Reflections Of A Muslimah

Assalāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi Wabarakath,

Often we overlook the blessings Allah subhanna wa ta'ala showers us with. One particular blessing that I want to mention is time. There are times when I've realised the importance of time too late. We all fall victim to daydreaming, procrastination, laziness and the like at certain points in our life. In conclusion, we waste time.

From an Islamic point of view, there is no going back. Time is too important and wasting it is doing nothing but harming the individual. We are encouraged to hasten to do good deeds, because we never know when death might come upon us.

So glorify the praises of your Rabb (Only God and Sustainer) and be of those who prostrate themselves (to Him). And worship your Rabb until there comes unto you the Hour that is certain (i.e., death). (Qur'an 15:98-99)

It says in a hadith related by Ibn Abbas:

The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "Grab five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death." [al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]

And:

The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), used to call on Muslims to take the initiative to do good deeds before any obstacles arise. For instance, he said, "Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal (Antichrist); or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter." [at-Tirmidhi, al-Baihaqi]

Therefore managing time wisely is also important in Islam. As it is in our day to day life.

I for one have a hard time managing my time, especially when it comes to studying or work. I have a habit of procrastinating and delaying things until the end, and then it is either too late or the outcome of that action is not that productive.

Often I fall victim to procrastination and delay endlessly things I need to be doing or I find myself surfing the Internet. Right now I am about to give finals and find studying constantly slightly hard. I for one need to manage my time wisely when it comes to studying. But the fitna of the Internet is easy to fall into, especially tith numerous social networking sites like fasad[face]book, Orkut, Myspace et. al being addicticve. I don't use any of them except for facebook, and I've disabled my account now alhamdulilah. I've realised the amount of time I spent on it is nothing but a waste which I could spend doing other more beneficial things.

Secondly, I'm a regular member of various Islamic message boards and although there may be some good in it because I for one have learned and come across a lot of issues and subjects I wouldn't be aware of if I wasn't on it and also, you come across people who are similar to you in your views. But the key is not to get addicted or 'overstay' your time. Often getting into religious heated arguments, [Usually Fiqh issues, Salafi Vs. Sufi, Islam Vs. Progressives, Sunni Vs. Shiite, Aqeedah differences and others] is very easy. And although refutation on certain topics is required sometimes and is necessary, spending too much time arguing will not benefit anyone.

Simply because usually the other person already has a firm view on things and a set belief and will most likely, not conform to your views. [Exceptions aside]. You need to check yourself when all you can think about your whole day is how you are going to go online and argue with that certain person.

We also need to remind ourselves of the hadith of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent. [Bukhari/Muslim] and The prophet (S.A.W.) says in another authentic hadith reported by Imam Abu-Dawud, "I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for the one who stopped being aimlessly argumentative even if he is right."

Online politics [as I like to call it] is very much common. Therefore in the past few days I've been less active on the Internet on the whole and alhamdulilah it has helped. Generally, the average human tends to go away from living the 'real' life and relying more and more on technology. Sometimes I think about the days when technology was scarce and people still called and met other people or wrote letters, instead of being stuck to their computer screens like glue. [For this reason too I have been able to blog less and will not be able to reply to comments until June]

Applying the lessons of the above ahadith in our daily lives is only beneficial to us, be it from an Islamic point of view, concerning our ibaadah or our salah, or from a wordly point of view, concerning studies and work among other things.

Human beings have a habit of never being satisfied with what they have, we always want or wish for more. Most times this leads to our downfall.

I know a lot of Women [both Muslim and Non-Muslims alike] long for children after they get married, and if they are barren or for some medical reason cannot have children, mourn it for the rest of their lives and make themselves and the people around them equally miserable.

I know a Sister who was in this same situation, and she related her experience of how she could not have children after she got married because of medical reasons. However, after mourning the thought that would never have her own children for a couple of years, she realised the futility of mourning and longing for something she could not have and instead became closer to Allah subhanna wa ta'ala.

She is now a student of knowledge, who has studied under quite a few shyookh and a da'iya [One who gives and spreads dawah/ilm]. And now she says that maybe there is a blessing in the fact that she does not have children as she would not have been able to dedicate so much time to the deen or in spreading and helping Islam.

In contemporary times, and even in the past, often Women [And even Men at times] bear the brunt of society especially if they are divorcees or widows and/or they think their life is over if they are divorced. As Muslim Women we should have a more positive outlook on things. And maybe there is some good in what is meant for us that we may not know off. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, we should try to better ourselves as an individual, both spiritually and from the outside.

The Qur'an warns us not to be ungrateful in Surat An-Nisa [Verse 78]:

And if some good reaches them, they say, "This is from Allâh," but if some evil befalls them, they say, "This is from you (O Muhammad SAW)." Say: "All things are from Allâh," so what is wrong with these people that they fail to understand any word?

Secondly, if you are a true believer, then know that Allah subhanna wa ta'ala is with those who believe and keep steadfast and surely, the trials you are put through will pass.

In conclusion: Use your time wisely and be grateful to Allah azza wa jal.

Ma'asalama