Five Before Five
اغتنموا خمس قبل
خمس
Is it just me or does the time seem to be passing more quickly lately.
One minute it is 2010 the next we are in the final half of 2012. No
matter how badly we want the time to slow down it just moves forward, one
second, one minute, and one hour at a time. Days go by and it feels like
minutes. Before the day’s work even starts it is night time. God
mentions this phenomenon in various places throughout the Quran.
They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep
account.” (Quran 23:113)
…A speaker from among them said, “How long have you stayed (here)?” They
said, “We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord
(alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here)… (Quran 18:19)
Time passes swiftly, and when we stand before God on the Day of
Judgement it will seem as if we have lived, dreamed and hoped for less than a
day. It will seem as if we have worshipped our Creator for only the
briefest of time and in only the most lackadaisical way. We know that
many of us will beg God for more time, time to correct our actions and time to
worship in a better way.
Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with
God), he says: “My Lord! send me back, (Quran 23:99)
Prophet Muhammad, may God praise him, reiterated this for us. Time will
not slow down and we cannot go back to fix the mistakes we make therefore he
advised us to take advantage of five, before five.
“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth,
before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before
you become poor; your free time before you become busy; and your life, before
your death.” [1]
We are advised to take advantage of what time we have. When we are
young we take our youth and energy for granted. We feel as if we have all the
time in the world, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. But tomorrow creeps up
on us slowly and one of the first things we lose is our youth. A grey
hair appears, there is a niggling pain in our back, or our shoulder or a knee.
As old age approaches people find it harder to fulfil even their
obligatory acts of worship. When it is impossible to bend our knees and
put our head on the ground in submission, we want only to be able to go back
and pray one extra prayer, fast one extra day the way we did when we were young
and full of energy. The young must take advantage of their youth before
old age strips it away. Boundless energy should be used to help others, and to
collect as many rewards as possible.
A believer must also take advantage of health before being overcome by
sickness, with or without old age. Even young people are affected by ill health
and injuries that make it impossible to worship in the way that they would
like. Both God and Prophet Muhammad have emphasised the benefits and rewards
that come from a believer experiencing pain and suffering. However when a
person suffers ill health, he realises just how fragile human beings are.
Prophet Muhammad reminds us that we do not know when our health will be taken
from us. One day we have all our strength and mental faculties, the next we
might be relying on others for even the simplest things.
Wealth is another blessing that comes to us from God. A believer
should give as much as possible in charity while there is
still something to give. We tend to think of charity as money but it is not
confined to monetary matters. We give with our hands, our time, our knowledge
and our money. We even give with our smile. However, we should use our
monetary wealth to worship and please God before it is taken from us. We have
no way of knowing when God will see fit to remove our wealth from us. People
are rich one day and homeless the next. We must spend our wealth for the
sake of God before we do not have the means to do so. And this will not
go unrewarded.
The likeness of those who spend their money for God’s sake, is as the
likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears, every single ear has a
hundred grains, and God multiplies (increases the reward) for whom He wills,
and God is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower. (Quran 2:261)
Free time is another great blessing from God that each of us possesses,
regardless of how busy we think we are. Spending this time wisely means not
wasting it in fruitless activities that have no benefit. Even the
simplest of acts can become worthwhile by simply doing them for the sake of
God. If we free ourselves from fruitless time wasting activities it is possible
the time to increase our religious deeds. When a person chooses wisely,
worldly deeds can also be done for the sake of God. Remember that time
moves inexorably forward. Do it today because you may not have a
tomorrow. Use your free time wisely today before life is filled with
worldly obligations that contain no benefit whatsoever unless you live every
moment to please God.
The final thing we have been advised to take advantage of is, life
before death overtakes us. Every morning we should thank God for another day.
Each day is a chance to do well; to spend in charity, to worship longer,
harder, or in a better way. It is a chance to spread good cheer, smile,
and pay that extra dollar or two in charity. It is a chance to perform
countless random acts of kindness. We have become relaxed about the
reality of death. At some point, perhaps in a matter of hours, minutes,
or even seconds, our life will be taken away from us. Prophet Muhammad
advises us to take advantage of the time we have. Do what you can now,
not tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come.
This reminder from the Prophet Muhammad deals with responsibility,
wisdom, foresight and time management, but it is not the only time he reminded
us of the importance of being aware of our blessings and using them to our own
advantage. We are constantly reminded, throughout the Quran and the
traditions of the Prophet, that time is fleeting and that every little thing we
do is able to become a source of great reward. Prophet Muhammad also
said, “Three things follow the deceased [to his grave], two of them return
and one remains with him. His family, wealth and deeds follow him, while his
family and wealth return, his deeds remain with him.” [2]
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