Time

A comprehensive discussion on the concept of time, its characteristics, organization, and significance in Islam, written by Sadqi Al-Bayk.

Translated from original blogpost https://sedqialbaik.blogspot.com/2009/09/blog-post.html

Time: Its Characteristics and Organization By Sadqi Al-Bayk

God created time to serve as the fourth dimension for entities, especially living beings, following the three dimensions of length, width, and depth. Time also acts as the second condition for the existence of objects, following location.

Time is tied to the life of living beings, encompassing their birth, growth, development, and death. Without time, living beings would not differ from inanimate objects.

Human life is inherently linked to time, also referred to as 'time'.

Since the creation of inanimate objects and thereafter living beings, God set the movement of inanimate objects as a measure for time. God has made these vast creatures available for humans to measure time through their regular movements, as guided by God. When some people asked Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) about the movements of celestial bodies, the response highlighted their importance in measuring time: "They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: 'They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj...'" (Quran 2:189). Likewise, the sun, the moon, the day, and the night are tools by which humans measure time, as stated in the Quran: "He causes the dawn to break; and He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for calculation..." (Quran 6:96), "It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a derived light and determined for it phases - that you may know the number of years and the account [of time]. Allah has not created this except in truth. He details the signs for a people who know" (Quran 10:5).

Characteristics of Time

Time has unique characteristics and features that make it distinct among God's creations bestowed upon humans: One of its features is that it always moves forward in a regular manner, and no human or other being can stop time, speed it up, slow it down, or reverse it. One of humanity's greatest desires and dreams is to travel through time, both forwards and backwards, or to journey to the past or the future as one does through space!!

In the late 19th century, one of the Western philosophers and great authors, H.G. Wells, expressed these dreams through his science fiction story "The Time Machine," to fulfill in his fictional dreams the impossible wish of traversing time, venturing into the past, and advancing toward the unknown future to explore and witness events!!

However, this is beyond human reach, as God Almighty has made humans subject to the steady flow of time, not subjugators of it.

If the human body is subjected to the course of time, unable to advance or delay or escape from it, nor accelerate or decelerate it, what about the human soul? Does time envelop it under its wings, or does it ride it or manage to escape from its imposed constraints on physical bodies? Is it possible that in the human soul's capacity to remember, we see a return to the past? And in its visions (dreams), do we see the soul's journey in the realm of time into the future?

These questions relate to the soul, and the answer is what God Almighty says: "And they ask you about the soul. Say: 'The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little'" (Quran 17:85).

Humans divide time into three parts: A past whose beginning is unknown to humans and most of its events are obscured, A fleeting present they struggle to grasp, And a long future whose end is unknown and all its events are a mystery. The second characteristic of time (especially the present) is its swift passage, barely noticeable before it slips through our fingers. Additionally, all the past, despite its length, appears short in human perception. For instance, when the People of the Cave were asked about the time they spent, which exceeded three hundred years, they estimated it as a day or part of a day (Quran 18:19). This perception of the past's brevity applies not only to time spent sleeping but also to waking hours, a realization every individual can relate to. Arab poetry has expressed this sentiment as follows: Years passed with companionship and joy, As if, due to their brevity, they were mere days *** Then those years and their people vanished, As if they and they were dreams. It's important to note that an individual's internal timekeeping is influenced by their psychological state: when joyful, time seems to fly by, and when sorrowful, time seems to drag. This poet, Ibn Khafaja, like many poets, depicts his perception of the length of his sorrowful nights: It stretched so long I thought it would never end *** And the stars' guardian never deserts.

We are reminded of a saying attributed to Noah (Peace Be Upon Him), who lived among his people for a thousand years minus fifty. When asked how he found life, he likened it to a house with two doors: entering through one and exiting through the other!

This time, which moves only forward and cannot be reversed by any human, signifies that what has passed is over and cannot be reclaimed. Thus, God Almighty responds to those who wish to return to their past with rejection (Quran 23:100), and in the Hereafter, those who squandered their worldly life wish for a return to make amends, but their plea is denied (Quran 32:12). Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri depicts the human incapacity to reclaim even the most recent day—yesterday—as follows: Yesterday, though recent, defies retrieval by the inhabitants of Earth.

Time is the most precious commodity God has placed at humans' disposal, its value stemming from the irretrievability of the past and the impossibility of compensating for lost time, unlike other losses which can be replaced. Hence, the wise have said, "Time is gold," associating it with the most valuable material known to humans. Only those who have lost and wasted time truly understand its worth and its cost, especially at the moment of death when they realize there's no turning back to the past and wish for a postponement to amend their ways (Quran 63:10).

Given these characteristics, time holds tremendous importance, demanding serious consideration and planning from humans as they navigate through it.

The Lifespans of Humans

God divides the time granted to humans into three categories: Their worldly life, from birth to death, Their barzakh (intermediate) life, from death until resurrection, And their hereafter life, which extends from their resurrection for as long as God wills. The latter is the real and fundamental future for every person, where they receive recompense for their worldly deeds and eternal fate. The middle stage (barzakh) is a precursor to their afterlife future, serving as preparation and adaptation to their eventual reward or punishment. The worldly life grants them the freedom of action and responsibility, where they can either gain or squander.

Organizing Time

The day serves as the basic unit for measuring human life, necessitating individuals to organize their time by structuring their day to avoid wasting any of it. Part of the day is needed for work and production to meet physical needs for food, drink, clothing, and shelter, which may take up a third of the day under normal circumstances. The body, tired from exertion, requires complete rest, indispensable for both physical and mental well-being. This rest is achieved through sleep, which God has made a form of repose for people (Quran 25:47), requiring less than a third of the day for sleep, leaving another third of the day, potentially a significant portion of free time, to be dedicated by Muslims to their daily obligatory worship.

Free Time

This time might be wasted on activities unbefitting a Muslim and prohibited by Islam, such as gambling, listening to lewd music, dog breeding, etc. Spending excessive hours on sports or watching TV also constitutes wasted time. If youth have both free time and financial means, their actions could be corrupted, as Abu al-Atahiya says: Youth, free time, and new wealth are corrupting for a person, any corruption. Indeed, all worldly tasks and material sciences that leave no time for essential religious knowledge and obligations are considered time-wasters.

However, this does not mean Islam prohibits sports, TV watching, or material sciences, but rather discourages excess in them, leading to neglect of other matters. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) disapproved of excess in worship to the exclusion of worldly affairs, advising moderation to his followers, emphasizing a balance as reflected in God's command to seek the Hereafter without neglecting one's worldly share and to do good as God has been good (Quran 28:77).

Time Wasters

Those who spend their time in frivolous or harmful activities, claiming to "kill time" and seek amusement, are in fact wasting the most valuable asset they possess and need. They squander their capital and dissipate their life's days, unaware they are hastening their end: A person rejoices in the days he cuts through, Yet each day passed brings him closer to his term. These individuals are characterized by heedlessness, a deadly ailment that destroys time, rendering them insensitive to events and unaware until it's too late for regret.

Procrastination, knowing what is required yet delaying action in the mistaken belief that time is plentiful, leads to wasted hours and days. Some speakers have deemed "later" as one of Satan's soldiers, questioning the procrastinator's assurance of future existence or freedom from future obstacles. A poet warns against delaying today's work out of laziness to tomorrow, for tomorrow belongs to the indolent.

Omar bin Abdulaziz realized the folly of accumulating work, stating the burden of a single day's work exhausted him, let alone two days' worth.

Blaming time and attributing failures to fate, these individuals personify time as an enemy or unjust ruler, disregarding their own responsibility in misusing time. Imam Shafi'i criticized this attitude, noting that the fault lies within us, not with time itself.

Aren't these time-wasters in dire need of the days and hours they squander? Don't they have an afterlife to plan for, mistakenly believing their modest good deeds suffice for salvation? They would be considered foolish if their possessions were tangible, but what can be done except to advise and remind them of the suddenness of death and Satan's constant temptations. Therefore, heed the advice of our noble Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him): "Take advantage of five before five: your life before your death, your health before your sickness, your free time before your busyness, your youth before your old age, and your wealth before your poverty" (reported by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, al-Bayhaqi, and al-Hakim).

Islam's Organization of Time and Leisure

Islam teaches us to organize our time and be mindful of it, ensuring we are not caught off guard by its passing. Hajj and zakat provide annual time management, fasting organizes daily time for a month, with attention to the moon's appearance, dawn, and sunset, or listening for the call to prayer, marking the start or end of an activity. Muslims measure time meticulously, not wasting even a minute.

As for organizing leisure, the five aspects the Prophet urged us to cherish, including free time, are blessings from God. Free time, beyond the necessities of life and sleep, never remains idle but is filled with either good or bad. Leisure is a double-edged sword: harmful if misdirected but beneficial if used for good. Discoveries and inventions, contributing to civilization, would not be possible without leisure.

There are countless beneficial activities to fill leisure, from supplications and voluntary prayers to family and friends' visits, free reading, and studying beneficial books. Engaging in permissible forms of entertainment that do not neglect religious or worldly duties, like sports or harmless jokes that do not lie or offend, is also acceptable. The Prophet himself watched the games of Abyssinians and shared such moments with Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), indicating the balance Islam promotes between duty and leisure.

Let us organize our time to create leisure and fill it with beneficial and enjoyable activities, making the most of our words and deeds and providing relaxation for our hearts. For if the heart is overburdened, it falters.

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Originally published in the VerbionPulse newsletter on LinkedIn: Time.