness and honest dealings
Truth may seem hard but it’s reward is great. Even if we lose a dealing because of raw truth , Allah will replace it with something better, in sha Allah. With dishonest dealings we are deprived of the barakah.
9. Early to bed and early to rise
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: O Allah bless my people in the early mornings. [Abi Dawud]
It’s not as simple as it sounds but this is how Allah has created us to work. He took away the brightness and brought the dark of night to make the environment conducive for sleeping. Why then are we fighting against nature through man invented artificial lights and glitters in order to stay awake. When we sleep early, it will be easier for us to rise early and Allah has blessed our mornings.
This topic or achieving barakah in our time and of not wasting precious hours is elaborated upon extensively in my book ‘The Beauty of Time Management in Islam’ including the vices of sleeping late and practical tips to help us be early risers.
May Allah grant us the taufeek to implement these barakah enhancing tips and May Allah increase the barakah in your time and your life, ameen.
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