'Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied and your life before your death.' Sahih – Narrated by Ibn Abbas & collected in al-Haakim & others. (Authenticated by Shaykh 'Ali ibn 'Abdul Hamid in Forty Hadith of the Call and the Caller).
In another hadith, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah's sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: 'I fear Allah', a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.'
(Narrated by Abu Hurairah & collected in Sahih al-Bukhari (english trans.) vol.1, p.356, no.629 & Sahih Muslim english trans.) vol.2, p.493, no.2248)
Nevertheless,years are passing by and we are getting older day by day. While going to bed every night we have no certitude of waking up the next day. But Alhamdullilah, Allah is offering us the opportunity of a new tomorrow to be a better Muslim. He is giving us the opportunity by keeping us alive to humble ourselves deeply in front of Him by doing more 'Ibadaat and Dhikr, to follow His orders and the Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam; to prepare way more for our Akhirah and detach ourselves from this Dunya, and to sit down and contemplate all the favors He has bestowed on us and be grateful to Him but yet we turn a blind eye.
And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ [Quran, 14:7]
We tend to use this 'new tomorrow' to engage ourselves in mundane things, that even when the time for prayer comes, we neglect to respond to the call of the Sustainer of the world. And the fact is if we had an exam at this appointed time, without thinking twice we would made provisions not to miss that exam for our career could be at stake- and that is something which is going to benefit us only on this Dunya, but what about the Akhirah then? If we happen to die right now, are we ready to go? Are we ready to face Allah SWT? Are we ready to account for our deeds?
Death sees no age, no time, no place. We could be breathing our last anytime. When Allah SWT will order the Angel of death to remove our life, there will be no last chance to rectify our deeds or to repent. Therefore we should act NOW, because we never know what tomorrow has in store for us.
“Say: The angel of death, who has charge concerning you, will gather your souls, and afterward unto your Lord you will be returned.” [Sûrah al-Sajdah: 11]
How we use our time plays a predominant part in our daily life. There are those who use their time in quest of ‘Ilm whereas others spend this time in sinning. There are those who spend their time in ‘ibadaat and Dhikr whereas others spend this time in misdeeds such as ghibat( gossiping, backbiting), adultery and more. The one thing that we need to bear in mind is time lost is forever lost. We never will be able to turn back the clock and catch up again with things that have already slipped out of our hands.
Time is precious. As long as we are alive, let’s strive in the path of Allah SWT. It is with Him that resides the best of the best of eternal abode. We should never forget that Allah ‘Azwajal does not need us but we actually need Him at every step of our lives.
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