By nature, human beings need discipline and routine to thrive. Without it, it’s very easy to feel lost. Learning how to manage our time is a skill that will benefit us throughout our lives, and is something that can aid us in so many ways.
Think about every stage of life, from when we are born, to when we grow old. When we are newborns, we heavily rely on those responsible for us to take care of us. And this is often centred around trying to create a routine for this newborn - which can be difficult! But over time, a time to sleep is established and so is a time to feed etc. This becomes the start of building a healthy routine which will transform and grow as the baby grows.
Routine is essential for each and every one of us, as it helps us structure our time. As Muslims, one of the things we will be questioned about is how we spent our time. so it’s essential we pay close attention to the way we spend it.
Ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“The son of Adam will not be dismissed from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about five matters: his life and how he lived it, his youth and how he expended it, his wealth and how he earned it and he spent it, and how he acted upon his knowledge.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2416
So, how do we try to ensure we’re spending our time in a way that is pleasing to Allah ﷻ
It isn't uncommon for us to become overwhelmed with the amount we may want to achieve in the day. So it’s important we start by establishing daily habits that are non-negotiable.
A beautiful starting point is ensuring that we fill our lives with actions that Allah ﷻ has advised and instructed us to do. For example, prioritising our five daily salahs above everything, followed by spending time with the Book of Allah ﷻ. If we want to live a life most pleasing to Allah, we need to invest in activities that bring barakah to our time. Our salah can serve as our routine map, a natural timetable given to us by Allah ﷻ.
It’s important to remember, it isn’t necessarily down to the quantity of what you achieve in a day, but the quality. Sitting down and reading the Quran for the sake of it isn’t a bad thing, however, actively paying attention to the words you are reading and reflecting on them can bring far more benefits.
Begin with writing down a list of spiritual habits you want to start achieving on a day-to-day basis and perhaps even invest in a habit tracker to motivate you to stay on top of them.
There’s so much beauty in time management, and it’s something that can always be improved.
It may take adjusting and then readjusting your daily plan before you find a structure or routine that you feel best suits you. And that’s absolutely fine - so long as you remember to rely on Allah ﷻ before relying on yourself.
Allah ﷻ holds the keys to everything - including your time but it’s up to you how you spend it.
Begin by making dua to be from those who use their time consciously and in the way of Allah - then see how the beauty of well planned time, will unfold.
Comments