Nafsiya Reflections: Finding Time

Studies, work, relationship duties and other community obligations, life can get hectic very quickly. We may find ourselves running around from sun up to sun down trying to fulfil everything we need to do, but at the end of it – we’re completely drained! It can seem like a burden a lot of the times, with too much to do and so little time. Or everything may get ticked off our “daily to-do list”, but our minds and bodies don’t support us any longer. It can get too much!

It can be that we wait for our lives to become a little slow or less busy and we tell ourselves, “It’ll get better when...
My university studies are over, or when I complete my work project or when I apply for the new job, or when I’ve saved more money, or when the children get older, or when I get married, or, or, or...”
And then at some point it occurs to us that it doesn’t really ever seem to slow down. One thing will end and the next will start... That’s life!

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him said

«...فَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَا عُثْمَانُ، فَإِنَّ لأَهْلِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، وَإِنَّ لِضَيْفِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، وَإِنَّ لِنَفْسِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا، فَصُمْ وَأَفْطِرْ، وَصَلِّ وَنَمْ»

“...Fear Allah, 'Uthman, your wife has a right on you, your guest has a right on you, your self has a right on you; you should keep fast and (sometimes) leave fast, and pray and sleep.”

There’s so much that we as Muslims are required to do. We have rights to fulfil and a goal to accomplish. Alhamdulillah for our deen of Islam, which guides us in the best way to see this and achieve this. We are taught that Life is spent in worshipping Allah (swt) through the roles he gives us and the tasks that are attached to that. When we have this understanding, this is the first step into solving the problem of finding time, being productive and InshaAllah having the contentment the heart yearns.

You see the thing is, we at times allow our reality to overwhelm us! We allow our lives situations to dictate our mind set and our emotions. We hold our hands up when any extra thing is added to our ‘already stressful life’. We cannot allow this! Allah (swt) has already warned us, Life is a test!

We must acknowledge that we are required to do the best we can, to strive and persevere AND then the rest is in the hands of Allah (swt). We do our bit and then anything outside of that is from Allah (swt) and we will try to please him in any way we can. In this day and age, in the secular systems we live in today, we celebrate being busy! Capitalism does not allow us to sit still, yet gives us no clear-cut purpose to our lives! How crazy is that! This is a dangerous mindset we fall into. This is what makes us fall into feeling overwhelmed and away from Allah (swt).

It can be we’re asked to work overtime, or our deadline has been pushed back, or our children have become ill, or our parents need us to take them to their appointments, or last minute guests turn up requires cooking. This is when we know, it was outside our realm, and it’s purely a test from Allah (swt). We must always be aware that these life surprises can happen, so when they come, it doesn’t throw us off and we hold our hands up. Instead, our mind set dictates, not the reality!. We were prepared! Keyword here: Prepared. Preparation!

The busiest people, who have so many things to juggle through, find a way to successfully get things done and keep their sanity. The secret is preparation. Preparing for our daily events can minimize the drama and help push through with all that anticipation. So when any little thing has been added on for us to do, we take it on, chin up...knowing that there was always a possibility this would happen!

So with so much to do – work, studies, spouse, our home, parents, children, ourselves; how do we balance all these? How can we possibly prepare for all of these altogether? How do we go about this? How do we organize, plan and manage our time?

There's really no set formula! However, there is a key. That is to be very honest and sincere with ourselves. To really scrutinize and reflect on how we spend our time. Do we maximise our time or are we a little relaxed? If we push a little more, could we fit it all in? Or even the opposite. Are we able to say ‘No’ when something is not really necessary or if it’s getting too much. Are we able to put ourselves first, to recharge and therefore be our best selves to fulfil our tasks and be beneficial for others?

Once we’ve passed that – a good starting point is to begin making lists and schedules. Schedules to keep us on track. To balance our lives. We can make block schedules, hourly schedules, or just set goals daily. Keeping in mind, that we must balance every part of our life. This way we can evaluate our priorities. By writing down everything that needs to be done and achieved, be it daily, monthly or yearly, it’s easier to then decide the order of importance. It can help us decide and categorize, which things are more important than others, what things can wait and which ones can’t. How should I divide my time for studies, work, home, how should I divide my time for my different relationships every week -How much for my parents, how much for my spouse? How much to my "Silat-ur-Reham" (close relatives), to my friends? All of this should be put down. These lists should then allow us to get all of the pending obligations out of our heads and on to paper so that we can organize, prioritize and delegate tasks to be done. Organization is the secret. When there is order – we are more in control and confident. So living by a list helps to get more done to ensure the focus in on the most important responsibilities first.

In support of this, we need to set goals. Realistic goals. What do we want to achieve in all the different spheres in our life? Our professional life, our career, our family as well as our personal development.

- So I want a position where I’m more independent in my work.

- I want to continue Masters after I graduate

- I want my child to study recitation of Quran

- I want quality time over quantity with my spouse

- I want to perfect my relationship with Allah

- I want to give Dawah to my friends, family and colleagues

Once established, it requires a plan. Which requires deep contemplation on exactly this will be done.

We will now have a focus, a path to follow and therefore making very good use of all our time where we’ve fit it all in. When goals are being met, Inshallah we will find that we are no longer struggling for balance. From this point on, the biggest test is the consistency and the self- discipline to keep going. Here we remember the purpose of why we began in the first place. For a believing Muslim, it must always link back to Allah (swt) and pleasing him.

Once Allah (swt) puts barakah in our lives, our lives will be more content as we feel HIS rida upon us InshAllah. Knowing HE (swt) is right there with us. And once we believe we were humans created with PURPOSE, our lives will suddenly have purpose! There will be periods we stall, or fail or struggle. And it will only be this LINK that gets us back up!

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ «‏نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ‏»

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Two favors that many of the people squander are health and free time."

Our time spent in this life, is ultimately the deciding factor for our afterlife. How we spend our time, we will be asked about this. We will have to account for it all. Allah (swt) is our Rabb, our master, our creator. He made us, He knows full well of all the struggles, pain and challenges we come with. He acknowledges this and shows us so much mercy by informing us of what’s to come! Soon we will stand at the doors of Jannah, InshAllah, waiting for them to open, feeling grateful for every moment we had in dunya, feeling grateful for every duty, task and obligation we had. So let us remember that this life was made for us to worship Allah (swt). Let us remember that this worship to Allah (swt) is what will give us what we all work for – Jannah!

May Allah (swt) place utmost barakah in our time to our worship to him and guide us to fulfilling all our duties for which we attain the biggest reward of Al- Jannah in the company of Muhammad (saw). Ameen

Jazāk Allāhu Khayran for joining us

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